Hiking Her Way to Health: One Woman’s 260-Pound Weight-Loss Adventure.

This is April’s story.

April, your story is amazing! Please tell us about your health journey. How long have you struggled with obesity?

“I have been heavy all my life. I remember wearing a women’s size 5 in 4th or 5th grade. I was big throughout school. I think over the years I just kept getting bigger and bigger, honestly. The more weight I gained, the worse my depression and anxiety grew. It was a never-ending cycle.”

What type of health issues did obesity cause you?

“Honestly, I don’t have a list. I refused to go to the doctor. I don’t even know what my heaviest weight was. A regular scale from Walmart wouldn’t weigh me. When I went into a gas station and weighed on the scale you have to pay to use, I weighed 383 pounds. I had been “dieting” for about 6 weeks at that point. That’s why I say my starting weight was around 400 pounds. After watching shows like ‘My 600-Lb Life’, I realized it could have been more than that with water weight. My family thinks I was even bigger, but I honestly don’t have a clue.

I didn’t have health insurance and couldn’t afford it. I got diagnosed with sleep apnea and high blood pressure, when I still had health insurance. I am not sure if I was diabetic or not, but I am sure I was either diabetic or pre-diabetic for sure.”

“I have tried to treat my journey like I am a recovering addict.”

What type of mental and emotional issues did obesity cause you?

“Whew, a slew of emotional issues, for sure. I was depressed and still have anxiety issues. I honestly don’t think that you can be morbidly obese and not have mental/emotional issues. I was addicted to food; I have tried to treat my journey like I am a recovering addict.”

What role did stress and anxiety play in your struggle with obesity?

“I understood for a while that stress and anxiety played a critical role in my obesity struggle. Recently I have come to realize how much my hormones and mood affected my life. Stress causes Cortisol levels to rise in your body and it wreaks havoc on your body in so many different ways. I came to the realization that I was an emotional eater. I ate my emotions, and now I hike/run my feelings. I turned to food to soothe me when I was overwhelmed, depressed, or anxious.”

How much did other people’s attitudes and actions influence your ability to lose weight?

“My family, my co-workers and my gym family have had such a phenomenal effect on my ability to lose weight. Their support has had a huge impact on my “adventure” as I now like to call it. My family has always been supportive. My husband hikes and adventures with me and says he “diets” with me. My oldest daughter and her family have cheered me on. My youngest daughter has now embarked on a weight loss ‘adventure’ of her own. My family has always been supportive. My parents have joined me on hikes and have cheered for me and done countless things to help me along my journey. 

My sister has always been a source of encouragement as well. She is someone I can talk to about my nutrition who understands about its importance and helps me. She has also been my biggest supporter, as far as the fitness side of it. She introduced me to my trainers and made a way for me to be able to go to the classes they offered for the beginning of my fitness journey. 

My brothers, their wives, and my niece and nephew have always cheered me on and encouraged me. My brother Michael and his wife Sissy have really encouraged me by sharing their own hiking adventures with me and giving me tips and tricks about hiking. My in-laws encourage me as well, and they keep our dog when we are out of town on hiking trips.

My boss is great, he always makes sure to get me lunch and make sure it follows whatever nutrition guidelines I need. He also encourages me to hike and run and has given me off early or days off to be able to go on my many adventures. 

My gym family encourages me and pushes me every single day, whether it be my trainers or the people I work out with – we push and encourage each other. The ladies I work out with had a good time at a Muddy Princess run a couple of years ago. My friend Allison and I run 5ks together and train together for them. We also have done some fun things together as a group, like white water rafting. My family, co-workers, and gym family have made it so much easier to lose weight. We have found some fun things to do together, and some fun things to train for that gives us goals to reach to be able to do them.”

What was your breaking point? When did you hit rock bottom?

“I think this answer is two-fold. It all kind of came to a head when I was going through a very stressful period at work. I decided I needed to fast and pray. From there I realized I didn’t need food quite as much as I thought. I also wanted to be around for grandbabies and to be able to play with them, after I had a great-niece born. I realized I couldn’t play with her like I wanted to. I have said all my life if I ever lose weight, I want to hike in the GSMNP [Great Smoky Mountains National Park]. My grandfather was born there, and I said if I ever lose 100 pounds I was going to hike there. I wanted to hike certain trails where my ancestors lived. That was my motivation.”

How did you begin your journey to healthiness?

“I mainly did keto [ketogenic diet] and intermittent fasting to begin with. After I lost about 100 pounds, maybe even closer to 150 pounds, I did try to hike. I got about a mile in on a trail and realized I was going to have to get in shape. I started in the gym, then hit or miss. But I felt so much better, so I tried again a few months later and I did hike some trails. 

