Challenged

98 days! I’m so close to 100 I can taste it. I remember about a week into sobriety, after I had signed up for Belle’s (Tired of Thinking About Drinking) 100 day challenge, I counted out the 100 days on my calendar, starting in the 2016 one and ending in a new 2017 one. I wrote on each month the daily counts in 1 week increments, and circled Feb 2 and wrote “100!!”. It seemed so far away. I have already continued on now to mark down up to 150.

It is amazing how different each month has been, and what has kept me going through each one. The first month I was so exhausted and emotional and fidgety. I bought so many books and read continuously, or baked up sweet treats, pre-made and froze casseroles and soups, had lots of baths and foot soaks and lots of “curl up on the couch under a blanket or curl up in bed and feel sorry for myself” times.

The second month I still read and baked and cooked, but it was fun N/A drinks that kept me going. Different brands of root beers and ginger ales, and mixing up my own concoctions of pomegranate juice, pineapple juice and 7-up. Going out to the pub or lounge and asking the bartender or waitress for a FUN non-alcoholic drink. Wanting to socialize more but trying to figure out how. Trying to find myself again, and figure out who I was, sober. I had lots of down times, sad moments, and beating myself up emotionally moments for things I had done when I was drinking, time and money I had wasted. I also navigated my way though Christmas and New Years, which wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. It was also during this time that I had a huge moment of clarity and realized that I really wasn’t the one missing out. By being sober I was remembering so much, present for so many great moments, and getting so many things done and accomplished.

This past month it has been exercise and focusing on healthier eating. I started running again just after Christmas and started out really slowly. I pulled out my old wii console and the fitness games that I had bought years ago with it, and started an evening routine of boxing (15 mins), running (10-15 mins) and yoga or stretching/strength (10 mins). I’m now up to boxing (1/2 hr), running (20 mins at a faster pace), and 10 mins of a step or balance or yoga or whatever. I usually get up early to get a 10-20 min run in in the morning as well. I have a jawbone UP fitness band that I use (if anyone has one, feel free to add me as a friend on the app – Donna W. with a pic of me in a pink snowmobile helmet w/ thumbs up and we can do step duels haha), and I’ve started eating more fruits and veggies. I have found that my taste has really changed – I can’t tolerate salty foods and I’m eating (and enjoying) more veggies. That is just pure craziness, what is wrong with me?! 😉 Of course I still have a major sweet tooth! The first few weeks I really had to push myself to exercise, but the more I did it the better I’ve felt and I look forward to it now and actually get fidgety if I don’t. I used to run a lot about 5 yrs ago, but I was smoking and drinking a lot then, so felt completely different. Heck, I used to put wine in my water bottle when I would run on the treadmill or even out for a run. Yikes.

What a roller coaster. 2 more days. I’m so proud of myself 🙂 ❤