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Long before the final statuettes have been given out, the awards for who looks best (and worst) in a dress are being decided. From the moment these film actors and actresses stop onto the red carpet, the world is frantically deciding, do they look good? Isn’t it interesting that the Oscar is almost a secondary award to the main award–the best and worst dress lists? These lists begin to come out before the first Academy Award envelope is opened and before the stars and starlets have even had a chance to find a drink or have their first, post-red-carpet pee.

Anybody who has any doubts about the priorities of our culture need look no further than this night. Winning for being the best actor or actress often simply takes second place to who wore the best dress, had the right hair, and managed to score the most exclusive awards night jewelry. Even the directors, producers, costume designers, writers, set designers, sound designers and more are meticulously dissected based on hem length, cleavage, tux tailoring, strappy shoe wearing and bling.

I can’t help thinking that it all feels so “High School”. The pecking order for the most prestigious film awards in the world seems to share more than a little in common with your average High School prom evening. You have the popular kids, the AV nerds, the smart kids, the jocks, the goth kids and others. You have limo rides that are probably more awkward than fun. You have folks who have poured more money into one evening that anyone ever thought prudent or even possible. And at the end of the day, it seems all anyone cares, is how they looked in the dress.

Meh.

Maybe that’s why, despite multiple invitations to various Oscar parties, I opted to simply go to the pub with my sweetie. I ate sliders. I wore jeans. I drank wine. Life is good.

So maybe I won’t win the award for best at wearing a dress. But at least I had a good time. Oh, and I didn’t have to wait three hours to pee either.

I guess it’s all about priorities.

Love,

The Fat Chick

Here in the U.S. many of us have a drinking problem. I’m not talking about alcohol here. I’m talking about simply not drinking enough water. Sure, there’s a lot of fancy stuff we can do for our health. We can drink sports drinks and down vitamin shots and so forth. But often, the thing that will make us feel better is as close as the nearest tap and virtually free.

There’s not really any excuse. But I’ll admit that I often get busy and tied up with the everyday drama of my life and I forget to drink water. Then comes around 3 PM and I’m sporting a major headache or feeling lethargic. I’m tempted to pop a few aspirins. But maybe all I really need is the glass of water.

Nearly every function in our bodies involves water:

in saliva and stomach secretions it helps to digest food
in blood, it helps transport nutrients and oxygen to all the cells of the body
in body fluids, it helps lubricate joints and cushions organs and tissues · in urine, it carries waste products out of the body
in sweat, it removes body heat generated during exercise

(from Physician and Sports Medicine, Nancy Clark MS, RD – May 1995).

In terms of athletic performance, few things are more important than being properly hydrated. The amount of water needed varies from person to person. People have different “sweat rates” and therefore have different requirements for replacing water after a workout. But the effects of dehydration on your workout can be pretty traumatic. I know when I did the marathon, I almost derailed the whole thing because I was hoarding my water and not drinking enough. I was afraid they would take down the drink stations and wouldn’t have enough for later. Mary Ann, my awesome training partner, ultimately helped me find a bar, where I stopped in to fill my Camelbak again. (And the two of us popping into a bar along the railroad tracks, mid-marathon, on a cloudy Saturday in November in Springfield, Missouri were a sight to see.) Sure it took a few minutes to do that, but at least it allowed me to finish without the massive headache that had been hampering my progress.

Wondering if you’re drinking enough water? Well my dear, the easiest way to tell is to check your pee. Pale yellow or mostly clear means you’re doing great. Dark yellow means it’s time to get some good old H2O into your system. Most people need 6-8 glasses of water per day. You may need significantly more if you drink caffeine or alcohol, live in a hot climate, or sweat a lot during exercise.

Look, of all the super fancy fitness performance advice I can give you, this is some of the most important. Make sure you’re drinking plenty of water before, during and after your workout sessions. You’ll feel great and you’ll have plenty of fluid left for blood, sweat and tears.

Love,

The Fat Chick