Hiking and Meditation Helped This Guy Get Sober and Lose 350 Pounds
Scott Todd is a 31-year-old healthcare worker turned weight loss counselor from Phoenix, Arizona. Alcoholism and opioid addiction after losing his stepmom made him turn to food as a coping method. Here's how he got sober and healtho
I've actually have lost a total of 500 pounds over the course of my lifetime. Despite working really hard to lose the weight in the past, I gained it all back within a few years. The biggest factor to this weight gain was big-time depression.
I was addicted to taking prescription painkillers and drinking for many years, and it destroyed my will, dreams, and aspirations. I lost my stepmom to cancer and this triggered my journey into gaining weight. She was always my biggest cheerleader, especially while chasing my degree in Exercise Science in 2013. Losing her just made me lose a lot of my fight. I wanted to hide away from the world, and didn’t want anyone to know who I was. So, I used drugs and food to mask the pain.
At my heaviest, I was 525 pounds. Four years ago, I went to the hospital because I could hardly breathe and felt horrible overall. I found that out there the hospital when I had to go on a scale for the first time in about a year that I gained over 60 pounds since my last weigh-in. I had been drinking about a liter of alcohol a day for almost six months and I figured it was getting really bad.
I literally felt trapped in every way shape and form. I couldn’t even go to the bathroom to wipe myself without a tool at this point. I couldn’t tie my shoes while standing. I couldn't bear to stand for more than 20 minutes. I couldn’t breathe, feel, or move without some kind of pain. The only thing I felt could relieve the pain was by numbing myself with alcohol and filling my stomach. That was all I could feel at that point at just 27 years old.
I can't pinpoint a single moment where I knew I needed to change my life, but one of them was overhearing a parent tell their son they would end up like me while at a restaurant. I couldn’t say a word. I just got up and left.
The second moment was when my dad and a family friend donated $6,000 dollars to help me get a gastric sleeve. They did it because they said they believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself at the time. After my gastric sleeve in 2018, I lost 200 pounds within a year and a half. It dropped very quickly after the surgery but with the drinking it went back up to 350 pounds.
The third moment, I was driving at home after dumping alcohol down the sink the night before. I told myself I wanted to make a change in my life. The next day while I was driving I got into a car wreck and didn't end up in a police car. I have been sober for over a year and a half since from both opiates and alcohol.
My last and probably biggest moment was seeing my niece being born into this world. I knew that if I didn’t get myself together I would never see her graduate high school one day. I knew if I didn’t change my ways I would never be able to see her grow up. I needed to be that light for her.
The first and biggest change I made was to get sober. Before I did, I couldn't even think clearly or have any energy to do anything. Even doing a small amount I realize would kill my motivation and discipline I needed to have. It was when I quit drinking and started waking up early, exercising that I lost the rest in a period of one more year.
My father met someone who runs a recovery program down in Costa Rica who used to be addicted to heroin. One day, he decided to lock himself in his room for a year and study meditation and yoga to get sober. Since Covid had been going on and I was unemployed for a bit I decided that I would follow in his footsteps.
For months I studied yoga, would meditate for hours a day, and learned how to listen to my body again. I also got really big into the Wim Hof method, where I learned about deep breathing and ice baths. I would do 10 rounds of deep breathing a day and up to 3 ice baths a day.
I would tell people I was training but I had no clue what I was training for. I would hike for four to five hours a day even when I was over 300 pounds. I meditated for three hours a day for months, and was studying everything to do with physics and how to incorporate that to how the body works. I had no schedule for when I needed to work out, no schedule for when I needed to eat, no meal plan, just focusing on everything else. I noticed my stress melt away.
I worked out alone for really a lot of my journey. I would go on hikes with my father at first which helped a ton with keeping me accountable. I also just felt like since I was given a gift of being sober, I owed it to myself to actually give it my all.
