50 experiences and challenges to welcome and embrace the new decade of my life…
Running total (to week 44): 1,843
Miles walked in week 45: 23
Total walked so far in 2018: 1,866
Another below average mileage week as I was still in Grenada from Mon – Wed where I walked no more than a couple of miles a day. However I’ve just spent a weekend where I hiked around 16 miles up and down several peaks in the Peak District (Derbyshire) which has pushed up this weeks’ total a bit!
29th October pre-holiday weight: 8 st 2 lb
9th November post-holiday weight: 8 st 9 lb
As I was on holiday for 1st November I’ve included pre and post holiday weights.
Oh dear… a week of all inclusive indulgence resulted in a weight gain of 7 lb! I must say I was a bit reluctant to get on the scales this morning, the first full day back from the holiday 😦
In the past I wouldn’t have faced up to the weight gain and would have ignored the fact my clothes felt a bit tighter… this is how my weight got to 10 st 7 lb by this time last year. However being honest with myself and acknowledging this weight gain has inspired me to get rid of the extra pounds quickly so today I’ll resume calorie counting and up the exercise for the next week or two and see what happens…
Above is a ‘Nutty Russian’ an example of one of the delicious cocktails available. It contains generous measures of:
Running total (to week 43): 1,814
Miles walked in week 44: 29
Total walked so far in 2018: 1,843
Less than what has lately become an average of around 50 miles walked each week. This is because I spent most of week 44 on a relaxing holiday in Grenada where the only walking I did was around the resort hotel! With the exception of a short trek of the ‘Seven Sisters Waterfall’. The falls took around 20 minutes to reach although this was quite challenging being steep and muddy! And as we were not planning on any trekking I did this in sandals rather than walking boots!
This weeks figure is only boosted to 29 as I did 11 miles (walking and gym) on the Monday of this week, before I went on holiday.
Today marks the end of 4 weeks lasting through October without consuming any alcohol; the longest booze-free stretch of time since 1995 when I was pregnant with my daughter Zoe!
The most difficult thing has been the lack of variety of non-alcoholic drinks; basically the choices are: water, juices, tea, coffee and a very limited choice of non alcoholic beer or wine. I’ve acquired quite a taste for Fentimans ginger beer however!
Health-wise I don’t feel much different; maybe slightly more focussed and switched on? I haven’t lost any weight, firstly because I don’t want to and secondly because many non-alcoholic drinks contain as many calories as those with alcohol. Hopefully however my liver is now nicely detoxed which has made me conscious to take better care of it in the future.
Socially has been the most difficult time. Last week a few of my colleagues went out after work for my friend Teresa’s 50th birthday drinks and while they were enjoying the usual wines, beers and gins, I had a pot of tea…
Running total (to week 42): 1,762
Miles walked in week 43: 46
Total walked so far in 2018: 1,808
I had two days during this week where I did no extra walking at all… On Thursday I was working at home and just too busy with full-on back-to-back Skype meetings that I didn’t even have time for a lunch break, let alone a 4 mile lunchtime walk.
On Saturday, Chris and I had planned a 6 mile walk to a local pub for lunch and back but unfortunately his elderly father was taken into hospital so we abandoned this, drove to Norfolk, picked up his Mum and took her into visit him in hospital! Hopefully he will soon start to feel better.
Today in lovely sunny (but cold and crisp) weather I did a walk with a local walking group which focussed around the Wimpole Estate which is not far from Cambridge.
Exactly two weeks into my four week teetotal challenge! And it has been a challenge this week… firstly being away for work in Liverpool and visiting the Spanish tapas bar which does the best ever Margaritas… drinking ginger flavoured Elderflower Presse doesn’t quite cut it…
Secondly being away on a walking weekend in Suffolk where everyone was drinking alcohol… I felt better when I had my non-alcohol ginger beer served with ice in a large goldfish bowl glass instead of a boring straight glass… at least I could pretend there was a shot of gin in there too…
On a positive note I slept far better in Liverpool than on the previous two occasions (in August and September). And I didn’t have to do the Sunday walk with a hangover!
I’m hoping that as I’ve reached 2 weeks without alcohol, my liver is starting to detox itself and get rid of any fatty things…
Running total (to week 40): 1,663
Miles walked in week 41: 48
Total walked so far in 2018: 1,711
Yesterday I returned from a weekend in Suffolk where I did a 12 mile circular hike around the historic Mediaeval town of Lavenham on Saturday and a 6 mile circular hike around Long Melford on Sunday.
Saturday’s weather was amazing for mid October with warm sunny temperatures of around 23 degrees. This changed literally overnight with Sunday being more typically rainy!
Both walks were rounded off in quaint little tea shops 🙂
Weight today… 8 st 2 lb! Hurrah 🙂
Thankfully I nipped last months’ slight weight gain firmly in the bud and according to my gym scales this morning I’m back to what has become my usual weight of 8 st 2 lb…
Well… my weight did fluctuate slightly throughout September. I soon lost the 3 lb I had gained during an indulgent weekend of gluttony at the end of August; managed to maintain a weight of 8 st 2 lb for 2 – 3 weeks in September; put on 3 lb while on holiday in Croatia but thankfully quickly lost it again within the last week.
I am able to maintain this weight mostly with tons of exercise. If it wasn’t for an average of around 500 calories extra that I burn off each day I certainly wouldn’t be able to keep my weight down!
My husband Chris and I are both doing a sober October challenge meaning today is the last day of alcohol for the next 4 weeks (ours is a ‘4 week October’ challenge to end on Monday 29th…)
No more bottles of wine to accompany meals… no cocktails when I’m in Liverpool again soon and no alcohol on a forthcoming walking weekend… maybe it should be ‘somber October’…
The main reason for this challenge is health in order to give my liver a rest and a chance to repair itself. Drinkaware has some guidance on this and its quite shocking that a woman who drinks a couple of glasses of wine a day for a couple of weeks can start to develop ‘fatty liver’ where the liver gets “stuffed with fat”… this doesn’t sound too good however the promising thing is that if you stop drinking alcohol for 2 weeks the liver starts to shed this excess fat!
I’m not sure if I have a fatty liver or not (quite likely as I probably do drink a couple of glasses of wine a day on average), but I’m hoping that 4 weeks should give it a chance to become much healthier.
Alcohol is also connected to 7 types of cancer so another good reason to reduce my intake.
I’m also interested to see if my sleeping improves… last night I had a large glass of red and a Cointreau and then found myself wide awake from 00:45 to 03:45.
Will provide an update in due course…
Running total (to week 38): 1,560
Miles walked in week 39: 54
Total walked so far in 2018: 1,614
Having arrived home last Tuesday, this weeks’ walking includes our final day (Monday) in Makarska, Croatia. The first 6 days were lovely and sunny however the last day was a different matter in which we were somewhat battered with a storm! The storm didn’t start until lunchtime and I still managed to walk 9 miles around Makarska on that day!
Today being 30th September means we are now 75% of the way through 2018 already! The good news is that as my revised walking target for this year is 2050 miles I am well on my way to reaching this 🙂
I have 436 miles to go which is an average of around 33.5 miles a week or just under 5 miles a day!
Fifty at Fifty 