Not the Normal Saturday Night
Happy Sunday Morning!
No hangover, no drama and a nice long lie complete. Well as long a lie in, I'm going to get with a 2.5 year old in the house. But I am up, awake and feeling pretty good.
We are a VERY busy family. The kind of family that has activities & trips planned months in advance. So this weekend has been a bit of anomaly, we really have had nothing planned. Normally that would mean a takeaway and a couple of bottles of wine on a Saturday night. Perhaps cracking it open about 5-6pm, sometimes during the afternoon depending on how I felt.
Currently there are four bottles of white wine in our wine fridge, this is a revelation. Bottles of wine never hang around in our house, these have been in place since Hogmanay. Our wine fridge is a full height under counter one. It used to be filled top to bottom with bottles, or the remaining bottles were stored on the top shelf. Most were drunk within a day of being bought. If I'm honest the only time it was really full is when I had a case of wine delivered for Christmas.
When I started this "challenge" of 100 days alcohol free, I moved the remaining alcoholic wine to the bottom two shelves. For the first couple of weeks, they were calling me but now I have pretty much forgotten about them. The top shelves are filled with a variety of alcohol free alternatives and "adult" fizzy juice. Appletiser, Shloer and J20 Spritzers tend to curb any inkling during the week especially when drank from a wine glass. Perhaps my brain is easier to trick than I thought. However, I have been missing a normal glass of chilled white wine.
Enter Rawson's Retreat white wine. I had a glass before heading off on holiday a couple of weeks ago and thought it was ok. So when Mr Tesco delivered on yesterday I had ordered a few bottles to top up my rather poor looking fridge. I can happily report that last night, my sesh with AF free wine, downing a whole bottle, actually hit the spot. I'm surprised if I'm honest but there was no inclination to open a bottle of the "real stuff".
As I said if we aren't out for dinner, we would usually gorge on a takeaway on a Saturday night. But last night was different I cooked a "fat club" friendly curry with rice and stuffed mushrooms, I must admit this was supplemented by a proper cheese nan bread but overall a much more in control option. Because I wasn't drinking I didn't have the munchies, therefore not gorging myself on chocolate all evening.
The other day I was thinking about what seems to be my never ending battle with my weight. I'm just one of those people that looks at food and gains weight. I am probably 1-2 stone overweight and I have been fighting the same pesky fat for the past decade. Like so many of us I was slim, trim and super fit in my late teens and early twenties, then increasing alcohol and less exercise led to slow steady weight gain. I have lost and regained the same stone for the past 6 years or so. But 2019 will be the year I will lose it for good.
On Thursday I was back at fat club, after a Christmas, New Year and a holiday I am 3.5lb up on my pre-xmas weight. Not bad I hear you say, but unfortunately during 2018 I slowly ate the 1.5 stone lost in 2017 back on. So I am now back at almost the heaviest I have ever been. Half a stone shy on the weight I was after having my daughter in 2016. Being honest I feel crap, the smaller clothes I bought two years ago don't fit, I feel too heavy to ride my horse and my fitness has dropped considerably. So I need to sort this once and for all, instead of being stuck in a never ending argument with the scales.
Anyway, during "image therapy" at "fat club" it suddenly dawned on me how right giving up alcohol is for me. Another member was discussing their losses for the past week. The lady in question had lost a phenomenal 9lbs, yes in one week, just by sticking to the eating plan. This isn't new. There is a guy in our group that has lost 11 stone in 10 months, if that's not inspiration I don't know what is. He is literally a different man and it is fantastic to see. Back to the 9lb loss lady...…
So our consultant asked what her goals were for this week and she responded that she wanted to lose the 1.5lb to get her stone award. Rock on I thought, you go girl! Then she said, "Oh wait, its my birthday this weekend and I'm having a party of Saturday night." From here the conversation went in a direction I have had in my head so many times. Not how can I adapt the plan to allow me to eat a stunning three course meal or have a huge piece of birthday cake, the whole premise of the conversation was how to allow herself to have copious amounts of gin. Everytime I have tried to lose weight successfully or not , I have organised my eating around my need to drink wine. Don't eat this "syn" roll it over for the bottle or two of vino at the weekend. Caught in the inevitable cycle of starve, drink and gorge. Losing and gaining weight over the months and years. I'm lucky not to have put on massive amounts of weight and I am relieved to have found AF living at 33, not later in life.
I will admit at this point I am heavier than I was at the beginning of this AF journey but I have been eating chocolate like its going out of fashion. But Mr Tesco brought a weeks worth of fruit, veg and ingredients for this weeks meal plan, which is neatly written on my kitchen blackboard. This week is week one....again!
Currently our dining table is gathering dust in a outhouse, I may have mentioned this before. Pre-Christmas the dining table was moved out and the pool table moved in. We have played more pool in the last month than we ever have. Most days Hubby, Stepson and I will have a game. My playing has improved considerably and I'm making shots I would never have done before. I always lost. Now I am winning my fair share of games, and I do think this is because I'm not pissed whilst playing. I am learning and improving because I am concentrating and focused. A small victory but a good one.
So AF Saturday nights in my house - fakeaway, AF wine and games of pool. Lots of laughs and fun with the family. Chilled and relaxed. A good nights sleep and waking up hangover free. I would say that is a successful end to a disorganised weekend. And I will take that every time over a drunken, forgotten night with an excruciating hangover the next day.
