Milking It For All It's Worth

I am doing so major revamping to my appearance right now. The renewed commitment to overall health and well-being has me thinking about a few things.

It started about 3 weeks ago with adding tanning back into my schedule. I do not like taking 15 minutes a day for myself, it just seems selfish. That has been curbed some by taking a break at work and hitting the bed during the workday so that I am not skipping out on the kids or the man in my life. Tanning, healthy? Not for all people and in moderation. Sometimes because of my pancreas issues, I experience a core temperature that is well below the average 98.6 F. The 12 minutes of warmth is enough to hold that at bay. My skin is firmer and clearer now (you can tan and not look like leather) I can tolerate time in the sun much easier and there tends to be a lot of that. There is the obvious added benefit of feeling better about myself. That alone encouraged a lot of other changes.

Water, water everywhere. I drink it, lots of it. I cut out soda which was amazingly easy for a self-admitted caffeine addict. Once I nixed the soda, that is when water came in with a vengeance. There is a water cooler in my office that I have been assaulting lately, somewhere to the tune of a gallon a day. That has been an amazing appetite suppressant, as it always is. Fast food? No thanks. I don't really have an issue with wanting fast food to begin with. Greasy, disgusting food rarely appeals to me (unless it's pizza). I am quite skilled in the kitchen and often have friends clamoring to eat items of 'culinary whimsy' so I would much rather bring leftovers to work than punish myself by ordering out of a clown's face.

Now for my first big test - 3 day Watermelon Cleanse. It starts tomorrow, following a 2 day fast that I have been on. I hate crash dieting, I did it. It produces results and quickly, but in the long run it is an awful idea. Just to make it perfectly clear, THIS IS NOT A CRASH DIET. It is a cleanse that will be used to boost my body and clear it of toxins. After the 3 day cleanse, it will be time to start adding food back in slowly. A smaller stomach and better food choices hopefully will get me to my desired goal.

My goal? 60 lbs down from where I was a week ago. That puts me at a reasonable weight and healthy BMI. Am I ever going to be 'skinny'? Hell no. I am just under 6 feet tall, with farm girl shoulders and track runners legs. Petite or emaciated are not in my capabilities. Once upon a time, I lost about 100 pounds. I didn't do it the right way and it resulted in me eventually gaining a lot of it back. While I will be going back to some of the things that worked for me like spin class, walking, lots of water and a heavy ab routine. I will not be returning to the unhealthy things that worked for me but in the end were not of any good consequence - starving myself, getting sick, massive amounts of energy drinks and body obsession. Body obsessed women are usually condescending, bitchy, self-absorbed drones that are so insecure that they worry about it to the extent of being a bore. Not on any list of appealing attributes for me.

What does the title have to do with any of this? An epiphany happened a few nights ago in a joking conversation had between me and the man in my life. There was a joke about old people and how they are all lactose intolerant. There is a reason most people become lactose intolerant as adults. We aren't meant to consume large doses of dairy. We are mammals, we are omnivores. That means we are meant to consume animal meats and vegetation. We aren't cows, so why are we all consuming cow milk? When was the last time you heard of any other mammal drinking milk as an adult? Don't tell me cats, because it makes them sick too. Ask your vet...cats + cow milk = diarrhea. You don't see that, because they know they aren't supposed to. Animal instinct is an amazing thing! Don't get me started on soy milk, coconut milk or almond milk - those aren't milks, those are juices. All of this health consciousness has led me to something I am sure the household might not like. Limited dairy. Yogurts will still be available, low fat and natural cheeses will still be in the fridge. Finding a gallon of ice cream in there is not going to happen, nor is there going to be milk at every meal. Calcium can be supplemented in other ways that won't wreck the digestive system. I will be healthier and I will not be milking it for all it's worth.