Just shared this excerpt with a friend confronting the colon prep demon for the first time: “High-intensity training makes me tough. And speaking of tough, I simply must share my colonoscopy prep story—yes, really! This is a big deal for me (Mom had it once, Dad twice). I’ve always felt grateful to have this as my health legacy because it’s one I have a lot of control over with diet and testing. But oh, the dreaded testing. There are more expensive ways to prep with less drinking, but I’ve always opted to keep the extra $70 in my pocket and glug. But after years of enduring this agonizing ritual, this time was different.
As I stood at the kitchen counter, preparing for the first glass of misery, a thought appeared. What if I treat this like a high-intensity workout? I made eight marks on a piece of paper and, instead of drinking, slammed the liquid down and x-ed the first mark. I set the fifteen-minute timer and waited for the next “round.” Slam, mark, set timer, wait. Slam, mark, set timer, wait. And instead of spending the fifteen minutes waiting and dreading the next round, I felt the old workout adrenaline rising and waited for my next chance to “kill it.” It had never been so easy. High-intensity training had spilled over into colonoscopy prep—and every other thing in life that’s difficult.”