Hiking the Great Northwest: My story thus far...

My initial goal began with my brother's departure to the military. I decided that 6-7 months would be a nice time frame to start making some changes in my life and health. My brother has always been concerned about my health, so I decided that as he worked hard for our country, I would work hard on me and see what I could do in the time he was gone. Then, would hopefully surprise him with the results.

I did not expect what these past 6 months have brought me. I began with small changes:

First things first, there has been no specific diet. My goal was to change my relationship with food. As I learned in class with the wonderful Amy Hammermeister at WOU, food does not behave. Thus, there are no foods "good" or "bad" for you. There are merely choices and which choices will align with who you want to be and how you want to provide adequate nutrients to your body.

- Being mindful of my diet: what were my choices in that moment and which choice would be the most beneficial for me in that moment and in the long run. And the key to mindfulness for me was keeping track of everything I ate and every time I expended energy in exercise. I used an app on my phone called MyFitnessPal. Add me if you are on there! You can keep accountability very well there! My mom and I both have it which has been cool.

- along with this came the deep rooted belief in moderation: I knew the moment I said I couldn't have something, I would want it. Instead, when something that was loaded with lots of sugar, fat, and no nutritional benefit to my body, I would have a small piece or taste and move on. I firmly believe you can either practice moderation, or when the cake comes and you decide to slip from your diet, you eat the entire cake.

- In addiction treatment there is a mountain theory. You work very hard to achieve sobriety and the place you want to be, but its very likely that you will slip up. Many people will have a relapse moment and slip down the mountain just a little and they think they have completely messed it up, so they spiral all the way down until they are back at the bottom. In reality, it is much easier to get back up to the top from one of the slip ledges, than to climb all the way back up the mountain from the bottom. This is the way that I see a healthy diet and lifestyle.

- Along with diet, I knew that fast food would never be beneficial to my body, so I almost completely cut that out (I have had it just a couple of times, usually after I've been drinking haha... which isn't very often either)

- I also strived to cut out as much processed food as possible and wanted to stick to as much "God Food," as I call it, as possible. I haven't been fully disciplined in this, but its a mindful choice every time

- Hiking Goals: I knew from past experience that I was always healthiest when I was at camp. A common factor among those times was that I was extremely active, moving around in a variety of ways throughout the day. One thing I did a lot of at camp as well was hiking. I decided to incorporate hiking into my exercise routine. I had been pretty active at the gym since moving to Salem, but I felt stuck in my routines. My good friend, Teebs, from camp one summer had hiked our longest hike, "House Mountain," enough times that he ended up hiking over 100 miles that summer. I had remembered that and decided that if he could do 100 miles in a summer, I realistically could probably hike 100 miles by the end of the year. Having 10 months left, I would need to hike 10 miles a month, which I thought was totally do-able.

I started hiking. The key thing to this was to be doing something that I enjoyed. I have grown a crazy love for hiking along this journey. I love being outside and exploring new areas. Oregon has such a vast amount of opportunity to hike and to see the beautiful natural wonders and I want to take full advantage of that. I made the conscious decision that I did not need a person to hike with to have the discipline of going. I was going to hike, regardless of having someone to go with. In regards to safety, usually when I hike alone I pick populated hikes that I know well, like Silver Falls.

The crazy thing that started happening was not only was the weight falling off of me, but I had more energy and wanted to do more. I started being more mindful in diet and ended up hiking almost weekly. I started wanting to hike longer and more difficult hikes. I hit my 100 miles in June and decided that I couldn't stop, so I made my goal 200 by the end of the year.

The most inspiring part about the journey is the feedback from others. Not the, "you look so great" stuff, which is encouraging. But people coming to me who want to start hiking and needed recommendations of where to start. Or people coming to me telling me that they are now inspired to make changes in their life because they have been watching my journey. This completely turns my heart over ten-fold. To know that just making changes in my life and living in alignment with what I believe inspires others is the most incredible feeling in the world.

My journey is far from over. What's next? Well, I will keep hiking because I love it. I will continue to be mindful in my diet and continue working on having a healthy relationship with food. Moving further, I have started working with the Courthouse Performance Training center. I would never have imagined myself saying yes to this opportunity. I still am a little unsure being there, but thats exactly why I think I need to do it (because I wouldn't normally do that). Push my comfort zone and build up my strength. The other huge component that I will be giving some special attention to are the shame triggers that I experience around food, exercise, my weight, and the way I look.

Special thanks go to some people who have encouraged me or given me the knowledge I needed to make this change in my life, whether they knew or not:
- Cody (my brother and original inspiration to this change)
- My mother (to show her that this can be done and to be encouragement for her journey)
- Amy Hammermeister-Jordan (my WOU nutrition professor who taught me not only about food, but how to have a healthy relationship with food)
- Shawn Sellers (another WOU professor, camp family, and life friend who planted the seed of mindfulness into my practice professionally and personally)
- Katie Reynoso (my dear friend and fitness enthusiast who just encourages me being a friend and support, "commit to be fit!")
- Minh Nguyen (my boss who has been on his own journey along side of me)
- Anyone and everyone who has hiked with me in the last few months: Cara Trower, Caitlin Finnell, Heather Mullin, Matthew Hatzenbihler, and my step-dad Butch Carson
- God (my faith has been and will always be the backbone of my life that keeps my inspired in good times and gives me endurance in tough times)

Now some fun stuff!! Here are some "results" and pictures!

At the time of my brother's wedding, I was:

309lbs and a pant size of 24

At this current moment, I am:

229lbs and a pant size of 16

So far I have hiked 172 miles all over Oregon and am loving it. I have more energy and feel happier in general. I always said I don't run, and I still don't particularly "like" running, but I have had so much energy lately that I have found myself with the urge to run. Which is still crazy to me. I am just enjoying life.

I just want to be an encouragement to anyone. I know that it takes time and life is busy. But I have made the conscious choice to use the time I do have. Even though I work nearly full time, am in Corvallis 2 days a week doing my clinical internship, and am going to school full time, I make sure I make time for my health. Sometimes I cringe that I have to spend gas money, and sometimes park fees, to go hiking, but I consciously make the decision to invest my earnings into my health. There cannot be a price tag on who I want to be and my health.