Thursday, September 11, 2008

A little bit hungry

Today it isn’t about writing, it’s about another goal of mine: losing weight and getting in shape.

I’ve had an epiphany, and it’s this: I need to be a little bit hungry.

Yes, I know. The good advice, that which concentrates on the good-diet-plentiful-exercise-drink-lots-of-water appproach, preaches that you don’t have to be hungry to lose weight. I believed that for so long. But it isn’t true.

It can’t be true. I am a certain weight (nope, not ‘fessing up; I’ll tell no lies here but I don’t have to share that) and a certain amount of calories is needed to maintain that weight. I am that weight, ergo I must consume that many calories. If I want to lose weight I must eat less calories than what’s required to maintain my weight. Less calories than my body needs right now. Less food than it’s used to. Less food than I’m used to.

Of course I’m going to be hungry.

Maybe a lot at first, and then just a little bit. And then I’ll get used to it. If it triggers the compulsive parts of my personality, I may even begin to like it.

But I think I’m safe from that. I don’t like to be hungry. It makes me cranky. But at least now I know what I’m in for.

Next week. Maybe.

1 comment:

Erica Hayes said...

Oh, but it is about writing, my young paduan :)

I think it was the hereabouts-esteemed Mr. S. King who said something to the effect that if the story isn't alive in his head, it's as dead as old horseshit even if the words continue to march across the page.

If we're not hungry for something -- to make a point, to torture a character and see them triumph, to get those two into bed so we can write that hot sex scene, or even just to find out what happens at the end -- then the spark will die and we're wasting our time trying to write something fresh.

If only keeping that kind of hunger was as simple as not eating. Dieting? Please. You've got it easy ;)