Half way there — Jigsaw Jo

Yesterday was day 15 or my detox and I thought I would do a bit of an update for those who are wondering how I am going now that I am half way through.

I am proud to say, so far so good. I have stuck to my commitment completely. I have not touched a drop of alcohol, nor eaten any of the foods on my banned list. I have surprised myself and I feel much stronger for it.

I do feel a bit like I am a science experiment at the moment. I am really keen to see what the end result will be and this is helping my resolve to stay on track. This is as much about my mental fitness as anything else. I need to prove to myself that I can make a challenge and stick to it. I will be so disappointed in myself if I can’t fulfil my commitment. This is for me, it is not for anyone else, and I really do not want to disappoint myself.

My observations so far are:

· I have lost a bit of weight. Nothing dramatic and most of it came off in the first couple of days but my clothes are feeling a little loser and the scales are down about 3kgs from where they started. This is going to put me in good stead to continue to lose a bit of weight this year.

· I am not missing the alcohol as much as I am missing the food. I am find the dairy restriction very difficult and as such I may add a little dairy for the rest of the challenge. Only a little bit, so if there happens to be some feta in the salad I order, so be it. However, I am still going to try to avoid dairy for the rest of the challenge.

· I am putting more effort into preparing meals, being more organised in the morning so that I know I have something compliant to eat during the day. I am noticing this in my bank account as well. I have hardly spent any money over these past 15 days which highlights how much I was spending on food and drink.

· I can drink black coffee and I don’t mind it.

· I can drink that incredible amount of water that my trainer Simon tells me I must drink daily. I never thought it was possible but when you replace wine with water, you drink a fair bit of water. Incidentally, holding a wine glass filled with water seemed to promote the same feeling of relaxation for me as holding that same wine glass filled with wine. Perhaps I should try this more often.

· I seem to have more clarity in my thinking and I am getting more done in a day. I have ticked off my list of things I wanted to get through for this week and it is only 8.00am on Saturday morning. Hey, I even submitted my assignment at 7am this morning and it is not due for another 4 days. I am feeling on top of things for the first time in a long time.

· I feel like my skin is looking better. I don’t feel the same level of tiredness that I was feeling in the first few days of detox and I am sure I am sleeping better.

· More people than I realised have read my blog, so I need to be accountable all the time. If I had a sneaky drink (which I promise you I have not), I am sure I would get caught. For those who have checked up on me or said encouraging words, I really appreciate your support.

The next 2 week includes a couple of new challenges for me. Mission Possible Fitness (my gym) are staring their 8 week Burn & Earn challenge on Monday. I am really hoping when I step on their scales I have lost a bit of weight from 2 weeks ago. I have noticed that I still manage to move up and down a little on the scales and I really do not want an “up” to distract me in my long term goals. I am looking forward to the 8 week challenge as it will make me extend on the work I am doing now. I don’t want to break the habits I am getting accustomed to.

We also have a party to attend next weekend so that is going to be a challenge for me. There will be people there to keep me accountable, and I just hope that their support and my resolve will outweigh the temptations. I am confident I can do this.

In general, it is just another 15 days like the 15 that I have just been through. If I continue to plan and be prepared I have this nailed.

So stay tuned for day 30. It is just around the corner!