I flew Alaska Airlines for my second hiking trip to Scottsdale this year (2025), and decided to check two bags.

I filled one with twenty frozen packets of Hazel’s raw dog food, plus ten cartons of egg whites and nine chubs of Cross O ground beef for me.

I filled the other with clothes, toiletries, hiking accessories, and personal effects.

Each of these suitcases weighed a whopping sixty pounds. I figured I’d be fine, because most airlines have a seventy-pound weight limit for checked bags.

When I arrived at the Boise Airport, I wheeled my bags up to the Alaska Airlines counter to check them…

Only to be told that they were too heavy.

🤦‍♀️

It turns out Alaska, unlike Delta, United, and many others, has a fifty-pound weight limit instead of the usual seventy pounds.

My stomach sank as I quickly considered my options.

I could throw out some of my food, or Hazel’s food, or my personal effects…

I could change my flight time, run home, and unload some stuff (even though I needed everything I was bringing)…

Or I could do what I did…

Which was to open up my carry-on backpack and stuff in twenty pounds’ worth of frozen meat and personal effects from the other two suitcases.

I crammed it so full that the zipper would barely close.

But it did the trick. I got my suitcases down to 50 pounds, and Hazel and I made our way to our gate.

After we arrived at the Phoenix Airport, I hauled that backpack – which weighed a good thirty pounds between the frozen meat and the stuff already inside it – a LONG way to get to the sky train and the rental car area.

It was a hassle, but thank God I was strong and healthy enough to do it.

(Can you imagine what an even bigger hassle it would have been if I hadn’t been strong enough?)

The whole thing was another sobering reminder of how it REALLY pays to be healthy.

It’s about so much more than how you look, or even how you feel about yourself.

Being healthy not only makes your day-to-day life EASIER, you also have more options when you get into a jam like I did – where being healthy can be the difference between a huge hassle or a small one…

Or even the difference between life and death.

I remember seeing a video a while back where an obese mom was pushing her child in a stroller, and the stroller got away from her and started rolling down a hill.

This mom was too obese and out of shape to catch it.

Luckily, a guy who WAS mobile enough to catch it ran after it and grabbed it before anything bad happened to her kid.

(I shudder to imagine what would have happened to her kid if a healthy person hadn’t been nearby.)

If you’re ready to stop living in a body that’s a 24/7 prison and be able to do the things you wanna do (including keep yourself and your loved ones safe), then the fastest and easiest way to start is with the 10 Pound Takedown.

If you’re new to Code Red, the Takedown is a fantastic place to start because it teaches you why we believe what we believe AND you can lose up to 10 pounds in 30 days (though some people lose way more).

If you’re already a Rebel, joining the Takedown is a great way to reconnect with the basics, guide new Rebels, or get back on track if you’re slipping.

If you’re new to Code Red, you should know that it’s super common for people living the Code Red Lifestyle™ to experience tangible improvements in their wellness.

Legally, I can’t promise that’ll be the case for you.

But over the years, I’ve seen thousands upon thousands of people reverse things like type two diabetes and high blood pressure; stop migraines; end arthritis pain and heartburn; and MUCH MORE.

To see what can happen for you, PLUS lose about 10 pounds in 30 days, join the 10 Pound Takedown now at www.10PoundTakedown.com.