This post was written in Danish in March 2018 and later translated into English. Only the language changed.
Here is the story of Rod and the lost kilos 🙂
It is also a good excuse to take a “before picture”, so I can compare my body before and after my thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail.
Back in November I already sensed that I would not get many chances to train long walks and get into tip-top shape for my trip. Cold, wet weather is not exactly inviting 😉 And with the backbone of an earthworm, I cannot talk myself into it either.
So I decided that, starting 1 January, I would go cold turkey on sweets, fizzy drinks and alcohol, and at the same time start walking to work and home again. And on top of that, begin the morning with a lap of Damhussøen.
It ended up being 2 January that I started – I had to spend 1 January curing the New Year hangover with fast food and fizzy drinks 🙂
I convinced myself that by cutting down on sweets, alcohol and fizzy drinks I would lose the surplus kilos (as you can see in the picture below, a bit of old-man beer belly had crept in 🙂 )
Warning!! NOT safe for work 😉 (actually not safe anywhere)
The picture was taken on 3 January 2018. Fairly limp six-pack 😉
My knees and so on have got used to “hauling” these extra kilos around. They have been there a few years now. So by shedding them, I figure it might compensate a bit for the kilos of pack I will be hauling during the almost 6 months I am out hiking.
Whether that holds up, I have no idea, but it certainly cannot hurt 🙂
Ready, steady – leaving soon
There are now 20 days until I leave, and it has been hard! Hard not being able to have sweets and fizzy drinks, that is.
Alcohol has been a bit easier, but still thoroughly rubbish not being able to drink wine or beer when you are with friends eating good food.
I could of course have allowed myself a single glass of wine now and then, but I know myself well enough to know that one glass quickly becomes several, especially once you have tasted a good wine 😉
Anyway, 20 days until I leave on my huge adventure. I have walked to and from work several times a week, and I have kept up my morning lap of Damhussøen reasonably well too, just to add a couple of extra kilometres. All of this with a loaded backpack, of course, so the body could get used to carrying all my kit.
The lost kilos
So how did it go with the lost kilos, you might be wondering?
I shall TELL you, or rather, I shall SHOW you!
This is what I look like now.
Warning!! Still not safe for work 😉
The picture was taken on 11 March 2018. Still no six-pack though 😉
Considering how many sweets and fizzy drinks I normally get through, I have to admit I am a little surprised that dropping them has not had a bigger effect. I have not replaced sweets with other unhealthy things, or with more food for that matter. If I had started exercising (beyond my walks) I might have got rid of the belly, but then maybe I could have done that while still enjoying my sweets and fizzy drinks?
It certainly suggests they do not have that ENORMOUS an impact on my body…
If nothing else, I will definitely be taking my revenge on sweets, fizzy drinks and junk food during my trip 😉
When I get home from the trip I will do a picture comparison of before, just before, and after. So consider yourselves warned 😉
Going forward
This is my last Danish post on the site; going forward they will be in English!
My departure is approaching fast, and my vlog is also going to be in English, so I thought it was time to switch over to “english mode” 🙂
If you still have the nerve and the appetite to follow my adventure, remember to subscribe to (and ideally like) my YouTube channel.
And remember to press the bell next to the Subscribe button, so you get a notification when I upload new videos.
And of course do not forget to hit follow on my Instagram too, because there will definitely be some great pictures there as well 🙂
A thousand thanks for bothering to follow my adventure!
Regards
Rod
Gear: the full setup I carried on the PCT is on the PCT 2018 gear list.