Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Changing it up a bit...

For the new year, Mandi and I have decided to change up our routine a bit. We'll still be going for daily walks, but we're going to try to commit to the gym 4 times a week plus running 4 times a week PLUS (and it's big for a reason) pay more attention to what we eat. Now I know the first thing many of you are thinking is "What? He needs to just eat everything in sight!", but for me, I'm blessed to actually be in a position to "diet". We're not talking the celery and water diet or anything crazy like that, we're just talking about focusing on more well balanced meals. I'd also like to eat smaller meals throughout the day instead of eating until my stomach explodes at dinner. I've gotten to the point where my clothes are actually uncomfortable at times.

Many years ago I was diagnosed with gastroparesis. I don't want to bore you with the text book definition, so let's just say that instead of digesting my food in 2-4 hours, it takes 4-8 (or something like that). I'll often look and feel pregnant after a meal and if I go into a coughing spree, the meal with often come out looking like it did when it went in. I'm hoping that smaller meals will not only help with this issue, but also help cut down on some of the bloating throughout the day.

Who am I kidding though? I also need to lose a little bit of my belly fat. I'm getting older. I'm slowing down. All of the fat on my body seems to be collecting at my belly. I want to change that. Sounds simple enough right? It should be, it's only science. Calories in, calories out. So while I'm eating smaller, well balanced meals, I'll also be making sure to be hitting up the gym and keeping up with the running. Calories in, calories out.

I'm also looking forward to seeing if I feel better overall by doing this. I've done it once before, but it didn't last very long and I forget how it actually made me feel. Hopefully this time I'll be more aware of it's affects and I can share it with all of you here. And of course, if any of you have any suggestions, I'm all ears!!