Holy cow. I shudder to think what that rig must have weighed. Gives me reason to be encouraged. (I'll just ignore the age difference :-) Sounds like i should seriously consider dropping in a 24.
Prior to my four month Shanghai - Singapore tour last year, I weighed 147lb. I lost 9 pounds during the tour and weighed 138 at the end. I'm a 23 year old male. At 6' I was definitely skinny as hell. I was in average cardiovascular shape prior to the tour. I never weighed my bike, but I can describe my setup to you:
Surly Cross Check, fendered, front and rear racks. Four panniers plus Carradice saddlebag and tent on rear rack. Fully self supporting equipment: multifuel stove, cookware, two man tent, -12C (10F) sleeping bag, air mattress, water filter, two spare tires, plus miscellaneous standard touring items, cloths, tools, Lonely Planet, etc. Needless to say the whole thing weighed a ton. Almost certainly more than half my bodyweight.
I had 48-38-24 chainrings and a 11-34 cassette. I spent a month and a half slogging through the Himalayan foothills in southern China and Laos. I was fine.
My advice is to drop the inner chainring to a 24. I used my lowest gear all the time in the hills, and never had to walk.