(tags drink, health)
Recently I've become obsessed with drinking more water. During the summer I use to knock back 2 PET bottles of fruit juice and/or sweet drinks, and eat an ice cream everyday at work. Now my pants fit me tighter, oh so unflatteringly. I'm not very strict with myself, but I cranked up the discipline ever so slightly by changing some habits. Reading the recent post from the Positivity Blog entitled "9 Reasons to Drink More Tap Water, and 3 Ways to Do It" only encourages me to continue these new habits.
First off, I no longer carry my regular wallet and coin wallet in my pants pocket everywhere I go. It was surprising to me to find that I didn't need it that often. That means if I want a snack, I have to think about putting money in my pocket, which gives me a chance to say no. I cut back on the ice cream to one time a week, since I eat plenty during lunch. It helps that my favorite flavor is no longer available. I don't count calories, but the cafeteria checkout machine tabulates the yen cost and calories cost automatically via camera. "Oh damn, that was a thousand calories." Also lunch at work is weird because sometimes I get a meat dish with pasta on the side and then grab some rice. My lunch friend says it must be a crazy Kansai thing, because his Kantou upbringing makes him think it's weird, but he's used to doing the same thing now. Instead of an extra rice bowl, I grab some vegetables like slimy okra (ick). And I eat my petite tomatoes and shredded cabbage which I still detest.
Thus I come to the tap water angle. This isn't a recent habit, but at home I always add 1 part water to any fruit juice drink I pour. And as far as I know I am the only person at work to refill my PET bottle at the cafeteria's cold water tap. Maybe it's embarassing, because there's two hundred pairs of eyes potentially staring at me. Maybe it's unsanitary, pushing my used bottle onto the draw handle. Maybe these Japanese people prefer drinking their hot green tea. Maybe I'm the only one who likes to drink this "industry" water. Whatever, I have been doing it for a couple of months now and it's like second nature. I usually finish that second 500 ml of liquid during the afternoon. It surpresses my craving to snack. Before I stuffed my work desk with snack food, but now even though my hand automatically goes to my snack drawer there's nothing to be found. If the cafeteria is open after 17:00, I usually snack and refill the PET bottle again. At that point I can't finish that water so there's always some left over. Luckily at work there's a fridge, and I've been putting the refilled used bottle in there. When I get back in the morning, I exchange it for the bottle I newly bought. It's not a well-thought out system but I can see openings to improve.
Still with this habit of refilling, since I fear bacterial growth I buy a new bottle every day. I'm still buying the same type of fruit juice drinks but I try to avoid the sodas and even bottled water. And instead of buying them at the local convenience store, I have started buying "in bulk" 3 or 4 PET bottles of drinks at the supermarket. There's a better selection there, and I have experimented with buying the Japanese tea flavors. Still if I see some flavor like Strawberry Milk Ole (less than 1% juice) or something I grab it and quickly suppress the feelings of guilt.
I was bragging to my mom that I could change my habits and she reminded me of making my own drinks at home. What a novel thought! I forgot that more than a few years ago, I bought a pitcher to make my own cold teas. I've stopped that practice for some dumb reason, but now I should pick it up again. Also, though I don't reject the idea of filtering my water, I want to consider it someday. Now, how to decide my PET bottle disposal rotation...
So do I fit my pants again? Well, no not really. :-/ But I have to get up from my desk to piss more often, which makes me take more breaks, which makes me concentrate more. Besides, I need to sun myself more, but that's a topic for another day.
Labels: drink, health
