I have my evenings back!

Eleven days of IkPas have passed. They are fast, but sometimes difficult. Nevertheless, two major advantages are already emerging this week. Although I have a bit more trouble falling asleep, my sleep is much deeper. It does contain the craziest dreams, for example of people who have turned into devices and smile very sweetly at me. The second big advantage I have discovered is that I have my evenings back. Before 'IkPas' I sat drowsy on the couch and went to bed way too early, now I'm alert, watch fun TV programs and remember exactly what I saw the next day. Very nice. I see it coming that I also go out in the evening to do things, such as visiting a girlfriend or going to the gym. I also smell and taste noticeably better, which means I enjoy my food more.

On Monday I go to my yoga class at the gym. After the relaxing yoga I will do strength training. I casually look in the mirror and see a rather large wine belly. I want to get rid of that as soon as possible. After the workout I sit in the jacuzzi with a fellow athlete. It's always really nice in the jacuzzi and we talk about everything. The 'good' life is often a topic of conversation. We are all enthusiastic athletes, but we also love a glass of wine and good food. Quitting wine turns out to be a tricky topic this morning. I start talking enthusiastically about my participation in 'IkPas' and the dangers of alcohol. But what does my sports buddy do: he puts his hands on his ears semi-funny. I'll talk about something else soon…. Also with other sports friends, the tenor of the conversations is always: "We are doing well, aren't we, some wine wouldn't hurt?" But imagine if the alcohol nullifies all those healthy actions: that would be a great pity.

Now you may be thinking: Francesca is converted, she is going to completely stop with her beloved wines. Well, I'm not there yet. I've had to take some bumps this week too. One of my motivators is losing weight. In eleven days I drank 510 calories less per day, ate the same amount and exercised a lot, but I haven't lost a gram yet. Very demotivating. What is going on? Am I retaining moisture? Or does my body just have to get used to the change? In order not to frustrate myself any longer, I decide not to step on the scale every day, but once a week. Quitting the wine is now just as important as losing weight.

I also notice little in terms of savings. I started buying things to compensate: a bottle of Seedlip (non-alcoholic gin) for 18.99 (indeed delicious with grapefruit, light tonic and ice cubes), extra diet soft drinks and fruit, shower gel and nail polish, a nice magazine, glasses. During these eleven days I saved 55 euros on drinks, 54 euros on fun things and therefore only saved 1 euro. It strikes me that you can buy a lot of nice other things with the saved money.

Friday I'm having a hard time. That's such a beautiful day to start the weekend with a glass of wine. All day long I am happy with the prospect alone. Not now, and I miss that feeling. I prepare the mocktail with the alcohol-free gin Seedlip spice for my partner and me in the specially purchased gin and tonic glasses, and it is actually an interesting drink. It contains notes of cinnamon, cloves and other spices, it is slightly bitter and contains 0 calories; top! Sunday we go to dinner with my daughter and her fiancé. They also participate in 'IkPas' and we will make the mocktail for them. I'm curious about their dry experiences!

Until next week!