64oz
Remember the old diet advice of drinking eight 8 oz glasses of water a day? Well, I'm going to give it a shot...
My weight's been bothering me for a bit now, and esp. since I noticed a new level of poundage has made its way to my middle. I'm looking a little more like Mrs. Poppin' Fresh than I'd care to, and even though I've mentioned before that it's time to do something about it--this time it truly IS time to do something about it.
There's other reasons, too. Our society definitely judges women by their size. If you're too large, you are considered "less than"--not as smart, not as capable, and certainly not as sexy. There are also subtle (or not so subtle) social class implications--it's easier to "pass" as moneyed if you are thin and youthful...
The weight and size stuff kind of goes out the window if you've built a solid career and reputation as an expert in some particular field. Then, you can be as ethinic-looking (Italian, Jewish, Polish, Irish) as you'd like. But I'm nowhere near that level. I've done a lot of work this year, and there's more to do.
There's also a few age barriers that will need to be smashed, and I can't smash them looking like Momma.
Regardless of how fashionable I might dress, my body shape is very Momma. It's not sexy. It's homey. It isn't the body-shape of a vigorous, youthful woman in her second career. It's the body shape of a settled-down hausfrau who's happy with her brood.
Only I don't have a brood. I'm not "settled" and I still feel there are some Good Fights to be fought.
I don't like to have to think about these things that are so bloody, annoyingly superficial--and I find it frustrating that we are often judged by our visual appeal. Unfortunately, no matter what we do, we are living in men's visual world and our appearance, if we are to impress, must be youthful.
So, I'm trying to go at this latest round of "to diet or not to diet" with less self-loathing than normal--I'm trying to think of it as a means to a particular, pleasing visual end that might open some doors for me.
Which leads me back to the water. I actually measured out 8 oz of water, and I've found it really isn't all that much. Over a 12-plus hour day of wakefulness, drinking 8 of those won't be all that difficult. I'm not going to count extraneous drinks like soda as part of that (although dietmeisters say I can) and I'm going to have to cut down on the wine (which I usually enjoy with a meal.) I'm also going to attempt to eat more salad, and chew gum for my constant indigestion, which usually comes with dieting (surprisingly gum helps.)
I don't like the idea of sacrificing the things I've come to enjoy--fine food and good wine. One of my friends once said that we enjoy good meals because of the years we were starving young folks and had to eat lousy meals. To some degree, this is very true. When you've eaten a lot of Hamburger Helper and ramen noodle soup, the idea of going back to something as similarly lacking in pleasure is upsetting. I want my salmon with sun-dried tomatoes and basil cream! I want my lamb shank and potato pancake with carmelized onions! And I want my Austrialian Shiraz, dammit!
Yes, I'm having a hissy fit...even though the whole water thing isn't such a bad idea overall, and one that's pretty easy to accomplish in the grander scheme of a day...
but will it work? Or will I have to spend my day in gym clothes, exercising like an aerobics instructor and eating "rabbit food" so I can be pleasantly youthful.
We'll see...
My weight's been bothering me for a bit now, and esp. since I noticed a new level of poundage has made its way to my middle. I'm looking a little more like Mrs. Poppin' Fresh than I'd care to, and even though I've mentioned before that it's time to do something about it--this time it truly IS time to do something about it.
There's other reasons, too. Our society definitely judges women by their size. If you're too large, you are considered "less than"--not as smart, not as capable, and certainly not as sexy. There are also subtle (or not so subtle) social class implications--it's easier to "pass" as moneyed if you are thin and youthful...
The weight and size stuff kind of goes out the window if you've built a solid career and reputation as an expert in some particular field. Then, you can be as ethinic-looking (Italian, Jewish, Polish, Irish) as you'd like. But I'm nowhere near that level. I've done a lot of work this year, and there's more to do.
There's also a few age barriers that will need to be smashed, and I can't smash them looking like Momma.
Regardless of how fashionable I might dress, my body shape is very Momma. It's not sexy. It's homey. It isn't the body-shape of a vigorous, youthful woman in her second career. It's the body shape of a settled-down hausfrau who's happy with her brood.
Only I don't have a brood. I'm not "settled" and I still feel there are some Good Fights to be fought.
I don't like to have to think about these things that are so bloody, annoyingly superficial--and I find it frustrating that we are often judged by our visual appeal. Unfortunately, no matter what we do, we are living in men's visual world and our appearance, if we are to impress, must be youthful.
So, I'm trying to go at this latest round of "to diet or not to diet" with less self-loathing than normal--I'm trying to think of it as a means to a particular, pleasing visual end that might open some doors for me.
Which leads me back to the water. I actually measured out 8 oz of water, and I've found it really isn't all that much. Over a 12-plus hour day of wakefulness, drinking 8 of those won't be all that difficult. I'm not going to count extraneous drinks like soda as part of that (although dietmeisters say I can) and I'm going to have to cut down on the wine (which I usually enjoy with a meal.) I'm also going to attempt to eat more salad, and chew gum for my constant indigestion, which usually comes with dieting (surprisingly gum helps.)
I don't like the idea of sacrificing the things I've come to enjoy--fine food and good wine. One of my friends once said that we enjoy good meals because of the years we were starving young folks and had to eat lousy meals. To some degree, this is very true. When you've eaten a lot of Hamburger Helper and ramen noodle soup, the idea of going back to something as similarly lacking in pleasure is upsetting. I want my salmon with sun-dried tomatoes and basil cream! I want my lamb shank and potato pancake with carmelized onions! And I want my Austrialian Shiraz, dammit!
Yes, I'm having a hissy fit...even though the whole water thing isn't such a bad idea overall, and one that's pretty easy to accomplish in the grander scheme of a day...
but will it work? Or will I have to spend my day in gym clothes, exercising like an aerobics instructor and eating "rabbit food" so I can be pleasantly youthful.
We'll see...
posted by Tish Grier at 4:25 PM
3 Comments:
Good luck, Trish! You can do this, if it's what you decide you want. Wine is the one thing I really miss, but since I drink white, I've switched to spritzers. 75 calories that way.
Hey, this is just from one girl to another but I really believe in you and agree with so much of what you are saying. We live in a society today that is centered around our outward appereance and is so quick to judge someone based on their size. I think that it is awful and I hope for a day when a person is judged solely by the content of their character. Again, good luck and remember to always remain true to yourself and feel content with the way you look.
Good luck! Water does amazing things. When I'm fasting, as long as I drink a lot of water, I don't have much of a desire to eat, so it's probably good. Be aware that you will probably have to work up to the water amount over a few days if you haven't been drinking anywhere near that much recently. I think I'm up to about 100-120 oz a day. I LOVE me some water! Of course, I am fighting infections at the moment, so I'm sure once I'm healthy again, I'll drop down to something more reasonable.
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