Till next time
WM-NM
No hangover, no drama and a nice long lie complete. Well as long a lie in, I'm going to get with a 2.5 year old in the house. But I am up, awake and feeling pretty good.
We are a VERY busy family. The kind of family that has activities & trips planned months in advance. So this weekend has been a bit of anomaly, we really have had nothing planned. Normally that would mean a takeaway and a couple of bottles of wine on a Saturday night. Perhaps cracking it open about 5-6pm, sometimes during the afternoon depending on how I felt.
Currently there are four bottles of white wine in our wine fridge, this is a revelation. Bottles of wine never hang around in our house, these have been in place since Hogmanay. Our wine fridge is a full height under counter one. It used to be filled top to bottom with bottles, or the remaining bottles were stored on the top shelf. Most were drunk within a day of being bought. If I'm honest the only time it was really full is when I had a case of wine delivered for Christmas.
When I started this "challenge" of 100 days alcohol free, I moved the remaining alcoholic wine to the bottom two shelves. For the first couple of weeks, they were calling me but now I have pretty much forgotten about them. The top shelves are filled with a variety of alcohol free alternatives and "adult" fizzy juice. Appletiser, Shloer and J20 Spritzers tend to curb any inkling during the week especially when drank from a wine glass. Perhaps my brain is easier to trick than I thought. However, I have been missing a normal glass of chilled white wine.
Enter Rawson's Retreat white wine. I had a glass before heading off on holiday a couple of weeks ago and thought it was ok. So when Mr Tesco delivered on yesterday I had ordered a few bottles to top up my rather poor looking fridge. I can happily report that last night, my sesh with AF free wine, downing a whole bottle, actually hit the spot. I'm surprised if I'm honest but there was no inclination to open a bottle of the "real stuff".
As I said if we aren't out for dinner, we would usually gorge on a takeaway on a Saturday night. But last night was different I cooked a "fat club" friendly curry with rice and stuffed mushrooms, I must admit this was supplemented by a proper cheese nan bread but overall a much more in control option. Because I wasn't drinking I didn't have the munchies, therefore not gorging myself on chocolate all evening.
The other day I was thinking about what seems to be my never ending battle with my weight. I'm just one of those people that looks at food and gains weight. I am probably 1-2 stone overweight and I have been fighting the same pesky fat for the past decade. Like so many of us I was slim, trim and super fit in my late teens and early twenties, then increasing alcohol and less exercise led to slow steady weight gain. I have lost and regained the same stone for the past 6 years or so. But 2019 will be the year I will lose it for good.
On Thursday I was back at fat club, after a Christmas, New Year and a holiday I am 3.5lb up on my pre-xmas weight. Not bad I hear you say, but unfortunately during 2018 I slowly ate the 1.5 stone lost in 2017 back on. So I am now back at almost the heaviest I have ever been. Half a stone shy on the weight I was after having my daughter in 2016. Being honest I feel crap, the smaller clothes I bought two years ago don't fit, I feel too heavy to ride my horse and my fitness has dropped considerably. So I need to sort this once and for all, instead of being stuck in a never ending argument with the scales.
Anyway, during "image therapy" at "fat club" it suddenly dawned on me how right giving up alcohol is for me. Another member was discussing their losses for the past week. The lady in question had lost a phenomenal 9lbs, yes in one week, just by sticking to the eating plan. This isn't new. There is a guy in our group that has lost 11 stone in 10 months, if that's not inspiration I don't know what is. He is literally a different man and it is fantastic to see. Back to the 9lb loss lady...…
So our consultant asked what her goals were for this week and she responded that she wanted to lose the 1.5lb to get her stone award. Rock on I thought, you go girl! Then she said, "Oh wait, its my birthday this weekend and I'm having a party of Saturday night." From here the conversation went in a direction I have had in my head so many times. Not how can I adapt the plan to allow me to eat a stunning three course meal or have a huge piece of birthday cake, the whole premise of the conversation was how to allow herself to have copious amounts of gin. Everytime I have tried to lose weight successfully or not , I have organised my eating around my need to drink wine. Don't eat this "syn" roll it over for the bottle or two of vino at the weekend. Caught in the inevitable cycle of starve, drink and gorge. Losing and gaining weight over the months and years. I'm lucky not to have put on massive amounts of weight and I am relieved to have found AF living at 33, not later in life.
I will admit at this point I am heavier than I was at the beginning of this AF journey but I have been eating chocolate like its going out of fashion. But Mr Tesco brought a weeks worth of fruit, veg and ingredients for this weeks meal plan, which is neatly written on my kitchen blackboard. This week is week one....again!
Currently our dining table is gathering dust in a outhouse, I may have mentioned this before. Pre-Christmas the dining table was moved out and the pool table moved in. We have played more pool in the last month than we ever have. Most days Hubby, Stepson and I will have a game. My playing has improved considerably and I'm making shots I would never have done before. I always lost. Now I am winning my fair share of games, and I do think this is because I'm not pissed whilst playing. I am learning and improving because I am concentrating and focused. A small victory but a good one.
So AF Saturday nights in my house - fakeaway, AF wine and games of pool. Lots of laughs and fun with the family. Chilled and relaxed. A good nights sleep and waking up hangover free. I would say that is a successful end to a disorganised weekend. And I will take that every time over a drunken, forgotten night with an excruciating hangover the next day.
Till next time
WM-NM
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