I went out hiking every day because I have a goal of crossing the entire state of Arizona on foot. This came about because years back when I was over 400 pounds I wanted to climb Everest someday (and I still do), so I lowered my expectations to crossing the state of Arizona (more realistic, y'know?). The only thing that kept me motivated me at the time was everyone else not giving up on me. I have family who gave me everything to see me still be here today. They pushed me, motivated me, coached me, supported me, and still do. I am nothing without my support.
Now, my workout routine is a little chaotic nowadays since I am working a lot more. I wake up at 4:30 in the morning and am working out at 5 or 5:30 A.M., usually doing a long hike. Then mid-day I do yoga in the office, at night I like to do another hike or go to the gym and go into the sauna. During the weekend I like to go into an ice bath for about 30 minutes.
For weightlifting, I am only ever doing body floor exercises. I am more like a kid on how I go about with my exercises doing as much as my body wants to do. I will go for an hour so usually when I am done I have hit every muscle group a few times.
I noticed the most gains in my legs. Since I love to hike my calves and legs have definitely grown as a result. But I can see my muscles for the first time in my life.
I love to run and honestly whenever I get a chance to run or sprint I will take it. I went from 525 pounds and barely walking to now being faster than I have ever been. I will run needlessly in situations in situations it does not call for simply because I can!
Back in the day, my average meals were almost always poor choices. I would get off of work and go to Taco Bell, get two meals where I am having four to five tacos, a Nacho Supreme, a large pepsi, a two-liter of Dr. Pepper to take home, a Crunchwrap Supreme, and a liter of whiskey.
Now I still eat Taco Bell from time to time, but it's only one taco and an order of chips. I really watch my portion sizes the most, drink protein shakes, and a multivitamin. Rather than three large meals, I am eat a small meal every few hours as I notice that if I keep myself fueled that my body seems to function better over the day.
I'm now 175 pounds and this time feels so much different than the other times I have lost weight. I have done every diet you can possibly think of and failed them all. Truth is my goals on why I lost the weight in the first place wasn't right. I wanted to have something that I didn't have before when I would lose weight. This time I feel I lost weight so I can be myself for the first time in my life. Be comfortable with who I am.
During this transformation I hid away from everyone. I deleted my Facebook and didn't really share my story to anyone. I still am having trouble sharing my story as even though I lost the weight my mentality of being 525 pounds has not gone away. My mom and dad are so very proud of the work I have done. They are very happy to see me moving and living life in a healthy way. My ID card photo is still me in the middle of my transformation and I get all sorts of compliments about how I look versus before. I still am so shy though I try to play it off when I get complimented.
I got an amazing job as a weight loss counselor and that is still the coolest thing to say. I feel like I can actually start exploring who I am for the first time. I am trying new things that I never had felt comfortable trying before and I am trying to be social for the first time in five years. I still do not feel ready to date anyone yet but I do feel like I now know what it feels like to have someone flirt with you. I am still honestly battling the same things I did when I was big. I just now feel like I can have more room to breathe and that makes all the difference in life.
My next goal is to learn to be social, learn how to date, and continue my training. I am hoping to start rock climbing within the next few months and changing my diet to a more vegan one. I am all in for my health nowadays and do not want to ever go back to the old days. I do not believe I will ever be finished with my progress. I still have many mountains to climb before I can give my health a rest.
To those looking to get healthier, it doesn't matter where you start or how you do it. It takes the time it takes, so don't be hard on yourself if you don't hit certain goals right away. Hit the goals you can hit and eventually the seemingly impossible ones will become obtainable.
And for the love of God, don't overdo it on exercise. Most people do not know how to properly train in the gym and go way harder than they should, hurt themselves eventually, and lose all motivation to continue. Your health journey is a marathon, so please take your time, try to understand how your body operates. Once you figure it out, literally everything in life becomes more manageable. Be patient, stay persistent, peace will come when you are ready.
My weight gain was a representation of all my pain I’ve felt over my 31 years on this earth. I can run and not run out of breath, I sold my car and got a bike because I love the fact I can move my body. The world is beautiful and I'm so happy to feel that beauty. The way the sun hits my skin, the way my heart is pumping blood to every inch of my body. I’m addicted to it.
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