Day 20

Liz -

As i write the title to this blog I can't quite believe we have been on this journey for 20 days already! Time does go quickly as you get older, I never believed this before but now I know it true.

So truth....... the wind hasn't been any better today, I'm starting to wonder if it's all the curry powder and spices Mike has put into dinners, maybe tonight i'll tone it down a bit and see if that helps.

I've struggled with my water intake today, but I will finish it before i go to bed i'm determined to do this. It's one of my best friends birthday's today (and she owns a pub!) so we popped in to see her after work today & it felt very strange not having a glass of wine with her on her birthday, but I stayed strong and just had a diet coke. I know she reads my blogs so Happy Birthday Dawn!! - next year we can celebrate in style.

We picked Lexi up this evening so i'm looking forward to a week of walks with her, back out in the fresh (if not wet) outdoors and exercise back on track. I never did make it to the gym the other day, but I have said I will go in the morning, so I'd best keep my promise.

We have decided to try something different for dinner tonight - so as I type I can smell carrot, coriander & buternutt squash soup simmering away, and my gosh does it smell good. I can't wait to get tucked in.

A few people have asked about some of our recipes recently so I have tasked myself with publishing them on our pages over the weekend, so if your keen to know how we cook some of our meals watch out for these.

Day off tomorrow, so some quality tine to spend with Lexi. Although these are days I find myself struggling as after I've taken her out she likes a little nap, I then sit there a little bored on my own and usually this is the time i'd pick some food out the cupboard. I know I can stay strong & just stick to my shakes whilst Mike is at work.

Mike -

20 days down and 36 to go. So far i am close to 2 stone lighter, 2 trouser sizes smaller, one shirt size smaller and i feel absolutely terrific. As Liz mentioned we went to the pub on burger night and this throws up 2 issues for me. Going to the pub and not having alcohol and also the thought of a nice burger and chips. But we held firm, i had 2 glasses of pepsi max and had an enjoyable time.

I am looking forward to the carrott and coriander soup. It smells devine as it simmers away. Simple and easy to follow recipe i found on the bbc food website and the only replacement was squash for the potato that was in the recipe.

I was a bit late having my second shake of the day as i waited until getting home from work so by the time i had put the shopping away and prepared it the time was about half 3. I then decided to sit down and carry on reading my book and before i knew it i was asleep on the sofa to be woken up by Liz saying i was a lazy bum.

I genuinely thought this was going to be so much harder than it is. I thought this blog would be full of drama with me giving in to temptation or feeling low and hungry but it really hasn't been. It is amazing what you can achieve with the sheer will of determination and a desire to make a positive change in your life. By no means can we relax or have a day off. I have a target in my mind for the end of the 56 days and i then have a further target in the aftermath of the 56 days. I want to be medication free, I want to be in better health, I want to say to myself i need to go and get new clothes because everything i have is far too big.

I owe a lot of my success to the support of everybody who knows what we are trying to do. Most of all I owe a lot to Liz as without her support this would have been much harder. Doing this is tough enough without the added stress of the daily grind and the other bits and pieces we have going on. She really is a very tough cookie taking all this in her stride. I am immensely proud of her everyday.