Day 8

On the eighth day God resurrected us to new and eternal life. 

OK so I'm not religious, but after 8 days and a whole weekend of intense exercise and no alcohol (save possibly traces in the Christmas mince pies that I am trying to devour before leaving the country on Friday) I certainly am feeling resurrected to eternal life. 

I really do feel like a new person already, and there have been some very interesting observations that I have noted in my physical and mental wellbeing after only 8 days dry. 

Firstly sleep, I have worn a sleep tracker to bed for years now, and I'm hitting nightly scores higher than I have ever seen - 9 hours of REM and deep sleep one night over the weekend, and an 83/100 score - unheard of for me. I've noticed that my eyes are producing a lot of eye crust in the mornings which is usually a sign of a great sleep too. 

This has resulted in a lot more energy and motivation at the weekends. I have always exercised intensely on the bike during the weekdays when I don't drink, but at weekends due to the binge drinking I usually don't have the same motivation and tend to be far less active. This weekend I have kept up the same levels of exercise as I do in the week, meaning I am getting a double benefit. I'm not taking in the calories that I usually would do at the weekend from the alcohol and food, but I am also burning them off at the same rate as I usually do during the week, My total calorie burn for the week was over 23,000 calories , comprising of either long walks or long cycles to the Peak District every day. An hour on my indoor bike trainer every day and four or five saunas at home, where I pump iron for 45 minutes whilst sweating out everything. To do all this for 7 days a week. and not 4 days a week is a huge boost.

I have also eaten far less food this weekend than I would usually do. Not because I am trying to, but because my body doesn't seem to need it. The heavy hangovers of the past required substantial amounts of food the next day, and I have also not felt like going for my usual takeaway curry this weekend. For some reason I had a yearning for Mac and cheese instead - bizarre taste bud changes. 

Another odd thing did happen to me which I'm sure is related. On the return leg of a long walk on Saturday I had a sudden moment of intense energy level drop. I started sweating profusely despite the freezing weather and felt a little faint. Fortunately Rachel had bought a multipack of Aeros en route, and after I had eaten some chocolate I felt much better. I'm sure it was down to the sudden drop in calories that my body is experiencing as well as a massive ramp up in the calories burnt due to higher levels of activity at the weekend. Just something for me to bear in mind though, as my body is being put through a completely new experience and I need to ensure that I take plenty of supplies with me on the bike, especially next week when I cycle from Cordoba to Seville in Spain through remote countryside. 

Of course another benefit of all this is reduced expenses on booze and takeaways. My new Friday night drink Beck's blue costs a mere 99p in Wetherspoons, slightly more in more salubrious surroundings. I estimated that I burnt through £150 last Saturday night alone, so I'm expecting to have plenty of spare cash if I am to keep this up indefinitely.  

It's still early days, I'm hanging on in there, but I'm enjoying the ride and definitely feeling more alive with the pollution of my body suspended. I feel blessed that I have interests that I love which fill my days, it certainly makes it all much easier to implement. The whole experience so far is self-fulfilling, i.e. the more time that goes by without a drink the better I feel and so the more motivated I am to carry on. The big test now is my beloved Spain. If I am to get through three weeks there without a drink I will certainly needs God's help. But if I do, I may have a real chance of beating this once and for all.