Day Four

Mood: 5/10 - I felt strangely ok today. Tired, not much energy. But I didn't feel like I was suffering as bad as the prior two days, which really surprised me.

Energy: 5/10 - Much improved. Will expand on that below.

Withdrawals? I miss my coffee and my coke the most. That combined caffeine kick for the brain and the sweet interlude in the middle of a stressful day.

Ate/Drank:

• Fruit for breakfast.
• Lunch - Venison burgers on their own. 
• Dinner - Steak burger & Turkey burger with sweet potato, carrot, and swede. 
• Drank: 2.5 litres water, 3 cups of peppermint/detox tea. 

Today was surprisingly better. Bayley had another bad night so in the end, MT took her in the bed and as I am known to flail about in my sleep, I stayed on the couch so as not to disturb her once she settled. Firstly I must remark how comfy my couch is to sleep on! Never knew that. Secondly, the oddest thing happened. In spite of the fact I was sleeping on a sofa and struggled to get my head or feet in comfy positions, I slept like a log. To the point that Bayley awoke at 330am and MT brought her in to the room to talk to me and I didn't stir. So, this means that either my brand new M&S bed that we've only had a few months is the pits. Or...not having any caffeine or sugar in my system is really benefiting my sleep. I tend to think it's the latter. I cannot emphasise enough how well I slept. I always feel like garbage in the morning but today I felt semi human.

As the day progressed, it was not without struggles. Bay's mood is awful with this sinus infection and at times she stretched my patience. But I managed. And I was a functional productive member of society throughout the day. I got the kids up & ready for the day. We went and did the food shopping. Came home & I cooked lunch for the three of us, then put Bayley down for a nap, during which I cooked this evening's dinner and tomorrows lunch (preparation is key to this diet working). I also did the washing. 

The litmus test came this evening. I play football every Tuesday at 7. I was unsure if I should do it this week all things considered. Tuesday is the one day of the week I tend to watch my diet as it is, because I am self conscious when I play football. I am the heaviest guy on the pitch and the combination of my size & lack of mobility allied to a general lack of fitness makes it hard for me to get around as I would like. No one wants to feel like they are anchoring their team-mates so I make a point every Tuesday to eat protein & rice and drink lots of fluid to ensure I've the best engine possible for the game. It's probably meaningless but at least I try. This week I was restricted in what I could eat and I'm coming down off caffeine and sugar, so I felt very apprehensive about the game. To my surprise, it did not go badly. I started off with a decent burst of energy, scoring some goals and getting about ok. There did come a point where I tapered off badly and went in goal for a prolonged period to catch my breath. Even when that was accomplished, I could feel the tank was running on relatively empty. But all things considered, I was happy.

Everything I had read about the process of weaning off processed sugars indicated to me that days 3 - 10 would be the hardest. Maybe harder days are ahead, but today was a positive, which gives me a real boost going forward.