Slowly, slowly the grey drizzly clouds have passed and the sunshine has started to reappear - both metaphorically and literally. The last couple of weeks have been tough. When I'm feeling low, I tend to catastrophise over everything and it can be quite hard to lift myself out of that dark place. At times like that I rely heavily on: exercise; trying to keep my mind busy by losing myself in a good book or listening to music; and confiding to friends about how I feel. Fortunately this combination seems to have done the trick this time and I'm feeling much stronger emotionally. Thank you to everyone who has sent me kind messages or called, given me a shoulder to cry on and who has tolerated my Eeyore-like state - you have been a great support and I do appreciate you all being there.
This has also helped me to kick-start the next phase of project 'Get Sober'. When I first decided to stop drinking I thought the weight would literally drop off me as I wasn't drinking. However, I didn't account for the fact that I would replace the sugar from alcohol with sugar from cake and chocolate. I followed the advice of other people in my sober support groups who recommended concentrating on giving up alcohol first and addressing the sugary food issue later. While I haven't put on weight in the past 8 months, I definitely haven't lost any. So, now that I am confident that I am in control of being a non-drinker, it's time to focus my energy on getting my eating and sugar consumption under control.
To help me get started I have signed up with a personal trainer who has been involved in helping various members of Club Soda - the mindful drinking movement that I participate in - to get fit and healthy. Last week was the start of my new healthier regime which has meant sticking to 1,590 calories a day, logging all my meals on My Fitness Pal and following an exercise plan. I am now committed to doing three gym work outs a week, along with my regular hiking and swimming. My plan is to apply the same strategies to getting fit and healthy as I did to getting sober, by: being focused and consistent; having a positive mindset; being accountable; being patient i.e. not expecting immediate results; and being kind to myself if things don't go completely to plan.
I have four months until the end of the year and I'm hoping that by the time Christmas comes around I will have cracked my sugar habit and developed a consistent healthy eating and exercise regime that I can stick to long term. I feel confident that if I can master not drinking, I can gain control over my eating in the next few months. I'll keep you posted on my progress.
This has also helped me to kick-start the next phase of project 'Get Sober'. When I first decided to stop drinking I thought the weight would literally drop off me as I wasn't drinking. However, I didn't account for the fact that I would replace the sugar from alcohol with sugar from cake and chocolate. I followed the advice of other people in my sober support groups who recommended concentrating on giving up alcohol first and addressing the sugary food issue later. While I haven't put on weight in the past 8 months, I definitely haven't lost any. So, now that I am confident that I am in control of being a non-drinker, it's time to focus my energy on getting my eating and sugar consumption under control.
To help me get started I have signed up with a personal trainer who has been involved in helping various members of Club Soda - the mindful drinking movement that I participate in - to get fit and healthy. Last week was the start of my new healthier regime which has meant sticking to 1,590 calories a day, logging all my meals on My Fitness Pal and following an exercise plan. I am now committed to doing three gym work outs a week, along with my regular hiking and swimming. My plan is to apply the same strategies to getting fit and healthy as I did to getting sober, by: being focused and consistent; having a positive mindset; being accountable; being patient i.e. not expecting immediate results; and being kind to myself if things don't go completely to plan.
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| Hiking selfie at Mount High West today |
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