I started seriously researching hiking in the Smokies and realized if I was going to do this I had to get into better shape. I started going to the gym every day and walking on the treadmill and eventually the elliptical. I had a friend invite me to go with her to a gym class. I went and really, really struggled. But I wanted to keep going, I wanted to be able to hike. 

My sister invited me to go to her trainers and I did and haven’t looked back since. It is by far the best thing I could have done. They listen to me and talk to me about my goals and help me achieve them. This class is mainly resistance training – working on different parts of the body one to two days a week. I also train on my own now on the days I don’t have off to run 5ks. Before that I walked on the treadmill or did the elliptical.”

“I wanted to hike certain trails where my ancestors lived. That was my motivation.”

When did you become interested in hiking and other outdoor activities?

“I have always, since I can remember learning about hiking, wanted to do it. I remember going outside when I was little and walking in the woods. Honestly, I don’t know what made me stop. I love the history surrounding the Smoky Mountains and my family ties to the GSMNP. We also have a few trails in Mississippi and Louisiana that I have enjoyed hiking. As far as the 5ks go, I ran one last year for a local fundraiser for a cross-country team, that a dear family friend of ours puts on in memory of their son, who grew up with my daughter. He was tragically killed in a car wreck several years ago. My friend Allison encouraged me to run with her on the days we don’t have class and we have run several 5ks since then. Most of those have been fundraisers for various local groups.”

“If you can’t walk a mile, then walk half a mile, or even a quarter mile. Do that for a week and then add in another quarter of a mile, or half mile. Build up to where you want to be.”

Many of us feel that we are unable to “get out there” and enjoy outdoor activities due to our size and adverse health conditions. How did you overcome this thought process?

“I lost a lot of weight before I was actually able to get out there. However, I certainly wish I would have started sooner than I did. I could have enjoyed so much more than I did if I would have. I think a lot of people feel like they have to be able to do everything all at once – that they have to walk the whole trail or run the whole race, when they could walk it. I didn’t finish my first trail, I only got about a mile in. If you can’t walk a mile, then walk half a mile, or even a quarter mile. Do that for a week and then add in another quarter of a mile, or half mile. Build up to where you want to be. It takes time. 

I went from being almost immobile to hiking the highest mountain in Tennessee and running 5ks. Anyone can if I can. I also try to find things that make the hike or the run interesting.  I love to find “hidden gems” while hiking. I also love to take pictures of flowers, mushrooms, wildlife, etc. I know some people love to geocache and find new things. Make it exciting for you. Do what you enjoy.”

Did you experience setbacks and if so, how did you push through them?

“I took off six weeks from the gym when my grandbaby was born to help my daughter. After all, that is was one of my motivators! It was also the holidays – Thanksgiving, Christmas, then New Year’s, so on and so forth. When I started back in the gym, I was like “I can’t do this again”. It was like starting over completely. But I took it one day at a time and kept going. 

Recently I started to have knee problems. I had to let my knee rest and baby it. This is a process – it’s an adventure, not even a journey because a journey has an end, but the process will never actually have an end. It is something that I will have to work on the rest of my life. I have had to tweak what I am doing in the gym and my nutrition so many times that I have lost count. When your body is smaller you need less calories. Your body gets used to what you are doing in the gym, and you may have to change something up to get results.

Adding carbs back in was a BIG one for me. I did keto for so long that I was honestly scared that I was going to gain all the weight back. Adding carbs back in a was a game changer, especially with the resistance training part of it. You really have to take portion sizes into control when you are looking at carbs.”

What has been your biggest motivator?

“When your why is big enough you will find your how. – Les Brown. This is one of my favorite quotes ever. My biggest motivator had been being able to do things with my family, especially my precious grandbaby. I certainly want to be able to play with her, to roll around on the floor with her, to run with her, to pick her up. I also want to be able to do things with the rest of my family – my husband and daughters and son-in-law.  I also want to be here a while. I heard someone recently say they wanted to be able to lift 9 pounds at 90 so they could hold their great-grandbabies. That sounds like a worthwhile goal to me.”

“I didn’t realize until I started getting out in nature, how much it grounds me. “

In what ways do you feel that nature has healed you?

“I tell everyone I am basically a plant. I need air, water, sunshine, and movement to live. I didn’t realize until I started getting out in nature how much it grounds me. How much a part of it my mind, body and spirit want to dwell in it. To be honest, all those things that you feel when you are tense, release in my body when I am out in nature. I feel my shoulders relax, I let out a long breath, etc. 

For a long time in my life, I heard people say, “Shopping is my therapy”, “I need a glass of wine to unwind”, or a hot bubble bath, and I judged those things as selfish. I didn’t ever understand that was their therapy, and that taking care of yourself was by no means selfish. My daughter went to counseling and the counselor told her to go for a walk outside for at least 30 minutes a day. I didn’t understand it then, but I do now. 

