KairosWWT | Women Working Together

#QuitForKairos: Weeks 3 & 4

You may have wondered if I’d fallen off the wagon. I haven’t…but I am slumped on it, with just enough energy to cling on.

I’m almost 4 weeks into my 8 week sugar detox for Kairos WWT and the last two weeks really have been a daily battle. Two weeks ago, as I got deeper into my programme, I had to cut out my last two remaining sweet treats: pepsi max and fruit, and boy oh boy…has it hit me hard! (Although I have to confess to drinking one can of Pepsi Max my husband bought me  and three grapes that were kicking about in the office).

QFK4

Everyday I have continued to question why on earth I took on this challenge, plagued by self-doubt and taunted by the things I relied upon to give me an emotional boost, satisfy a craving and reward myself for a multiple of inconsequential victories. The promise of an inner glow, greater energy and a better sense of well-being have yet been unforthcoming, instead I’ve been hounded by their not-so-pleasant cousins…headaches, lethargy and a general sense of ‘bleurgh’.

This week, I decided to turn to some of our service-users to ask for support and advice for sticking with it. Common advice was the power of distraction, of keeping busy and finding appropriate substitutions when the cravings bite. Setting targets and rewarding yourself when you achieve them and sharing your feelings with people who are tackling the same issue were other top tips. My biggest question was ‘when does this get easier?!‘ and I really appreciated this reply:

“That’s a tough one! I think it’s different for everyone. I still get the thoughts and cravings now and then but I can recognise it for what it is. Just a thought! I don’t have to act on it”

Simply putting my story out there and getting some good advice from women who had beaten their own addictions did wonders for my motivation.

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Monday marks a significant milestone in my 8 week challenge in that I will have completed half of the programme. I have never been without chocolate for this length of time (let alone any of the other good stuff) and I have never committed to any diet change for more than 2 weeks before so I also head into the second half of my challenge with renewed motivation and a sense of personal achievement.

I want to thank the #QuitForKairos ambassadors who have joined me on my journey so far and have given up something significant to them in support of this campaign and the work that Kairos WWT does. Thanks Abi, Neenu & Martin.

QFKAmbassadors

I’d LOVE your support over the coming 4 weeks. Please, please consider signing up to one of the following:

  1. Make a donation via our Big Give page. Money raised will be used by Kairos WWT in their work to support women at risk of or subject to sexual exploitation
  2. Quit something for Kairos – just for a day, or an evening and tell your friends (and us of course) that you’re #QuitingforKairos. You might quit riding the bus for one day and walk to work instead, or quit that Friday night bottle of wine, or that afternoon cake and donate the money you would have spent to the #QuitForKairos campaign
  3. Commit to your own #QuitForKairos personal journey. If you’ve been struggling to give up something in your life that you feel has a hold over you and you want to stop, join me! Drop me an email Lucia@kairoswwt.org.uk, tell me what you’re quitting and I’ll add you to our #QuitForKairos ambassador list, complete with your own cartoon (I’m just itching to draw someone dressed as a giant cigarette…who’s in???)
  4. You can join me at any time over the next 4 weeks and believe me, you’d be helping me out if you did. There’s nothing like solidarity to get through a challenge. And this, for me, really is  a challenge.
  5. Don’t offer me chocolate.