Fat man walking
09/05/2006 12:19 - (SA)
Fairfield - Steve Vaught has lost more than 100 pounds on his walk across
the United States, but he's regaining his sanity.
At 409 pounds a year ago, the 40-year-old father of two from San Diego was
battling a severe eating disorder and deep depression, caused by the guilt
over accidentally killing two elderly pedestrians 15 years ago.
"It threw me into a tailspin. In the three years after the accident I gained
150 pounds," Vaught said. "When something like that happens, you lose the
ability to care about anything. You don't put value on anything, because you
know it can end at any second."
Vaught's tipping point came last year when he was so obese that he could not
walk across a department store. So he decided a walk from Oceanside,
California, to New York City would be just the cure.
He set out on his journey on April 10 2005, hoping to complete the trip in
six months. By early November, he had reached the halfway point after
walking 2 250km. After taking a break for the holidays, he resumed walking
in January.
National support
He has kept a running log of his trek on his website, TheFatManWalking.com,
which has gotten hundreds of thousands of hits, while others have watched
him on Oprah Winfrey's TV show.
"People try to make this about calories and scales, but this is about living
your life," he said on Monday, walking briskly along Route 46 - about 40km
from his goal - as cars hummed past and beeped, a large paunch still part of
his 304 pounds. "I spent 15 years either regretting the past or fearing the
future. Now I'm living in the present."
He says he's gone through 15 pair of shoes, 12 pairs of pants, three shirts,
30 pairs of socks and his own sanity - twice.
His first bout of deep depression was in New Mexico, where he stopped at a
truck stop and did not want to continue through the desert. The next time
was in an Amarillo, Texas, hotel when he went off his anti-depressants and
stayed there for seven days.
Vaught's other problem on the trail has been a lack of healthy food to eat.
Most of his options have been fast food. He says he eats what's available
when he stops, trying to stock up on carbohydrates in the morning and eat
protein about 70% of the time.
Early in the journey, he slept mostly in a tent, but he also sleeps in
motels along the route. The bearded hiker has no formal support team, but is
often accompanied by a documentary filmmaker.
Horrible and wonderful
"This trip has been horrible and it's been wonderful," he said. "But the
best thing about all of this is the people I've met."
Just then, as Vaught rested on a railroad tie just off the highway,
49-year-old Eddie Day of Montville, New Jersey, pulled up, beeping the horn
of his white sport utility vehicle. Day quickly jumped out, ran up to Vaught
and told him what an inspiration he was.
"He tells America to get off its butt," Day said. "There are people who
don't get off their butts to go to the gym in their own hometown, and he's
out here walking across the country, you know?"
Vaught said he expects to conclude the journey Tuesday night, crossing the
George Washington Bridge to New York City.