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!!

The Top Ten Foods That Make Me (CF) Bloated

**I've posted this before, but a great discussion about this topic on CysticLife.org made me think to post it again**

I wanted to follow up on Mandi's great post yesterday about bubbly guts and digestive enzymes. I've compiled a list of the top ten foods/drinks that make me bloated...and not just bloated, CF BLOATED. These are very specific items from very specific places, but believe me, pizza doesn't have to be from Peter Piper to make me feel pregnant. I created the list in this manner because it also gives you some insight into 10 of my favorite things to gorge on. In fact, the little number to the right of the item would be how I would rank them in terms of my favorite to consume.

10. Frosty from Wendys (1)

9. Brachs Jelly Beans (3)

8. Red Stripe Beer (10)

7. Fried Steak Fingers from Lucky Wishbone (4)

6. Chicken Planks from Long John Silvers (6)

5. Shamrock Chocolate Milk (8)

4. 1/2 Pound Beef Combo Burrito from Taco Bell (7)

3. Sausage, Egg and Cheese Biscuit from McDonalds (9)

2. Pepperoni Pizza from Peter Piper (2)

1. Chicken Fried Rice from Pei Wei (5)

So what foods or drinks make you the most bloated? Please be as specific as possible because I would love to try your suggestions. I know, how stupid of me :)

**I did not receive any monetary considerations nor do I represent the above food products in any official capacity...unless of course they are interested. There, that should cover my butt from this new law**

Attack of the Bubbly Guts: The Importance of Digestive Enzymes

Saturday night Ronnie and I babysat for his cousin's kids. I simply adore his cousin's kids, but that's another story for another time. The important part of this story is that while we were babysitting, after we put the kids to bed, Ronnie grabbed a slice of pizza. Seeing the pizza in his hand I yelled from the couch, "do you need your enzymes?" in my most loving, nagging voice. "Naa, it's ok," he replied. Wellll it turned out to NOT be ok. For the next several hours, he was rubbing his bloated, turning, rumbling belly.

He had sharp pains in his sides, was extremely gassy (yes, not taking pills can negatively impact EVERYONE around you) and appeared to be several months pregnant. He (and the toilet) continued to pay for his pizza sans pills after arriving back home last night and this morning. Needless to say, it was a good reminder of why we tote around enzymes with us everywhere we go.

We've started to get strategic with our enzyme placement so that we can avoid incidents like Saturday night's pizza bloat. We keep them everywhere. We have a bottle in my car and 1-2 bottles in his. We have a few bottles at my house and a small arsenal at his. But he has a new favorite location: a change purse that is kept in my 'mom bag' (a purse so large that you can fit anything and everything in but can never locate something once its in there). We've found the change purse method to be the most handy because I rarely go anywhere without my purse.

Before keeping them in my purse, we'd often have to run back to the car or realize after it was too late that the car stash was out. We just always make sure that the change purse is full and we're good to go. Also, it's nice when they're in a change purse because you can avoid pulling out a huge bottle of pills while at a restaurant or with company (if you're shy about your pills). I'm not sure what Ronnie likes better about this solution, the fact that he is more likely to have pills when he needs them, or that it's become my responsibility to always be fully loaded. Regardless, it has worked for us.

Just thought I'd share our enzyme strategy. I've found that working out simple little systems like this makes it all a lot easier. Also, in that change purse, I always carry a few tylenol so that if he gets achy or a headache out of no where, we have them on hand.

How do you remember your enzymes and where do you stash them? We're always looking for new tricks!

Lack of Oxygen Headache?

6:15am: I was traveling today so my schedule was a little different than normal. I did however get to sleep in a teensy weensy bit, so I'll take that whenever I can get it. I didn't sleep with my oxygen last night and I woke up with a very slight headache. Now, let me just say, this could be for two reasons: 1) I didn't sleep with my oxygen or 2) I slept on a couch with my head in a really weird position on a slightly hard couch arm. I'm thinking that could cause a headache as well. I slept well throughout the night though and don't even remember the circumstances around falling asleep, so all in all, it was a good night and morning. I woke up with plenty of energy for Jezzabel's walk, so she was certainly happy about that!

Like the last couple of days, I really didn't have a whole lot of mucus to cough up. And it's really hard to know if that's a good or bad thing. I could be clear and not have that much mucus in my lungs OR I could be getting backed up with mucus plugs that refuse to budge. Judging on how I'm feeling overall though, I'm guessing that my lungs are pretty clear. Plus, for the majority of the time, my mucus is clear. Let's just hope I'm right in my assumption.

Total Distance: 2.0 miles Time: 37'37"

4:00pm: After more traveling I was glad that I was still able to make it to the gym. I've always gotten kind of wiped out from any form of travel whether it be by car, train, or plane. Not sure what it is about it, but I always need a recovery period of some length to feel right. I got to the gym though and did chest and back. It turned out to be a great workout! I felt really strong and was able to increase the weight on most of my lifts. I do have to admit though, I felt very bloated during the whole workout due to a little stop at McDonald's. The old chicken wrap and french fries got me. I was on the road and needed something quick. I know, poor excuse, and I paid for it. I rarely eat fast food (except Dunkin), but when I do, I get pregnant with that food every time. I waddle around for the following 4 hours after the grease and fat filled meal and feel like someone pumped my stomach full of "hard air". Do any of you other CFers out there get this? I'm guessing I'm not the only one....

Total Distance for Day: 2.0 miles