Appalachian Trail 2016: Packing

I have just finished packing for the Appalachian Trail, and it was every bit as bad as I remember it being last time.  Cramming everything I will have with me for 5 months into a 50 liter backpack was an absolute nightmare.  I managed to get everything in eventually, but there is not a lot of extra room.  I'm not quite sure what I'll do when I have food.  I might just not eat on my hike, to save backpack space.  After much Tetris-ing, I ended up with a backpack with a 20.5 pound baseweight.  Certainly nothing to brag about, but on the other hand, it is much lighter than my last attempt of the AT.  I tried putting my backpack on and the weight didn't really bother me.  I know it'll get heavier once I've got food and water, but I still don't think the weight will really slow me down.  Then again, I've been proven to be very wrong in matters like this in the past.