So my summer is broken down into three aspects: Weight Loss, Hiking, and Friends. Yeah, I could add family time and work into the mix, but the above three represented what my summer boiled down to and I'm mostly happy about how it all went down. Anyway, the show must go on..
WEIGHT LOSS
So when I left the Navy in 2010, I was 180lbs. I was in this whole "don't care; getting out" phase so I started to let myself go by the time SFARP rolled around and we were derping around in Guam (about Feb/Mar 2010). I also suffered through a pretty brutal breakup in the beginning of that year, so I had to cope somehow. Alcohol wasn't the clear choice since I couldn't do it all the time, so eating awesome food would have to suffice.
Returning to Hawai'i meant a number of things: I was heading to school, and I am back in an environment which revolves around delicious (but heart-stopping) food, as well as a grandma who loves to cook. This was an excellent choice back then! I also thought that I had it in my mind to lose some weight I gain from Guam & Japan by doing things like Tabata and Insanity. The results would have been excellent, since I was down 10 pounds in under 30 days, but I was also trying to claim service-connected disability from the VA. I was forced to stop doing Insanity and Tabata due to the nature of my claim (lower back), and the type of exercises I was doing (fast interval).
A little bummed, I just stopped. It didn't take long to regain the loss weight and then some. Add more [girl] drama to the mix and getting spoiled by the way we eat here, and this once "good theory" went out the window.
Fast forward to the end of March, 2013. I was 230 pounds and still not caring about myself. I was starting to have more cardio-related issues, and I was beginning to fear what my doctor would think when my annual checkup came up. I felt sluggish when I did gun drills. I felt just plain lazy. I needed a change, so I started with (mostly) cutting starch out. I started to make use of the treadmill that just sat and collected dust. I also started running with my work gear and rifle. I started to blast through the water weight and was down 10 pounds by the time I graduated in May.
Following my graduation, I became really sick. I was out for over a week and had no appetite. For lack of a better term, opportunity struck! I was down an additional 5 pounds from the week prior. I had it in the back of my mind to take advantage of this, and that's when two blessings hit my doorstep ("doorstep" as in phone, really). So I get a text from a friend asking if I wanted to be a workout partner and go hiking with throughout the summer. Here was another ambitious person who wanted to shed some weight. From there, we started hiking one of the easiest (and busiest) hikes on the island: Diamond Head. It was a start, and it gave me the opportunity to see the island in a different light (as well as lead to other tougher hikes, which I'll cover in a bit).
The second blessing was my Dad. I called him to let him know that I loss some weight and that i'm started to workout again. He replied by opening a new door for me. He started talking to me about what he has been doing and that I should start doing the same. Intermittent Fasting is, at its most basic level, a diet which you don't eat for around 16 hours and eat for the remaining 8. The details of such is a near 0% intake of sugars, reduction of carb intake to 100 - 150g's per day (veggie-related carbs excluded), and a calorie intake based on your weight x 12 (so for me, it was 215 x 12 = 2,580). This also included spontaneous 24 hour fast days (and yes, it works better to have it random).
For me, the task sounded daunting, yet interesting. My dad said "call me in 5 days.. I guarantee you that you'll be down 5 pounds." Alright, Mr. Salesman.. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. Five days later, I was down to 210... -_- I couldn't believe it. I didn't even really change what I ate, so much as how much I ate. This, combo'd with all the hiking started this trend which has now brought me down to under 200lbs! That's results for not doing too much at all. The regiment wasn't strict at all. I had cheat days. There were days that I broke fast early or ended the eat period late, but because of the activity that I been doing, I still managed to lose all that weight.
I'm pretty proud of myself. I don't even think I loss that much weight during bootcamp (though, I was much, much lighter back in 04). Moreover, I'm not done. School time only means gym time.
HIKING
So, a rather large part of my summer went to hiking. It was to the point that I was hiking somewhere just about every week... which was the intent. As I said, I started the hikes easy enough. After all, my friend and I were pretty novice hikers who wanted to lose weight and not suck at this hiking thing.
So the hikes started out at Diamond Head. Diamond is typically an easy and quick hike which shows off the Waikiki/Honolulu skyline from over 700feet. If you're quick enough on a non-busy day, you can scale the trail in under 20 minutes (that's 20 minutes from the parking lot, walking). Obviously, if you keep doing a trail, its gonna get easier, and this was no exception. It's a nice view, but it does get repetitive and it can be crowded. At this point, I go there in hopes that one day I can jog (or even run) up the trail. I'll get there
Top of Diamond Head
Of course, there were other trails that I wanted to do to keep things awesome and to challenge myself..
Another easy trail (might as well call it a walk) is Kamehame, which is behind the dreaded Kokohead. I absolutely love walking Kamehame. It's pretty scenic once you get to the trails two lookouts.
Looking over the first lookout..
The second lookout
Yeah, we're pretty silly like that. xD
We couldn't stick to all the easy trails and I had to challenge myself. The following is from Kokohead, and Hanauma Bay
Top of Kokohead
Derp dee durr!
Hanauma Bay
Past the trail and almost to the hidden bridge.
At the ocean.
Along with additional hikes, to include Mariners Ridge and Lanikai Pillboxes, I ended up doing a trail that I would never have thought of doing. The idea of such scared the shit out of me and I didn't think I'd have the endurance to scale such a mountain. Thanks to a lot of self-motivation, as well as words of encouragement from an excellent friend, I tackled Moanalua Middle Ridge to Haiku Stairs (Stairway to Heaven). A 7 mile, one-way hike that takes you through Moanalua, and into the Pali cliffside. That's a elevation difference of 313 to 2700+ feet; most of it happening within the last 3 to 4 miles of the trail.
I was tired, sluggish, falling behind and well... this hike really humbled me; it gave me another baseline for me to overcome. I'm very thankful for having wonderful friends (who just so happened to be sisters ^_^) that helped me ascend to the top of the trail. When we made it down the stairway, it was an absolutely wonderful feeling! I was really proud of myself.
Nearly at the top of the trail..
And a glimpse down the Pali...
Top of the trail, K-Bay, and a sisters embrace. awww :)
Our Decent..
Hiking can be a dangerous undertaking. A lot of factors can play into your success of tackling a trail. On the flipside to that, its very rewarding. More so, it's more rewarding when you have friends to finish the hike with. This summer, I have hiked something at least once a week; way more than expected. I enjoyed every one. If I didn't get a view, I knew I was burning some calories, so I really couldn't complain. It was a win-win for me.
I'm still not done, btw.. with an upcoming family hike at Kuliouou Ridge this week and a possible second hike next week, the hiking won't stop for me! Expect other hikes throughout the semester, as well.
Well, that concludes the 1st part of my summer blog. I think the last aspect of my summer deserves the 2nd part.
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