In two years, I will hike to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa. Of course, as I write these words I have no choice but to think about how utterly absurd they are. Despite being morbidly obese and unable to afford to move out of my in-laws, let alone go on a trip halfway across the world, I am resolved to this insane course of action. In fact, it is in many ways because of these things that I am so committed to reaching the peak.
For years now, I have tried halfheartedly to reverse the effects of poor diet and exercise. I have made any number of resolutions, plans, and guides only to give up on them and return to my old ways within a month or less. The fact is, if I want to have any hope of living to see my son graduate from high school, what I need is a new way of thinking and living; a quick-and-easy diet, procedure, or medication simply isn’t enough. That’s fine with me though, because I do not want a quick fix. In fact, I do not even want to be skinny. Those things are, in the long run, relatively easy to obtain. What I truly want for myself more than anything is the hardest and most complex path of all: to be healthy, and happy with myself.
It is with this goal in mind that I have aimed my sights at the summit of Kilimanjaro. For the longest time, I saw my goal to simply be the loss of weight, and any attempt I made to fix it was discouraged by progress that was too slow, or simple burn out. Recently, I have focused more on health, and have begun making attempts to fundamentally change my lifestyle. However, with no concrete reason to remind me, consistency has been impossible.
It is my hope that this journey will provide me with the missing pieces of the puzzle. With two years of preparation ahead of me, I aim for it to help me develop a lifestyle change, rather than just a quick loss of pounds. I will have the time to do this right, and will be able to truly eradicate my bad habits instead of merely slipping back into routine once I’ve reached my goal. In other words, it is my hope that the journey I start today will never end. However, since the clock is ticking I'm hoping it will create a sense of urgency and motivation. I will have something to remind me every day to continue making those small, but fundamental changes. Small failures that used to be devastating will be manageable, but there will be the need to correct them quickly.
So, I invite you to follow me as I engage on this quixotic quest. Success or failure, I will document my journey and the changes, physical and emotional, that I encounter.
