50 days. We become what we repeatedly do.

Today is 50 straight days with zero alcohol!

Before I get to the heart of tonight's blog post, I am excited to share that I recently added a few things to my "firsts" list. I did my first trip up north to the cabin booze free. I also did my annual girls only camping trip with my daughters, sister, and nieces and had a blast even without drinking. I will admit, the camping trip with the girls was a bit challenging at times as I definitely used alcohol during past trips to cope with the stress of traveling with 6 females and the work that comes along with roughing it. This weekend I am going on my first booze free vacation for 10 days!

One of my key motivators in this one year challenge is to feel healthier overall. That means I am hoping my body will rehabilitate and I will see changes in my skin, possibly shed a few pounds, feel an increase in motivation and energy to work out and eat healthier, and sleep better. Great news...I am starting to see some positive changes! I am drinking more fluids and water so I feel more hydrated and I am getting less headaches. I am definitely more energized and rested so I feel like my motivation to get chores/responsibilities accomplished is much better.

While I am happy about the positive changes, I have noticed a couple of unpleasant changes. First, I recently went through a seriously horrible acne breakout. I felt like I was in middle school again. I got acne in places I haven't had acne in a really long time. I had a ring of pimples all around my mouth and I had painful zits around my nose as well. I think my body was flushing out some toxins and this was a nasty and not very pretty side effect. Unfortunately, I am not seeing much change in the weight department yet either. I am definitely snacking more and craving candy. It doesn't help that I am on summer break right now and we have been traveling quite a bit because I have zero healthy eating routines and I am not eating regular meals. These things are bummers but I am keeping the faith that things will look different by day 365.

I think my journey to feeling healthier is going to be a process so here are my predictions:

Months 1-3= Adjustment period. I anticipate some set backs as I get used to new routines and my body flushes out toxins.

Months 3-6= Cleansing and empowering. By this point I will feel more settled into my new lifestyle which will allow me to focus more on diet and exercise. I will use this time to practice and get new routines established.

Months 6-9= Challenging but rewarding. I will probably feel more struggles as I navigate a massive season of holidays but I will be feeling so much better and seeing some success with my diet and exercise regimens.

Months 9-12= Noticeable success. By the time the final months come along, I think I will drastically look and feel different!

Check out these before and after photos of people who quit alcohol from www.ScoopWhoop.com. I think these photos are proof that eliminating alcohol can have positive effects on the body which is motivation for me!