You know what? It's lovely! After four days of food, drink, family and friends I'm well and truly ready for relaxing on my own and taking a break from excess.
I've been to the gym after a four day break and run a 5k and I've drunk water non stop all day to try and get me rehydrated again. Plus food wise I've had one weetabix for breakfast, an omelette for lunch and white fish, veg and mash for dinner. Oh and an after dinner snack with a low fat chocolate yoghurt.
As a result earlier on today I finally signed up to something I had been debating over for a couple of weeks. We all know in the first month of a new year people typically go on a detox of sorts. Well this time round I'm going to follow the crowd and do the same.
However I'm doing it for charity as part of Alcohol Concern's Dry January (check out www.dryjanuary.org)
Yes for the month of January not a sip of alcohol will pass my lips. The challenge begins from 9am on Tuesday 1st January so I can still enjoy a drink on New Years Eve!
It's funny how times change and how something simple can cause you to think about things.
I first started thinking about dry January after talking to a friend at work and it launched a discussion about how much we all drink and how we get into patterns.
I finally a few weeks ago got into a pattern of exercising and eating healthily. A good pattern. One which I am determined to maintain moving forwards. I may have put on two pounds last week - and will no doubt put on weight after Christmas excess - but I'm planning to get back in shape and lose even more weight as we start to move into 2013.
However, like many people my age I am very much in a pattern of drinking too. I like a nice glass of wine to relax of an evening on occasion, I go for client lunches at work and consume alcohol, I go out with work colleagues after work for drinks and I enjoy nights out with friends where yet again yes I would drink.
Now don't get me wrong I wouldn't say I drink to excess constantly but like many people in my age bracket I do consume alcohol pretty regularly and it features a lot in my social and working life.
When talking this through and debating whether to do 'Dry January' we ended up laughing. How shocking is it people want to be sponsored for simply not having alcohol, how mad we need so long to decide if we can make it just one month without alcohol?!
You go for a meal you drink wine with it, you go out with friends you drink, you toast a special occasion you drink. Funnily enough the conversation also turned to hobbies and what we do in our spare time.
As has become apparent this year my primary hobbies of late are spinning, reading and writing my blog. I also enjoy the theatre (typically musicals nothing too heavy), attending music gigs, watching films at the cinema and travelling/going on holiday.
However I want to try more, I want to see new things and not just spend spare time going out drinking.
One of my friends at work agreed, but cringed as she insisted on taking me to an art gallery (can you believe I've never been?!) and realised one of the great things at her favourite one was their rooftop bar!
The more you think through things, the more these things become apparent.
So far so good though, I went to see a play a few weeks back (and have a selection booked up for 2013), I'm currently reading one of the classics by Charles Dicken, I've signed up for Dry January and I've just booked up to go to the ballet (my first ever time) next week. Let's see what other new experiences I can have...
It's time for a change.
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