sigh of relief.

WOW!!!! I have had a really interesting few days. On Wednesday a good friend of mine had a birthday, in fact he is one of the inspirations for my south beaching. He bought a beef tenderloin to share with us and we all cooked it up together on the grill, along with vast amounts of veggies and salad...luckily I did not touch any wine and I say this for a very important reason, I awoke on Thursday to a frantic email from my manager saying the Lyric opera of Kansas City needed a Gilda to cover and possibly go on, on Friday night for their indisposed singer. I thought to myself 'hey, if I can quit sugar for a month, I can do ANYTHING'...yes, you are right that is a ridiculous line of reasoning, something I worked out a few hours later when I was about to make my debut to a packed house in Kansas City with 2 and a half hours of staging rehearsal and very little sleep under my belt...anyway to get back to what i was saying, usually birthday parties are celebrated with wine, especially when you think you have nothing to do the next day, and usually you wake up with a bit of a hangover the following day, luckily I didn't, as I had to relearn Gilda in a few short hours. The last time I had sung it, was over 5 years ago in SA, and SURPRISINGLY little came back to me. I knew the Caro Nome and most of the quartet still, but I had another 6 pieces to learn, anyway I started trying to cram it back in, and by 9 that night I was flying to KC. Upon I arrival I listened to the opera again, and slept really fitfully for around 2 hours. Most opera singers I know I have one specific anxiety dream. It entails us being forced onto a stage in a role we don't know...I was actually living a slightly scaled down version of that dream. I had a fitting on Friday morning at 8 thirty, then a coaching at 10, and finally a staging at 1. I managed to get back to the hotel before the show, BUT I was pretty scared of what to eat, I had not been able to plan or get groceries to cook myself a meal , so I resorted to sushi, the white rice was unideal, but they did not offer brown. I also ate a great deal more fruit than I should have (as the opera company had very thoughtfully left me a welcome package filled with fruit, cheese and crackers) I am still supposed to be on one serving of fruit a day but I ate a banana (hate them, but they are a great source of postassium which acts as a beta blocker when you are really nervous) 2 apples and an orange, I had absolutely no appetite, but I simply could not slake my thirst, no matter how much water I drank, and I was trying to get some hydration with food as well, especially as I was about to sing a very long role that night and needed as much vocal lubrication as possible. A friend told me the south beach is very drying, and they are totally right especially if you are not vigilant...anyway I ate some lamb chops for dinner, but had no veggies at all, all day long. GRRR!!!!
The good news is doing this WOE (way of eating) has actually allowed me not just to be healthier, BUT to be ready for a great opportunity. Before, I would have had to turn it down, as I cannot drink and sing the day afterward. Did I look perfect in the costumes..no...am I at my ideal weight...absolutely not.. do I wish I had another five months to get in fighting shape for being on stage...ABSOLUTELY! BUT I had lots of running moves and I needed to move up and down stairs quite a bit, and I never lost any air doing it which I attribute to working out again. Working out, as much as I hate it, is vital when I am preparing for a large role. This is the same role that inspired me to go on a diet, as I am singing it in France in July, and I was hoping to look somewhat convincing when I had to appear in the third act disguised as a boy. Last night I still looked like a very large breasted girl...but I live in hope! This blog ended up being more about singing than eating and food control, but for me they are inextricably linked as without control of one I am not in contention for the other which is in fact, the great love of my life.