Financially Possible

I’ll be hiking once again on June 9th, 2018 for The Hunger Project. Together let’s tell hunger to take a hike. My hike this time is to climb to the summit of Mt. Diablo. The climb is 3550 feet from trailhead to summit. I’m organizing the fundraiser for The Hunger Project using Facebook. If you’d like to invest in empowering people around the world, then please donate to The Hunger Project on my Facebook hike fundraiser.

June 9th also coincides with my having been retired for 9 months. That’s long enough to have a baby. Speaking of which, we’re doing that too! MsFinancialLiteracy has been retired for 15 months now and we have a baby on the way.

I encourage you to organize your own hike on, or in advance of, National Take a Hike day November 17, 2018. You can promote the message of demanding that hunger take a hike. Alternatively, you can promote any message which speaks to your heart. Bring light to your message while simultaneously connecting with nature and physical fitness!

Recap of the 2008 Grand Canyon Hike

Excerpts from my journal from June 2008:

After those first 6 miles, the terrain switched to a much more gradual downgrade. The view opened up into what I can only describe as a mystical experience as I saw the canyon walls stretching for miles. The power of nature was evident. The force of erosion amazed me; those small changes that display the sheer impact that time and pressure can have. It’s only fitting that The Hunger Project chose a Grand Canyon Hike for the purpose of stimulating interest in investors, since changing hearts of humans around the world is a process very similar to that of erosion. The enormity of the canyon made me feel very small.

After 6 hours and about 14 miles, we reached Phantom Ranch which is at an elevation around 2400 feet. We re-filled our water knowing that the climb was just ahead. Shortly thereafter, we reached a fork in the trail. To the right was the Bright Angel trail and to the left was the South Kaibab. Neither of us was quite certain which one was the right trail to take, so I tried applying a little logic. We’re doing a north rim to south rim single day hike and we started on the North Kaibab, so certainly we’d finish on the South Kaibab, right?

Wrong. The engineer in me should have known that, when in doubt, follow the right-hand rule. We’d been climbing for about 2.5 miles with stops about every tenth of a mile to let my mother’s heart rate go back down on account of her pro-lapsed mitrovalve. My mother was going through her water quite fast and a park ranger came up behind us asking how we were. She informed us that there weren’t any water stops on this trail and that’s when we realized we were on the wrong trail. She showed me to an emergency cache of water and I refilled both our water containers. We saw the ranger again about a mile later and she said that Skeleton Point was just ahead at which point just 3 miles of climbing were left. We plodded on slow and steady.

Not Always in Peak Physical Condition

I haven’t always been in peak physical condition. In fact, I had recently undergone a transformation prior to doing the Grand Canyon Hike in 2008.

I had recently hit rock-bottom. I was suffering from depression. I was addicted to video games — MMORPGs can be quite dangerous. I could tell I was much closer to death than I liked. I had a choice: change or die.

Reaching that moment of desperation was critical to who I am today. Being a desert creature, I rose from the ashes. I now embrace change. My favorite person to change is myself. If I want change badly enough, then I encounter no resistance at all.

Overcoming Myself

After writing this story of overcoming in early May 2008, I bottomed out at 148 pounds. Today I weigh 155 pounds having finally learned moderation. Experience was a cruel, but effective, teacher. Anything in italics I’ve just written in 2018. Everything else is my writing from 2008 with the verb tense and time phrases left unchanged.

On April 10th 2007, I weighed 272 pounds which was quite high for a 5’9″ male. I remember that specific day, because on that day I decided that I must make several changes. My body was talking to me and the things it was saying were alarming. I had joint pains, occasional back pain, minor shortness of breath, and severe heartburn whenever I ate anything slightly spicy or while trying to enjoy a nice glass of red wine. Sometimes, I’d even have heartburn just trying to go to sleep even though I hadn’t had anything but water for the last few hours. My diagnostic self-check had returned the results of utter fail. I didn’t need a doctor to tell me what I already knew…I was killing myself.

With total urgency, I stopped making excuses for why now wasn’t the appropriate time to make changes and abandoned the thought process of “I can lose weight anytime I want.” Anytime had to be right now. I gave up fast food entirely and have never had any since. I stopped consuming products with caffeine like diet sodas and coffee until, 4 months later, I eased coffee backed into my diet only after I had rid myself of the addiction. I started drinking a lot of water. I reduced my calorie intake and started thinking critically about all of my food decisions including any drinks with calories. I asked myself questions like “How am I going to get enough protein for today?”, “How am I getting my vitamins and minerals?”, and “How am I going to get enough fiber for today?”. These questions were in stark contrast to my former mode of operation…”What do I want to eat today that tastes good?”

I became more physically active with each passing month and slowly increased my calorie intake (though still reduced) to mirror my increasing levels of physical activity. I started with walking, weight lifting, and mild jogging in the spring, canceled my cable in May, added tennis in June, started to run in July, and joined a gym in August. In September, I began running longer distances (approximately 5k) and started cross-training with a stationary bike at the gym. In late September, as an experiment, I cut out all meat other than fish and shellfish from my diet and have maintained this dietary change since. From 2009 through 2016, I added organic poultry. I am pescetarian (with vegetarian leanings) once again.