I also think we can learn a lot from babies. Have you ever met a baby that didn’t love being outside? Have you ever met one that didn’t love to move? Have you ever met one that didn’t love water? I think those are things that are innate within us, that we are born with. [I believe] that God puts a desire in us and that is what He gave us to help us when we need it.”

Who are your biggest supporters, and how important do you feel it is to have a team on your side?

“My family, my co-workers, and my gym family by far. They keep me motivated. They have also encouraged me and yes, sometimes dragged me kicking and screaming, into a better place. They have helped me to realize how much I enjoy what I have now come to cherish in my life. I have also shared my journey on Facebook and have had so many people in my community and some of the groups I belong to on Facebook, encourage me a lot.”

What is your biggest takeaway from your journey – what are you most proud of?

“A former co-worker of mine is doing a project about people who encourage him, and he asked me to be a part of it.  He asked me to give him one word that describes my journey and I told him “consistency”. 

The biggest takeaway I can give anyone is to be consistent, consistent with your nutrition – it is 80% nutrition and 20% movement of your body that decides your weight loss after all. Eat to fuel your body. If you are obese, or morbidly obese, you have plenty of fuel to fuel it.

Be consistent with your exercise as well. Keep at it – do it even when you don’t feel like it, that is when it counts the most. I don’t mean if you are deathly ill to still go exercise, I am talking about when you just don’t want to. I have found out that 9 out of 10 times it is my brain saying you can’t do this instead of my body not being able to do it. 

My body has come through for me and done things that I never in a million years dreamed I would be able to do, when in my mind I was thinking – “you can’t do this”. I had to talk to my inner mean girl and tell her to sit down and shut up more than once. She doesn’t show up too much anymore but is still there every once in a while. Being consistent will give you the tools you need to succeed on your journey. 

There are several things I am proud of in life. I am most proud of the two children I have raised. My girls bring me so much joy. I am also proud of the fact that I was healthy by the time my grandbaby was born and I was able to be there playing an active role at her delivery, which is something I never could have done prior to. My #2 thing is that I have lost 260 pounds and #3 is that I have hiked 300+ miles in the GSMNP. I am just glad I am going to be around to see my children’s lives continue and to see my grandbabies grow up and be able to have an active role in their lives.”

“The biggest takeaway I can give anyone is to be consistent.”

What’s next for you?

“I would really love to be in the 900-Miler Club, that is a group of people that have hiked all the trails in the GSMNP, I would love to hike the AT [Appalachian Trail] and the PCT [Pacific Crest Trail], and other long trails. I also want to do some back-country camping, spelunking and snorkeling. I plan to continue to run 5ks as a hobby.”

What advice would you give to those out there who feel trapped by obesity?

“I think most people feel like they are doomed to be obese forever. I was right there with you. I had tried so many diets and failed. The thing was, is I would lose weight, have one bad meal and think I had ruined everything so I might as well give up. It never dawned on me that I could just pick right back up and make better decisions and keep going. And the more I did it the easier it became. 

As I mentioned earlier, I had a food addiction. I was addicted to sugar, over processed carbs and highly palatable foods. You have to decide if those foods are more important than your goals. I have learned that I was destroying myself by consuming them. I wasn’t treating me well. I didn’t treat me well because I didn’t think I was worth it. I treated everyone else better than I treated myself. I would never speak to another human the way I spoke to myself. I would never encourage another human to take care of their emotions with food. Why did I do it to myself?

Take time to learn about the nutritional value of food and how it fuels you. Try to understand portions and what specific foods do for you. Find new ways to deal with stress. I ate my feelings. I think a lot of people that are obese do just that – when they are stressed, they turn to food. I have found a new thing to turn to – moving my body – being in nature. You can too.”

Is there anything else you would like to share?

“The process of getting healthy is an adventure, not a journey or a diet. It is a lifestyle change – a process. You have to be willing to adapt and forgive yourself and to learn along the way. You will not wake up every day motivated; you have to be consistent even if the motivation isn’t there. 

There are so many days when I was on a treadmill or elliptical, I would say to myself “You are doing this for Renny D (my grandbaby) or Hope and Sarah (my girls) or Luke (my husband)” and then all of a sudden, I was saying – “You know what? You are doing this for you.”  And now I don’t have to have those conversations with myself anymore. My body actually craves movement now. I don’t know when it changed for me, I just know that it did. And I don’t have to tell that mean girl in my head to sit down and shut up too often anymore. For anyone who is struggling with their weight, this is by far the best decision for me. This adventure has changed my life completely.”

“You have to be willing to adapt and forgive yourself and learn along the way.”

Just as naturalist John Muir famously observed, “The mountains are calling, and I must go.” April Cook put one foot in front of the other and courageously answered that call.

Have a similar story? I would love to hear from you! laura@peaks4pounds.com