Published:
6/14/2014
My name is Eric Armstrong and I’m 32 years old. I’ve lived in Dallas, Texas and Baltimore, Maryland…I even spent six weeks in India for business. After all of my travels, I finally settled down with my wife, Jaci, in the town where I grew up…East Hartford, Connecticut. I led an active childhood…playing baseball and basketball almost every day, which led to active teenage years (I also played football and wrestled in High School). I was in pretty good shape for the first 20 years of my life. But, somewhere in my 20’s, I started to gain a lot of weight. In my mind, the weight gain was never a problem because I always thought I could go out and run a mile with no problem. In reality, I had allowed myself to swell to 368 pounds and I was barely able to take a walk without losing my breath.
In February of 2012, after years of avoiding any and all doctors, I made an appointment with one to discuss my weight. Up until that point, I tried everything I could think of to lose weight...but nothing ever stuck for very long. In my late teens, I would keep myself in shape by lifting weights at the gym and running a lot. Now, I was so out of shape, my body wouldn’t be able to handle the same workload. So, I had to start small and take it one step at a time. There wasn’t going to be a magic pill. I had spent the better part of a decade putting on the weight…I had to accept the fact that it might take just as long to lose it.
With my doctor's help, I worked out a simple plan of dieting (smaller portions, add fruits and veggies) and exercise (walk every day…even if it was only for a half a mile). It was a lot easier than I ever imagined. Since February of 2012, I’ve lost 91 pounds. I‘m still weighing in at around 280 pounds…so, I'm not done. But, I've made great strides in my goal to lose the weight.
Throughout the course of my weight loss, I started to try different outdoor activities. One of those activities was hiking…and I fell in love. In the fall of 2012, I decided to challenge myself by attempting to join the group of people who have completed the CT400, which is the name given to the 825+ miles of Blue-Blazed Hiking Trails in Connecticut. Note: it is still called the CT400 even though it has been more than 400 miles of trail for a while now.
As I set out on my hiking journey, I noticed there isn't a lot of reliable material on the web for the truly novice hiker. Most of the information out there is written by people who have been hiking their whole lives. More power to them...but I noticed they would say things like "after a short climb" and, when I got to that section of trail, I was staring at what I considered to be a steep cliff. So, I decided to do something about it. In December of 2012…Greenhorn, Blue Blazes was born!
Since these humble beginnings, I’ve hiked more than 800 miles in multiple states. I’ve also typed up recaps (the earlier recaps don’t include any pictures) for over 100 of those hikes. As I've grown to be a more experienced hiker, the site has also grown. I’ve added sections about my other activities including a section on running 5Ks…and how I went from sitting on my couch to completing all 3.1 miles…and bike riding.
My goal with this site is to document the steps I’ve taken in the process of losing weight. I hope that my friends and family, who were originally tracking my progress through Facebook, will find my trial and error(s) entertaining. But, more importantly, I hope they will find it useful and that maybe I will inspire them to get off the couch and join me. Most importantly, I hope those who stumble on this site and are looking to make a more active lifestyle for themselves...but aren't sure where to begin...will find something that helps them.
Welcome to my site!
My name is Eric Armstrong and I’m 32 years old. I’ve lived in Dallas, Texas and Baltimore, Maryland…I even spent six weeks in India for business. After all of my travels, I finally settled down with my wife, Jaci, in the town where I grew up…East Hartford, Connecticut. I led an active childhood…playing baseball and basketball almost every day, which led to active teenage years (I also played football and wrestled in High School). I was in pretty good shape for the first 20 years of my life. But, somewhere in my 20’s, I started to gain a lot of weight. In my mind, the weight gain was never a problem because I always thought I could go out and run a mile with no problem. In reality, I had allowed myself to swell to 368 pounds and I was barely able to take a walk without losing my breath.
In February of 2012, after years of avoiding any and all doctors, I made an appointment with one to discuss my weight. Up until that point, I tried everything I could think of to lose weight...but nothing ever stuck for very long. In my late teens, I would keep myself in shape by lifting weights at the gym and running a lot. Now, I was so out of shape, my body wouldn’t be able to handle the same workload. So, I had to start small and take it one step at a time. There wasn’t going to be a magic pill. I had spent the better part of a decade putting on the weight…I had to accept the fact that it might take just as long to lose it.
With my doctor's help, I worked out a simple plan of dieting (smaller portions, add fruits and veggies) and exercise (walk every day…even if it was only for a half a mile). It was a lot easier than I ever imagined. Since February of 2012, I’ve lost 91 pounds. I‘m still weighing in at around 280 pounds…so, I'm not done. But, I've made great strides in my goal to lose the weight.
Throughout the course of my weight loss, I started to try different outdoor activities. One of those activities was hiking…and I fell in love. In the fall of 2012, I decided to challenge myself by attempting to join the group of people who have completed the CT400, which is the name given to the 825+ miles of Blue-Blazed Hiking Trails in Connecticut. Note: it is still called the CT400 even though it has been more than 400 miles of trail for a while now.
As I set out on my hiking journey, I noticed there isn't a lot of reliable material on the web for the truly novice hiker. Most of the information out there is written by people who have been hiking their whole lives. More power to them...but I noticed they would say things like "after a short climb" and, when I got to that section of trail, I was staring at what I considered to be a steep cliff. So, I decided to do something about it. In December of 2012…Greenhorn, Blue Blazes was born!
Since these humble beginnings, I’ve hiked more than 800 miles in multiple states. I’ve also typed up recaps (the earlier recaps don’t include any pictures) for over 100 of those hikes. As I've grown to be a more experienced hiker, the site has also grown. I’ve added sections about my other activities including a section on running 5Ks…and how I went from sitting on my couch to completing all 3.1 miles…and bike riding.
My goal with this site is to document the steps I’ve taken in the process of losing weight. I hope that my friends and family, who were originally tracking my progress through Facebook, will find my trial and error(s) entertaining. But, more importantly, I hope they will find it useful and that maybe I will inspire them to get off the couch and join me. Most importantly, I hope those who stumble on this site and are looking to make a more active lifestyle for themselves...but aren't sure where to begin...will find something that helps them.
Welcome to my site!