In late October, I made the decision to train for and enter the 3M half marathon. This was a big deal for me, because the longest continuous run I had ever done in my life was 4 miles. Furthermore, I’d had arthoscopic knee surgery on my right knee in March 2005. I convinced my best friend to train for the half marathon with me. I set up a 12 week training program that involved 2 mid-week short runs, a weekend long run of increasing distances, occasional recovery weeks where the long run decreased in distance, and lower body weight-lifting resistance training. My initial goal was to complete break 2:15:00. As the training progressed, I revised the goal to 2:10:00. I entered a couple 5k races to get familiar with the road racing format. On the day of the race, my goal had become 2:05:00. The weather was ideal that morning and I completed the race in 1:56:37.

I’ve had people ask me if I want to do a full marathon now. It’s not in my current plans, but I do want to do things to explore my new levels of fitness. I did a single marathon in 2010 in 3:56:20. Following this, my conclusion was that the human body is not truly designed for distances this long. I’m training now for the Texas Round-Up 10k with a goal time of less than 50 minutes. I’m also training for a 26 mile hike through the Grand Canyon in May benefiting The Hunger Project.

I now weigh 160 pounds. I feel more fit than I’ve ever been in my life. While standing, sitting, or laying down, I reap the benefits of my new fitness level. Every time I take a breath, my breath feels easy. The memories of the way my body felt while I was on the brink of morbid obesity are still fresh on my mind. As more time passes, I’m certain those memories will fade, but I can never forget. I’m much more interested in fitness now and that interest goes beyond just my own diet and exercise. In early January, I had my first ever physical. I enjoy seeing other people who are interested in fitness — at the gym, at one of the Austin area’s many parks, or wherever they happen to be. When people ask me how I lost the weight, my response is diet and exercise. More often than not, this response causes the other person to be dismayed. Most Americans seem to prefer some miracle solution when it comes to weight loss. This saddens me. One person’s response to my diet and exercise story was, “There’s hope for me yet. I can do that too.” And that fills me with joy.

4/10/07  – began lifestyle change (272 pounds)
5/10/07  – 17 pounds lost (255 pounds)
6/10/07  – 33 pounds lost (239 pounds)
7/10/07  – 47 pounds lost (225 pounds)
8/10/07  – 60 pounds lost (212 pounds)
9/10/07  – 73 pounds lost (199 pounds)
10/10/07 – 87 pounds lost (185 pounds)
11/10/07 – 98 pounds lost (174 pounds)
12/10/07 – 105 pounds lost (167 pounds)
2/20/08 – 110 pounds lost (162 pounds)
5/1/08  – 116 pounds lost (156 pounds)

How Do I Eat Today?

Many people might find my eating patterns strange. As a Stoic philosopher, I have a tendency to go with the flow. However, I also impose some very strict rules upon myself.

I am content eating the same thing over and over such as oatmeal with some dried cranberries. Yet I’m adaptable to eating a varied diet as well. I generally avoid saturated fats, but have a weak spot for cheese. Nuts, eggs, and beans are my typical protein sources. I aim to eat organic, but place emphasis on the foods which are of greater importance to eat organic. Eating everything organic would be budget-busting and limit my ability to enjoy items from bakeries.

Midday, I prefer to eat foods that require no preparation or cooking just as I did while working. I am content with either a hot or cold breakfast. For dinner, I prefer to have a cooked meal as a family, but I make exceptions and value flexibility.

Breakfast is black coffee with one of the usual 4 suspects: oatmeal, cereal, eggs & whole grain toast, or just toast. Lunch consists of two fruits, whole grain bread, and some walnuts. I’m boycotting cashews (my favorite nut) at the moment as their price has increased significantly over the past two years. I’m willing to sacrifice my taste preference to keep spending at a level I’m accustomed. If I happen to be home during lunch, I’ll toast the bread and spread chunky peanut butter which is much tastier than the walnuts.

There are many similarities and many significant differences between the way that Mr. Money Mustache eats and the way that I eat.

When I overeat for a day or for two weeks, my body and mind automatically know this and I eat less in the time following. I stopped counting calories beginning in 2009. To continue doing so would be a waste of time, because I understand the necessary balance and it’s been fully integrated into my routine.

My reason for not budgeting is precisely the same. For me, budgeting would be a waste of time. I’ve known the necessary balance for a long time and tracking every little transaction would be an unnecessary burden.

Driving Toward World Peace

Today is our day to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice. World peace is ours for the taking as a result of their giving everything of themselves. We all need to work hard to ensure that their sacrifice results in the highest and best use sooner rather than later.

Ending hunger is a necessary prerequisite for world peace. The Hunger Project has the best approach in my opinion. Join with me in telling hunger to take a hike. Donate to The Hunger Project via my fundraiser hike. Organize your own hike to tell hunger to take a hike. Advocate for your own health by going for a challenging hike and use it as an opportunity to raise funds for whichever cause most speaks to you.

This Memorial Day, I remember all those who made the ultimate sacrifice. I see a future where we have no war and no hunger. What an amazing world we’d all enjoy on that day! This will allow us to turn our attention on the next set of improvements. The next big things. There will always be another mountain to climb.

Peace and long life,
Trip 子兴

P.S. I’m closing this post with a beautiful song and some philosophical thoughts.

“There’s always gonna be another mountain
I’m always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes I’m gonna have to lose
Ain’t about how fast I get there
Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side
It’s the climb” – Jessi Alexander & Jon Mabe; performed by Miley Cyrus

“And it’s one more day up in the canyon
And it’s one more night in Hollywood” – Adam Duritz of Counting Crows

“In the mountains, the shortest way is from peak to peak: but for that you must have long legs.” – Nietzsche

“On the mountains of truth you can never climb in vain: either you will reach a point higher up today, or you will be training your powers so that you will be able to climb higher tomorrow.” – Nietzsche