Temptation and 8 Glasses Water

This morning I woke up with every intention of being disciplined. I got up at 7am, cleaned up the house, showered, made a some scrambled egg whites for breakfast. I was already paranoid because I knew I had a potluck at work today. I just thought of my urge to pig out and eat everything on the table. Luckily, my coworkers have also been more health conscious and I had some pretty good options (which gave me lots of ideas). I ended up sampling a tiny portion of everything, one deviled egg plus one meatball plus a tiny bit of lasagna, and *gasp* cheesecake. Before the little event was over I had annihilated my point bank. This is a bad thing.

I was stressed about it all day, not eating another thing, and drinking water constantly to curb my appetite. I got on my bike for 30 minutes, did 50 crunches, and tried to stay moving as much as possible. I'm still new to this. I am not a professional. Most things I've started in life, I've given up on:

I quit softball when I was 6 years old. I wasn't a fat kid back then, in fact I was pretty lean, but I couldn't figure out the game. It was too much for my uncoordinated motor skills, and therefore it began, my long running bad habit of quitting. I played clarinet, took piano lessons, acting classes, and dance - never lasting in any particular field for more than a few months at a time and never giving myself enough time to get really great at anything. I never took a senior picture in high school, quit while pledging in a sorority, and dropped out of college. Now that I think about it, I never really made myself do anything I didn't want to. I never allowed myself to be disciplined or truly measured. It's a cancer that will ruin my entire life if I don't change it. I'll always be too afraid to start something for fear that I won't finish. Everything worthwhile will seem like a waste of time.

This blog, my focus on eating better, and exercise are going to get me over the 100lbs, and once I finally get there -- who knows what else I could do?

I'm starting now, gritting through the hunger pangs and trying to cover them up with water for now until my stomach finally adjusts to my decreased food volume. Water has helped immensely, after just a few days of drinking 8 glasses of water a day has made my body feel more awake. A few weeks ago I could have gone through an entire day fighting yawns and dragging my bones around work until it was all over and I could climb back into bed to sleep. I never seemed to have any energy. Now I feel so alive and the reason is so completely obvious.





Drinking 8 Glasses of Water:

• Allows your body to digest and absorb vitamins and nutrients.
  
• Detoxifies the liver and kidneys
• Flushes bacteria away from your urinary tract, avoiding infection
• Reduces headaches
• Improves mental clarity
• Protects you from illness
  
• Is necessary for better weight loss
• Keeps your skin glowing and healthy
  
• Can reduce your risk of heart attack
  

If you're drinking soda you're actually dehydrating yourself due to the amount of sodium in most sodas. If you're not replacing the soda you drink with water, you're causing your blood to be thicker ( our blood is mostly water). Dehydrated bodies have problems circulating, and as a result the brain becomes tired and it is difficult to focus, the body shuts down, aches and pains agitate the kidneys and lower back. You can become constipated and experience discomfort. Who wants to eat right and exercise when they're achy and lethargic?

Try:

• Carrying a bottle of water around and refilling it as needed.
• Its better to sit at your desk and sip than snack.
  
• Drink a glass of water before every meal
  
• It will curb your appetite and help with portion control.
• Don't wait until you're thirsty
• By the time your brain tells your you're thirsty, your body is already dehydrated.

The best part is, there are 0 calories in water, so drink up. I'll be throwing back glasses all night as I burn off the rest of those calories.