Now I truly know what I have to do, time to implement the new plan #fitwinning

Dear James, Daniel and Emily,

Spent a good amount of time yesterday researching things, starting with bowel obstructions, then diverticulosis, then fiber and diet. Here is what all that breaks down to:

1. The bowel obstruction from last week was definitely a result or byproduct of my diverticulosis. Of all the possible causes for obstructions this was the only one that really fit me and what the doctors told me and found last week. Pretty much any of the other causes would have led to different treatment or symptoms or a combination of the 2. So that left me with diverticulosis, which I know I have.

2. Reading up more thoroughly on diverticulosis was very interesting and educational. I know I have the condition, and have had it for years now. And I was under the impression that I was handling it correctly and had it under control, particularly after dropping all that weight. Well it turns out I was wrong. My intermittent stomach issues that I have, the occasional pains, followed by diarrhea, etc. are just about word for word symptoms. My Dr. had given me a very general description of the condition when I was diagnosed, but he was always more focused on my weight issues. So now I have a much clearer idea of what has been my single biggest recurring health issue.

One interesting thing is that it only affects about 10% of the population, and isn't necessarily something a lot of people have or are familiar with. Which is probably why my symptoms never connected as well in my mind. The single biggest point about this condition is that the treatment is a different diet, specifically a high fiber one (you were right Mom), when I said I don't get to eat like normal people I was essentially right.

3. I do have to change what and how I eat to treat this condition. And that means a high fiber diet. I thought my normal diet had a pretty high fiber content, until I started really looking at what that means and looking at the real numbers. For someone with my condition the goal is to eat roughly 28-35 grams of fiber a day. That may not seem like a lot until you break it down, here is a glimpse of how hard it is to hit that number:

Breakfast: granola (should be high, but only has 2g)
Lunch: almond butter sandwich (wheat bread, total about 8g), apple sauce 1.5g
Snack: granola bar (again you would think higher but only 2g)
Dinner: rice with broccoli (total about 8g), water with fiber supplement (3g)
snack: peanut butter sandwich (7g)

So that was 33 grams, a good number, but I had to eat a number of things I am not accustomed to. And it certainly wasn't like my normal diet, especially the lunches. Among the new habits I will have to adopt: eating a piece or 2 of good bread with pretty much every meal, unless it already has a lot of fiber (like brown rice or beans), add the supplement 3 times a day, change what I eat for snacks and deserts. I can do all of that, but I have to balance that with trying to keep my appetite under control.

So I am giving myself a week to recover, and get used to new eating habits, then resume my running and training next Monday. It sucked to miss the race I had trained so hard for, which also meant missing out on completing the entire series. But, as Dad says, there will always be more races. I am resetting my running plan anyway to accommodate for the time off and recovery, so don't be surprised if my numbers are a little lower to start.