231.9 lbs, Limping, 120 Days to Go | The Appalachian Comeback Begins

It's February 7th. Today the scale will tell the truth. Four months from now I want to step onto the Appalachian Trail for 21 days. Right now I need to see where I stand. It's February 7th. The scale read 231 pounds point nine. I didn't round it up or down. My left knee is swollen. I'm limping. Four months from now I want to step onto the Appalachian Trail for 21 days. Right now I'm not ready. This is the honest starting point. No pretending. No filters. No excuses. Just the truth. I didn't get here overnight. I drifted. Too many late meals. Too little movement. Too much comfort. I carried weight I didn't need to carry. On my body and in my habits. Every extra pound presses into that knee. The trail won't adjust for me. It doesn't care about excuses. So I won't make any. The plan is simple. For the next 120 days, two meals a day. No food after 5 p.m. Meat. Small rice. Vegetables. No junk. Walk every day. Kettle bells. Mobility for the knee. Archery. Firecraft. Ultra light gear preparation. Everything I do between now and June 7 is preparation. I'm not trying to look better. I'm trying to be ready. I'm removing what doesn't belong on the mountain. This isn't about abs. It's about alignment. I want to walk into the mountains strong enough to enjoy them again. I cannot carry 50 unnecessary pounds and expect my knee to survive 21 days. So I remove it one disciplined day at a time. In 120 days, I step onto the Appalachian Trail. Between now and then, we rebuild. Epictetus said, no man is free who is not master of himself. So in 120 days, I'll be hitting the Appalachian Trail and I'm going to be hiking for 21 days. There's no way I can do it right now because I'm carrying the extra 50 pounds. My left knee is inflamed. So I need some mastery in the realm of comfort and eating. Right now, when I get stressed out, I'll go to the convenience store, grab a Coke, some chips, things like that. So there needs to be some boundaries and discipline in the area of eating. So the basic boundaries that I'm going to be putting on myself, the discipline, is stop eating at 5 p.m. I usually snack late at night and that's a problem. That's what's gotten me to extra 50 pounds and limited to what I'm able to do. So I can't do what I used to do and go hiking and be on the mountains and have the strength that I have. So that's one big boundary, 5 p.m., stop eating. The other boundary is two meals a day and those two meals are protein, vegetables, and a small rice. So that's the path and I hope to carry less and become more in this journey.