Travel blog: Friends & Nature in Vancouver
A thrilling and mind-opening experience.
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Lately Iāve had the pleasure of taking a vacation to Vancouver. I got to meet one of my great friends Liam Sturgess as well as others from the good fight of those difficult covid years. As far as āinternet friendsā go, it felt great that they are every bit as amazing in person. Long overdue, but Iām very grateful I was able to make it to the occasion that brought this together. In addition to the main celebration, I got to spend some much needed quality time with my other half, who took charge of much of the planning on our end. She was very excited to experience the richness of nature out on the west coast, and I was thrilled to be schooled on the beauty that is out there. It was very lovely to breathe fresher air and be surrounded by so much lushness and color.
This was also a fantastic opportunity for me to take a bit of a break from my intense weight loss journey and get even further out of my comfort zone in other ways. Last time I flew, I was visiting family when I was over 500lbs. That was a massive ordeal and was very close in mind during this trip. I definitely appreciate the advantages of having gotten below 300lbs. In hindsight, the trip felt like the best way to celebrate truly transforming my life, and what waits for me as I progress further.
I am quite shocked to say I managed to cross the Capilano Suspension Bridge and did a large amount of hiking on much steeper terrain than Iām used to. Despite still being obese, It was so very gratifying to be able to do so many activities without feeling at all constrained by my size and cardiovascular capacity. The outings I took part in really showed me not only how important every pound lost was, but also the major difference the fitness level Iāve reached makes. In many ways this trip was a productive ābody image resetā because Iāve gone from feeling like Iām ābasically doneā to having a more firm grasp of what would be different from where I am to where I aim to be.
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I really had a great time. I did not expect to have both my understanding of how far Iāve come, and how much further I had to go put into perspective at the same time. Up until this point, the more progress I made the less clear future changes seemed. As I continued to make new lows, it became easier to take the changes for granted. I canāt express how blessed I feel to have had the chance to go from feeling almost entirely isolated and immobile, to doing all these fascinating outdoor activities. So many of the smallest experiences really stood out to me in different ways. Some highlighted how great it was to be more capable, others made it explicitly clear to me that there is still a great deal of benefits to shedding the extra weight I still carry that felt normal for so much of my life.
I did certainly indulge and let loose during this time. I was struggling to make progress before leaving due to particular stressors getting the best of me. Instead of succumbing to a shame spiral, I decided that a week of indulgence is not going to be the thing that makes or breaks my long-term health trajectory. I used the experience as an opportunity to better understand what my remaining challenges with food actually are, and certainly learned a great deal. It would seem that having the luxury of observing my eating decisions without worrying about them helped a great deal. It really gave me a much clearer idea of where I am, and what still needs to change.
It feels thrilling to be rested and motivated to really take on what remains. It was reinvigorating to have the chance to do something radically different and get to experience things far outside my ordinary routine. I feel entirely recharged and Iām ecstatic to push forward on my weight loss journey and my ambitious programming projects. I miss the wonderful and encouraging people from my gym, and I canāt wait to be around them again. With eating back under control, (without the previous stress, pressure and panic!) I feel in a much better position mentally to work on my programming projects and updates.
I'm loving every lesson that life is putting on your way. It's so great that you can get the positive encouragement of what continuing your journey would bring, and let go of the negative motivators of panic, stress and pressure. And Gabe, you're looking so handsome! I'm so glad you finally met Liam after all of the excellent connections in your life. I remember when travel seemed entirely out of your reach. When winter hits and you need a break from it, come visit me in California and stay in my Garaj Mahal. Let's keep those positive incentives going! I would love to meet you and your most significant other.
Looking great Gabriel. Very proud of you my friend for your personal journey getting back into a healthy body. Props. Also watching you on The Corbett Report now.