Day 100 has come and gone! I made it! 100 days of eating healthier, not drinking, not smoking and living a healthier life where I would exercise more and take better care of myself.

Let's give some back story first:

I drank a lot! When I mean a lot I mean pretty much daily I would come home and crack open a cold one. My day would progress with me drinking, smoking and binge eating anything and everything while watching series and playing games. Did not do any exercise and was basically just a bit of a slob. I would wake up feeling a bit dazed and with a small but managable hangover. I never neglected my job so that was a good thing, by the time day started I was fresh as a daisy and pumped full of coffee. I knew I had to change though, I was picking up a lot of weight and I could feel my health get worse and worse.

I discovered Steemit and wondered what I could possibly post about. I am not really a writer and obviously just wanted to post whatever I could! Get them upvotes yo! So I decided in my slightly intoxicated state that I will start this 100 Day Challenge for myself. Using Steemit upvotes as my main motivation. I made a post sharing my plan with the Steemit community. I thought that I will continue the daily updates as long as I get the same number of upvotes according to the day I am on. So day 5 = 5 upvotes. Day 10 = 10 upvotes etc... What a silly tactic.. Looking back at it now you can see the greed in my methods. I said if I get 10 upvotes on my proposal post I will start my challenge.

I wrote myself a little note, don't even ask me why because I have no idea. Guess for some more self-motivation. It is quite personal but it is part of the journey and feel I can share it with you guys.

I have long forgotten the note, guess it might have been the alcohol. I only discovered it about a month ago while flipping through one of my notebooks. Don't really remember writing it though. Laughed at my old self...

Here it is:

I retyped it below the picture for easier reading. Spelling mistakes and all.

The night of the 100: Preparation

After my proposal on Steemit I will admit I was a tad dissapointed with the response... Only 9 upvotes.

I requested 10 for my challenge. Feels a bit like the comments screwed me over saying I shouldn't do it for the upvotes, why else would I do it.

2, 3, 4 hours went by by but the 9 upvotes stood, commented on my page. Untill.... My upvote... Why mine? Because for this upvote to work I needed 10 people to believe in me. 9 Followers, and me. I was the last 10% I decided to believe in myself. Even if it was only 10%

My journey starts here, on the loo, smoking my last cig, drinking my last 1600ml beer.

My journey starts here...

So my journey started. I stopped drinking the next day and started eating healthier. I went full commando on my meals and ate nothing with high calories. No sugary drinks, no snacks or sweets and no fried food. Basically if it tastes good I can't eat it.

I was extremely strict and lost quite a few kilograms really fast. The problem was I was almost starving myself and knew I could not sustain it for the full 100 days. After about two weeks I decided to eat the way I did, but in moderation. Still trying to keep away from fatty or high-calorie foods. No sugary drinks. Stick to water and coffee.

The hardest part was not being able to drink. All of a sudden I had so much free time. I realized then how the addiction took all my time. I started being so much more productive, I posted more on Steemit and exercised at least twice a week. Nothing too extreme. I monitored my food and stayed true to not drinking any alcohol. Not even one sip! I did however miss the taste of beer a lot, so on the extra hot days I would drink a non-alcoholic beer.

The days turned into weeks and I was not posting for the money anymore, I realized what Steemit is all about and that greed will get you nowhere really fast.

Day 75 to 100 felt like I was not even doing the challenge anymore. I got used to not drinking, exercising at least twice a week was now routine and saying no to that extra helping of food was easy. I still stay away from sugary drink and calorie loaded food. I do however still enjoy eating good food, even if I know it's might be a bit unhealthy. I would just eat less and in moderation. The challenge became permanent and 2nd nature. I changed.

Results!

Front

From the picture above you can see I am not ripped or extremely buff. That was not really the goal, I do wish the results are a bit better but I do still want to enjoy my life and good food. Most of my belly is gone and it feels great! I breathe easier, I walk faster and I run up stairs without feeling winded. I am happy with the results and my body is thanking me for the healthier lifestyle.

Side

Better posture is something I am extremely happy about. My arms are slightly more toned and under the remaining fat can feel the muscle has grown back to some of its former glory. Not as flabby and soft as it used to be. The belly though! It's gone! Whoohoo! No more pressing against my shirt when I stand!

Weight

I am just shy of 10 KG but on average that is about 1Kg every 10 days for the challenge. I now like getting on my scale and telling myself the weight that I lost is because of me changing my ways. Being a better person and looking after myself.

Thank you Steemit.

I know it's silly but if it was not for Steemit I would have never lasted this long. Knowing that there are some true followers that asked me about my progress and kept track of the posts made me feel a sense of social responsibility towards them. I could not fail them. I could not fail myself. The upvotes ware now no longer part of the mission. It was knowing I had to make the post and put myself out here for all to see. I was a bit hesitant about my day 100 post. Simply because I did not change much from day 75. Then I reminded myself, I did not change. I dit not fall back into my old ways. I kept doing what I am doing and I am on the right track and much healthier.

A huge shout out to everyone who ever commented on my posts and telling me to keep going! I was thinking of you guys in the tough times where I thought one beer won't make a difference to my challenge. Your reminders kept me strong and pushed me through the full 100 days! I can never tell you how grateful I am to you awesome people.

Thank you!

I am now a new person and will never drink the way I did, will stick to special occasions or social events.

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For those of you that wonder how I celebrated my final day:

I promised myself my favorite meal and drink. Beer, soju and all you can eat crab. No worries though, I did not drink too much, I was sharing with someone else. I did eat it all though! =)

Thank you for reading! Steem on Steemians!