Well people, the month is over 🙂 There were a few hard days but all in all it was pretty smooth sailing.
Today I am sitting at home, watching the footy and sipping on a cold Fat Yak… Sunday doesn’t get much better than that!
Thanks to everyone who didn’t believe in me, you made it easier. Thanks to everyone who donated some $$$$, we have a total of $1600 going to our MS fundraising. I will set you all up on payment plans. You have until Feb to fix it up!
Have a good Sunday… CHEEEEEERS 🙂
Firstly, my last post has disappeared, I don’t know why, I’m not very WordPress savvy! Fear not, you didn’t miss much, besides me still not having a drink 🙂
I now have less than one week left until my month is complete. While at the the time of committing to this I thought I may struggle, but I haven’t. Lets be honest, giving up the grog for one month shouldn’t be that hard for any of us!!!
I have learnt a few things along the way though, here’s one….
Since kicking the booze, I have developed an uncontrollable sweet tooth. I was never one to really want chocolate and I certainly would NEVER order dessert when we went out for dinner, but in the month of kicking the booze I can’t say no to a sneaky Freddo Frog, I even ordered pancakes the other day for breakfast (they were delicious!), WTF?!
This got me intrigued, it was either shear coincidence, or it was directly related to giving up the beers. Turns out, it’s probably the latter.
I did a little research today, and it turns out that beers and their other alcoholic counterparts contain the most refined sugar you can get your lips around. Hence, if someone who enjoys a drop a substantial amount throughout a week / their life, their body becomes accustomed to the sugar intake.
Many people have posted on the web talking about their sugar cravings since getting off the booze, which is really interesting. Your body becomes reliant on something that you have no idea about.
During my first match of football for the season, for the first time ever, I experienced really bad cramps in my calves. When trying to work out the cause, people said to me that it could be one of three things… 1) You’re not fit enough (I’m fitter than I’ve ever been). 2) Lack of salt (possibly because I have been drinking so much water, maybe I have flushed my system?) 3) NOT ENOUGH SUGAR! Interesting that the first time I play football after having no beer for a couple of weeks I get cramps…. Maybe coincidence?
Regardless, it’s interesting to know something else about what booze does to the body and how we can become dependent on something without even realising!
PS: I have dropped a belt size in the last three weeks. Imagine what I could do in a month of no booze while fighting the sugar craving. Might be worth some thought….
So, last night was a friends birthday and it was also my day one of sobriety, no point starting half assed on a Monday, best to throw yourself in head first.
While I had a couple of sober sister moments, I had a great night. What’s more, is I think my dance moves improve with sobriety, I was burning holes in the floor.
More importantly, I’m sure there will be a few friends awaking to a little hangover this morning, not me though, I feel FAB!
SO day two, I’m feeling positive and reassured I can easily smash 30 days 🙂
PS: GINGER beer is delicious!
PPS: Pie’s v Blues today… I’m looking forward to a mineral water and a Pies win!
Welcome to my blog, Booze-Free-Hound. Follow me while I give up drinking to raise money for an amazing cause.
About me…
Name: Natalie East
Age: 28 (29 on Friday)
Marital status: Married (well if Julia would let us) to the best girl in the world.
Favourite pastimes: Watching footy (go Pies), playing footy (go Lions), hanging out with my puppies (Riley and Raty), hanging out with my friends and family and drinking beers while I do all of the above.
Adjectives: Loving, caring, funny, loyal, determined and a dedicated booze hound.
Background…
I, like most others work hard during the week, I work full time within local government and operate my own business in the evenings and weekends. Two nights a week I travel out to Sunbury to have a run around with the best group of girls I have ever met, my football team. By the time Friday arrives, I am pretty excited for the weekend… What does my perfect weekend look like? Pubs, clubs, dancing, staying out until 4am?? NO WAY! My perfect weekend looks a little like this…
Friday night: Beer and footy with Tash.
Saturday: Footy with an afternoon beer and Tash.
Saturday night: Some quiet beers while watching the footy with Tash.
Sunday: Play football and then drink a couple of beers with the team.
There are two common themes… Tash and beer. While I am not willing to give up Tash, I am willing to give up beer.
What’s the point?
In the past 3 years, the Sunbury Lions have become supporters of MS Australia, it’s our charity of choice and we’re constantly looking for ways to better our fundraising efforts. A lot of people know someone who is living with MS, so it’s a charity that’s close to a lot of hearts.
The Sunbury Lions participated in the North Melbourne MS Mega Swim in February and plan on participating annually. This year we raised $2000, for 2014 our goal is $10,000. Ambitious? Yes… We better get started.
Last night (while sipping on a refreshing beer) I made the bold statement that I could easily give up beer. In reflection, I have attempted Dry July (twice) and have failed, so maybe this is not going to be as easy as I first thought when I was 5 beers deep.
When I announced this, my friends, who clearly have A LOT of faith in me, started throwing dollar figures around on what they would donate if I lasted 1 month. We are currently sitting at $1600.
So, this is me, declaring that I am going to give up drinking to raise money for MS. IF I fail (which I won’t) I will donate $1000 myself.
For those with no faith, I’d love to take some of your money, so please start waging your bets.
I will be updating this, throughout the booze free period, there may be tears, but there will be no booze.
Day one will be Saturday 6 April… I feel better already 🙂
boozefreehound 