If I drink any more water I’m going to explode.
That’s a bit of an exaggeration, but I do have to say that there’s an adjustment period to trying to switch over your entire liquid intake into just plain old water.
And a lot of it.
A friend of mine told me that if I wanted to legitimately lose weight and get healthy, I needed to drink half-an-ounce of water per pound of body weight every day.
No big deal. It wasn’t uncommon for me to put away six 20 oz. bottles of Coke Zero a night back before I broke that habit, so I was already well on my way.
But there’s a big difference between the two.
Coke Zero actually tastes good.
I’m not complaining. But after a week of packing away a gallon of water a day – marking time levels on a gallon jug so that I know where I want to be in order to get through it – I’m starting to realize that there’s a reason that people put flavor into water to begin with.
It wasn’t always this way. When I would spend my summers traveling, I would keep a case of water in my room and would be able to knock it out within three days – and that’s in addition to everything else that I managed to consume. It wasn’t because I was necessarily thirsty, but just because, well, you’re supposed to drink a lot of water.
And guess what? I was in much better shape than I am right now.
Go figure.
But while I’m on the topic, here are some other things that I’m starting to tire of:
uChicken – I know that red meat isn’t the best thing in the world to consume in mass quantities, so while I could easily eat steak with every single meal – except for the fact that it would cost a fortune – that’s not logical. But there are only so many ways that you can dress up a boneless skinless chicken breast. Add whatever spices or marinades you want and serve it with whatever side you have lying around – sooner or later you’re just going to get tired of chicken. I knew I shouldn’t have bought in bulk at Costco.
uBroccoli – I love broccoli. And when I learned that all you have to do to cook it up is throw it in a steamer pot with a little bit of water (I’m a bit of a late bloomer) I was delighted to add it to my diet. But, sooner or later, it goes the same way as chicken – it just tastes so plain. I love vegetables would love to throw in some sprouts and peppers and kale and whatever else I can get my hands on, but time isn’t always on my side and my cooking skills are limited. So – back to the old drawing board. Any recipes would be greatly appreciated.
uFood that doesn’t contain grease – This one is kind of strange considering that I used to hate eating things that were saturated in fat and loaded up with grease. But now I’d give anything to throw down a dripping cheeseburger. They say that you want the things that you can’t have, and I don’t have any sort of craving for chocolate or ice cream or any other deliciously tasty treats. Just greasy, artery-clogging food. And I crave it all the time.
This isn’t me complaining. I’m actually very happy with the dining changes that I’ve made in my life. When I sat down with my family to eat at Easter, I had one plate – that wasn’t overloaded – and I had absolutely no urge to go back and graze throughout the rest of the day the same way that I used to during holidays. No need for appetizers. I didn’t even have dessert. That’s progress, and I’m so happy that it’s become standard to just eat like a normal person.
But slamming down water has gotten to become a chore. I’m burnt out on chicken and broccoli, and I want a cheeseburger or a big greasy pizza more than anything else in the world.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get to the next line on the bottle.
Sigh.