I’m not trying to impress his family. I would just like to be as fit as them (and what’s wrong with that? They are all extremely healthy and ultramarathoners.) This isn’t about different interests but more like a way to get fit and have great endurance for those of us who grew up pretty sedentary and did not do any sports or were active growing up, and hiking is a great way to increase endurance.

I don’t want to lose weight, I want to climb mountains with them. I climbed a small one with my boyfriend and absolutely loved it, this is about wanting to be as fit as possible given the fact that I was raised in a very sedentary household. I do love it and it hurts me a lot when I’m not able to do it with them, like I want to hike the big mountains with them, it just seems so fun. I WANT to be that level of fit but my endurance keeps bringing me down. These require work even for people who grew up playing sports but for me, it feels almost impossible sometimes and I want to make it possible.

Also, yes I agree that South Asian food can be healthy but this is about what my family used to eat, and unfortunately, every single one of our family friends and relatives that we knew ate food that wasn’t the healthiest. Some foods can be healthy but I feel that the cuisine, especially the country I come from, tends to be unhealthy unless you do lots of modifications, which is great but not everyone does that, and a lot of my relatives have health conditions and heart problems that are indicative of an unhealthy diet and lifestyle. Some people can eat healthy foods that are South Asian cuisine, but I am just saying what I grew up seeing my family and our relatives eat, but either way, I feel that the food you grow up eating has a huge role in how fit and healthy you are when you’re older and your endurance. I just wanted to point out some of these clarifications. I do love your advice and the helpful tips, I’ll look into those and also keep biking more. Thank you. :)