I started gaining weight as I entered my thirties and my career became more of a burden on my time and energy. I constantly sought the subtle pleasure delivered by washing down a salty, greasy fast-food meal with as much Coca-Cola as I could drink. With my more sedentary, workaday lifestyle, I could no longer avoid the consequences of my unhealthy habits. By fall 2016, I weighed 80 pounds more than I did during the 2005–2006 ski season.
Skiing wasn’t fun anymore; it was almost an annoyance. Weekends became respites from work instead of opportunities to ski.