Backing up on me...

A few years ago I was diagnosed with a hiatal hernia, which basically means my esophagus doesn't close at the top of my stomach. The result is severe GERD, or acid reflux disease. It hasn't bothered me in years, unless I ate Chipotle 3 days in a row. Over the last few months it seems like the hernia has decided to mess with me. Some days it is so bad I don't want to eat. Or I am afraid to eat for fear of pain, nausea, or the ever pleasant vurp.

I used to be on Propulsid, which worked fantastic, but it has since been banned due to serious side effects afflicting the heart. I never had any issues, but I never had any issues with Ephedra and they took that away too. I am seeing my doctor in a few weeks to see if I can get Reglan, which is supposed to work as well as Propulsid but without heart palpitations. This drug causes its own myriad of side effects so I will have to see what the doc says.

Best Laid Plans

Seven weeks ago I vowed to become more active. I swore I would begin training for the half marathon at Disney in October. Did I work out? Nope. Did I change my eating habits? Sort of, but that change was mostly because my dogs make it next to impossible to eat at night. This means small snacks instead of one big meal.

To be honest, I figured it would be easy to find the motivation to exercise. What I forgot is that 3 years of inactivity is hard to undo in a few months. Baby steps are needed when converting from a couch slug to a semi-active human.

I did, however, get a pair of Thera Shoes, which for the uninitiated, is Kmart's version of the "Shape-up" shoe. The main difference between the two brands? Price. If you can get the Thera shoe on sale it can be as cheap as $20, while the Sketcher version runs at least $100. Great deal and I have to thank my co-worker for the info. I bought 2 pairs, one "nurse" white and the other "restaurant waitress" black. I have been wearing the shoes for 8 days and notice a difference in my gait as well as an increase in stamina. I still get our of breath climbing numerous flights of stairs, but my knees don't hurt as much.

I am signing up next week for the Race to Wrigley 5K. I think this is a good re-entry into running and I have a month to prepare. Now if only the weather would stay nice for a while.

Up next? Serious changes to my diet. Chipotle may go out of business.