Think Oasis, Not Desert

I went in yesterday for a deep tissue massage, not because I was looking to pamper myself, but because I could barely move my right shoulder. I must have pulled it doing something--sleeping or bringing it on the mat--I'm not really sure.

After just a few touches and feels, my massage therapist declared in not the kindest voice: "Girl, you've got a lot of issues." I imploringly responded, "Yea? What do you feel?"

She first noted how many knots I had all over my body, particularly in the shoulder area. "What you needed to do," she said, "was stretch." Ugh, today is the day of confessions. I am such a beast when it comes to bringing it on the mat, but I often neglect to treat my body gently by stretching it after it has taken a beating.

Wait, we're not done with confessions just yet....

Next, my masseuse noted that with it being over 100 degrees out, I had not come in with a single drop of sweat on me. "What can I say," I coyly replied, "I'm not a sweaty girl." She was neither amused or unamused; she simply gave me a mini-lesson on how our bodies hold on to every bit of water when we don't hydrate enough.

My body, my poor body had become a desert. There is water, water all around me, yet I had only given it a few glasses of it per day to drink. No wonder despite my stellar diet, my Slim in 6, and shrinking waist, the number on the scale was going up. I was and have been dehydrated!

Boys and girls, I knew better, and yet, I simply forgot to hydrate! My pains, she said, could very likely be due to dehydration.

"Drink water," she said, "Lots of it and you'll see that you feel much better."

Obediently, I came home and drank water as if there had previously been a drought. Oh wait, there had been a drought and I had created it!

To my surprise (well, not really, I was more like DUH, Barbie!) the number on the scale went down by 3 pounds. Indeed, my body had been holding on to every precious ounce of water. I also, um, miraculously or maybe predictably, feel so much better. Duh!

Boys and girls, LET'S DRINK UP! If we want to lose weight, get fit, avoid injury and pain, we must get our H2O fix, at least 8-10 glasses of it per day!

Bring it!

Barbie