Bank Holiday sunshine without the wine

So, I made it through the bank holiday! Lots of sunshine and sitting in the garden, 2 BBQs and some challenging child tantrums.......but I stayed sober. I don't want to count my chickens, but it is getting easier day by day. The wine witch still pops up but I'm getting much better at giving her a firm NO and then moving on. 

What's not going so well is my consumption of cake & hot chocolate. I'm taking lots of comfort in baking and eating choc chip banana bread (albeit a healthy-ish recipe) and my end of the evening hot chocolate is working well in place of the whisky nightcaps. Whilst I'm not beating myself up for it (I'm still patting myself on the back for being sober for almost 2 weeks now) I do want to see some shift in weight soon. At the moment the only way it is shifting is up!

We've now heard that Spain is re-opening it's borders on 1st July and whilst I'm not getting my hopes too high I am starting to think of the slim chance of getting a foreign summer holiday this year. However slim is far from a word I would use to describe myself. Finding the balance between happiness and being slim is proving a bit of a challenge if I'm honest. Cake & hot chocolate make me happy. It's like a big hug (something that we are all missing at the moment) but I don't want to swap one addiction for another (or certainly not one that's going to make me fat!) So I'm trying to balance. I'm having my cake & hot choc but I've cut down the sugar in the first and just found a reduced sugar, sweetener free, version of my favourite hot choc that I'm going to try tonight. I can't stand artificial sweeteners which makes diet drinks & food pretty challenging anyway. I'm also trying to get as much exercise in as possible. I'm not going to lie, that has not been as successful as I would have liked (primarily due to trying to juggle work & kids etc so finding I lack the time and energy most days) but I am getting out there and that's the main thing. 

Today has been a good day. I had a little extra sleep this morning after an early wake up from my 2 year old (one of the benefits of late conference calls means some time in the morning to do what I want/need). Then I went for a 5 mile bike ride at lunch time (just a short one but lots of hills so definitely felt like a workout). It's now almost the end of my work day and I still feel like I have a little energy left so may even venture out for a run once the boys are in bed. I don't remember feeling this positive about things when I was drinking - it really is remarkable the impact it has on your mental health without you even noticing. That more than anything should be enough of a reason to stick with it.

Anyway on that positive note it's time to brave bath time with the kids! TTFN

SMB xx