Spring is upon us! A time for lifting spirits, a time for new growth, a time for ch-ch-ch-changes. Which is something I myself have been trying to fully embrace, i.e. making changes. Almost a year and a half go (16 months ago to be precise) I gave up the wicked temptress known as smoking and it’s gone great! I feel better, I have more money in my wallet and I no longer smell like a greasy pork chop served up on a dirty ashtray. (/Chet) The dumping of those bad habits improved my health…but it also opened the doors for some bad habits as well.

I’m a nervous guy by nature. I’ve spoken many times of anxiety disorders and such; those times that I got twitchy were often offset by a smoke. It helped me de-stress and was a crutch to help me cope. Since I gave those up, (and have no intention of going back) I subconsciously fell to my back up vice; food. Lots of it. I’ve put on a shitload of weight and it kind of sucks. Last year around this time, I started a quest of walking and such that went well for a bit. Anxiety reared its ugly head after a bit though and it wasn’t long before I made all those positive changes I’d made moot. Again; kind of sucks. But…we press on as usual.

Here we are in spring again and I’m kind of tired of being the fat guy. In order to stop being the fat guy, I knew I had to start making some changes. So three weeks ago, changes I made and after three weeks, I’m kind of surprised by the effect they’ve had! The big change this time? No soda. I only ever drank diet soda before, but I drank way too much of it. So, I got rid of it. I got rid of smokes, I can get rid of soda easy. And I did! This coming Sunday will be 3 weeks and I got to tell you…the changes have been shocking. Before the break, I got home every day from work feeling drained. Needed a nap, no energy to speak of. Now? The daughter and I have been riding bikes, going for walks, getting chores done all that kind of stuff. It used to be a constant battle to drag my ass out of bed at 6:30 in the morning. Three weeks later? Up at 5:30, ride the exercise bike for twenty five minutes.

Now, I’m well aware that a large part of this change is mental. Bike making these changes, I’ve convinced myself to for other changes. I do know that it *is* healthier for me though all the same. And if the new found energy was a mostly mental change with the quitting soda as a catalyst? Who cares, it gets the job done, right?

So…there you have it. I’ve had some minor breakthroughs like not having to stretch out my shirt this morning to get it to fit the way I’d like and having to tighten the belt a notch which was awesome. I’m making a effort to keep the posts on this stuff to a minimum though. I got carried away last spring with it and frankly…who out there really gives a shit and wants to read that stuff all day every? Regardless…when things hit full swing, maybe I’ll post some progress pictures or something. We’ll see.

The plus side to all this healthier diet and exercise leading to more energy? It’s changing my writing slump, fairly drastically. More on that later though.
I’ve also come to realize I can’t spell exercise without the help of a spell checker as well!