You always hear talk of people who exercise to 'get healthy,' not to lose weight. They make their weight loss take a backseat to the simple pleasure of feeling better every day. Truth be told, I used to roll my eyes at those people. Now I find that I might just be one of them.
**I warn you-- this post is chock full of TMI. Read at your own risk.**
I, just like millions of people, suffer from IBS. As I have gotten older, mine has flip-flopped on me. It's no longer the fear of not being able to get to the bathroom fast enough. It's now the wonder at why I never need one at all.
For some time, I seemed to have my symptoms under control. Now? Every day of my life, I feel like that poor deer that has been lying on the side of the road in mid-August heat for a week. Miserably bloated. Just poking my tummy makes me wince in pain. Trust me; this is no way to live. My jeans barely button and only my men's XL t-shirts cover the 6-month-pregnant belly I'm sporting. Not that there's anything wrong with that pregnant belly, IF in fact you are pregnant. I, however, am not.
To help find a solution to my daily agony, I have been doing tons of research on IBS and most every article reads the same way: keep a food journal (even though most doctors will tell you that food triggers are uncommon with IBS), hydrate, add fiber, and get in 20-30 minutes of moderate exercise 3-5 times a week. I do most of these things. I am getting in my 10,000 steps a day. I drink water. I take a fiber supplement. But I am not losing weight and I am not controlling my symptoms of IBS. Therefore, I am issuing myself the challenge of putting the exercise Rx to the test. I vow to hit the gym a few times a week again, solely with the plan to see if my IBS will improve.
Currently, I find myself miserable more often than not. I just want to feel normal. Thus, I am becoming one of those people I used to roll my eyes at. I am someone who is going to the gym to feel better- not look better. Don't get me wrong, if a few of these extra pounds fall off in the process, all the better.
