Go Sober in October and #Shredtober end week 3 with help from Zeo

Completed my third full week of being tee total and doing the 30 day shred. So how has it gone?

Still making use of my Cut Down on Alcohol slimpod to help my Go Sober campaign and not missing it! There have been times this week when my kids have pushed me to breaking point and I haven't cracked and opened a bottle of wine (I have one sitting on side in kitchen). I am looking forward to November the first though... Very pleased to have been part of a campaign that has raised over a million for Macmillan.

The nice people at Zeo drinks sent me 3 of their soft drinks to try out to help me stick to my sobriety. The parcel they were sent in was pretty amazing:

You can probably guess from the packaging that the drinks are made in Russia. Apparently the drinks are 100% natural and only contain the following ingredients:

Carbonated water: Naturally sourced, straight from the spring!

Sugar: ZEO contains low levels of sugar extracted from sugar beets.

Natural flavourings: All natural flavouring substances obtained from raw plant materials.

Natural colourings: Extracted, isolated and concentrated from natural sources (e.g. strawberry).

Citric acid: This is what makes lemons lemony. A natural preservative that is also used to add a sour taste to foods and drinks (lemon juice contains 3% citric acid).

Pectin: A natural thickening/gelling agent extracted from citrus peel.

Stevia: Made from the stevia leaf and used for over 500 years to sweeten food and drinks, this provides a sweet hit comparable with sugar but without the calorie count or leaving you with a sugar craving.

They come in 3 flavours:

• Crush - blood orange, lime, lemon and orange
• Zest - lime
• Burst - peaches and grapefruit

The drinks range from 45-59 calories per bottle which is a lot lower than most alcohol. I liked the gentle carbonation which gave you a tingle without too much fizz:

All the drinks were very refreshing and thirst quenching though the peach was a little too sweet to my taste. My daughter and I both decided that the Zest one was our favourite. Just a shame that I can't find a local stockist. They are available from WH Smith and Ocado at around £4 for a 4 pack which is a fair price.

Shredtober has now passed the third week of the 30 day shred! All 21 workouts done even though I missed a day due to Go Ape. Instead I did one level 2 and one level 3 workout on the same day - eek! My progress photos are looking good: 

Week 1

Loving the disappearing waistline but the sideways shots is good too:

Abs are much tighter and have to say my upper body coped better with Go Ape than it would have done! The scales have gone up this week - that could be disheartening if I couldn't see the changes

Only 8 workouts left for Shredtober and 9 more days to stay Sober the end is in sight!

Go Sober in October and Shredtober end week 2

Well the end of the second full week of being tee total and doing the 30 day shred. So how has it gone?

The Cut Down on Alcohol slimpod must be helping by Go Sober campaign as shock horror I am not missing it anywhere near as much! The fact that people have now boosted donations to £50 is a real inspiration though. I can't believe that I went through a full weekend of birthday celebrations including a ceilidh and a Sunday dinner without a drop of alcohol.. Let's see how week 3 goes!

As for Shredtober I have now completed a second full week of the 30 day shred! I got bored of level 2 and switched to level 3 a few days ago. You aren't really supposed to be able to until nearer the end of the programme! It was a killer to start with but after 3 sessions I am finding it less of a struggle..

Week 1

Definitely a better waistline but the sideways shots show it much better:

Abs are much tighter and my bottom looking perkier! The scales haven't shifted this week - may have something to do with too much cake on my birthday.... Just glad I can see that the hard work is paying off and half way through the challenges I am feeling so much fitter and healthier.

So here is hoping that as my 2 monthly challenges progress there will be less and less of me to show in photographs on here!

Go Sober and Shredtober end week 1

Well the end of the first full week of being tee total and doing the 30 day shred. So how has it gone?

First challenge on staying sober was ironically a charity fund raiser for breast cancer! I walked in the door and was offered pink cava... one of my favourite drinks. Despite friends saying but it's in aid of cancer too I stuck to my guns and drank J2O and lemonade instead! Was quite funny being one of few people in the room not under the influence of alcohol..

Over the rest of the weekend when I would normally have a drink e.g. watching Strictly I replaced my usual tipple with a bottle of Becks Blue:

Not quite the same but my son thought it was the real thing and told me off! We had to show him the label... So that is week one done and it wasn't too hard. 

Next weekend is my birthday so instead of going out for dinner we are going out for breakfast so no booze. Going to be very strange not having a glass of wine to celebrate! If you want to help me through then join the lovely people who have sponsored me already over at Go Sober.

To help me out the lovely people at Thinking Slimmer have sent me one of their Cut Down on Alcohol slimpod. I have added it to my bed time listening! Hopefully this will be great come November when I can drink again too..

As for Shredtober I have now completed a full week of the 30 day shred! I moved on up to the second level after a few days and have been getting to grips with plank jacks and walking press ups - eek. It does seem to be paying off getting a real hard workout every day. The scales haven't shifted much (1.5 pounds) as I'm swapping from fat to muscle (I dropped 1% on body fat) but I can see how my shape is changing:

Week 1

Week 2

I need to get a better way to take these shots other than balancing the mirror on the bed! 

It does go to prove that getting in shape is not just about the scales. Hopefully if I stick with it the weight will follow as well though as I am mostly eating a lot healthier than last month. Listening to my body and stopping when full and not eating after the children are in bed is certainly an improvement.

So here is hoping that as my 2 monthly challenges progress there will be less and less of me to show in photographs on here!

Reasons to be Cheerful: Week 31 It's October #R2BC

I can't believe it's October already! This is always a great month as 2 of us have birthdays and there is half term to look forward to. It's also well and truly autumn which is my favourite season. Here are just a few of my reasons to be cheerful this week:
1) Family Fun
We had such a fabulous time at Whinlatter on Saturday on a perfect autumn day in Cumbria. So looking forward to more visits up there over the next couple of months:

2) My boy
Sometimes he drives me round the bend then writes soppy things like this:

and he was even able to help with the washing up now he reach the sink properly (just don't tell him I had to re-wash some of it!):

Pleased to report he got 91/100 out of his second set of 100 words that he needs to know before the end of this school year!

3) Relaxing Sunday

After church and lunch on Sunday we got the bikes out of the shed and headed across town to the park. More about this in a future post but meanwhile here is my big girl demonstrating her pedalling skills:

And my reward was to sit in the sun with a book and a coffee:

In fact several friends appeared in the park so it was nice to sit and chat!

4) Girl time

Whilst my son was at Beavers I retired to the pub with my daughter and another mum. It's lovely to be able to spend time doing big girl things like Cribbage:

She is doing well at school as well this term so no worries on that front either!

5) Shredtober

Well 3 days under my belt and its not really getting easier yet! Pleased to be able keeping it up - just 25 more days to go:

I also went running for first time since my cold struck, not fastest ever but more consistent!
6) Operation House
Been a bit busy this week so not much done but we have sold a surplus chest of drawers from my daughter's room! It looks so much bigger in there now. Just need to sell the existing wardrobe and bunks so that she can get a more useful mid or high sleeper..
I did manage to donate 2 bags of clothes to the North West Air Ambulance and 1 of books to the British Heart Foundation so its small steps... Hoping I can get more done over the next week...