The Trail is a chronicle a of recent decision made in my life.I am a taller man (6'6"), and as long as I can remember I have been overweight. I can remember in the fourth grade, after making a low grade on a test, having to look down at my teacher as she scolded me!

When I was in the tenth grade of high school I was diagnosed with a disease known as Scoliosis. This disease caught my parents and myself by surprise. I was forced to give up playing school sanctioned football, and underwent major surgery.

I guess that is where my weight started to get out of hand. It was not a binge type gain, but rather the slowing down of my metabolism due to after effects of surgeries and the laziness of college life.

This is about to change. I have committed to begin to free myself from the burden of obesity. I realize that this is not an easy task, nor a quick one. Having a sensitive back to high impact exercises, there must be some creativity on my part to tailor workouts to my condition.

So, as you read through this site realize that this is partly created to keep me motivated throughout my efforts. I also hope that someone out there who may be under the burden of obesity would be inspired by something I may say or do.

In Him,

Brian Manuel