My AF journey began in January 2019. I armed myself with all the usual advice... let friends and family know you're AF so you are accountable, fill the house with every soft drink available! All joking aside that all did set me up perfectly.
I managed to get through the first few months very well, no blips or tempted by anything.
I sailed through Easter and all the bank holidays in May / June with no hassle. I celebrated my first AF birthday in July. I enjoyed my first sober holiday in August.
Summer turned to Autumn and still no blips. During my AF journey I started to increase my cycling distances. I had never completed 50, 75 or 100 miles before but nailed them whilst AF.
Autumn turned to winter where I enjoyed my first Chrimbo and New Year AF, really enjoying the festivities sober was amazing! I achieved my cycling goal of cycling 5000 miles in 2019.
In January 2020 I celebrated one whole year AF! No blips, no problem!
Until... around March 2020, I started to get thoughts of “maybe I should consider moderation? Because I definitely have things under control, right?” WRONG!!! Fast forward to July 2020 I decided to try moderation and by August I was back to drinking Friday, Saturday and Sunday after promising myself I would only have a couple over the entire weekend.
By Autumn I was back to my usual drinking habits and had undone all of my hard work on the bike. I was miserable, weight was going back up, sleep was all over the place!
Don’t worry this blog ends on a happy note! I am now AF again and loving life again.
My advice is this: Alcohol has stealth like powers, if you take your eyes off the prize it will come up and bite you on your arse!
Moderation is a myth - don’t even entertain it!
Much love and stay strong friends.
Neil aka The Sober Cyclist xxx
So right! And yay the cyclists!!!!
Thanks for sharing your story. I’m one month off my 365, and I know I don’t want to let go of how bloody amazing I feel. So reading this has given me another boost 😊