Day 90 - The end of the beginning.

Well, it's all over.  Celebrated in style by heading out for a meal and many beers for a pal's birthday.  Had a couple of ex-FIYLers along for company as well so there was much discussion on life after FIYL.

The food was fantastic - I'd never had Thai food before - and the tastes and textures were pretty overwhelming after three months of egg whites.  The beer was fantastic too - cold, crisp, delicious - so, needless to say, I drank perhaps more than I should have after three dry months.  The hangover wasn't too bad though and I put that down to my superior fitness and ability to process the booze.  Actually, hang on, this could work really well - I get drunk on one beer but don't get a hangover.  Fantastic, I'm 15 again!

The chat between us FIYL veterans was interesting.  Full of cautionary tales of life after FIYL and I think it was the best conversation I could have had right at that moment.  My absolute unimaginable fear is the slow decline back to where I was three months ago and I think hearing about what can go wrong, as well as what can go right, at the end of the program has hopefully strengthened my resolve to make this stick.

In truth I have never seen FIYL as the end, only a means to an end.  My desire is to be able to take part in all the activities I have always wanted to - some that I have done before and some that are new - and FIYL has given me the kick start that I needed to get to a level of fitness which will allow me to participate and enjoy these activities.  Does that make sense?

So that is, in essence, the meaning behind this blogs title.  This is not the end, it is the beginning.

Some thank you's:

Thank you to Vivienne, firstly, for putting up with my ridiculous eating habits and constant need to exercise.  I know that it has been annoying at times but you've been very supportive and we both know it has been worth it.

Thank you to Swee and to Nicky.  Although we were not doing this together, it was very helpful to have people I could call on for help when I needed it.  And it was great to have people who knew what I was going through.

Thank you to Kevin.  This system is brilliant.  Your daily emails were supportive, encouraging and enlightened and will miss them a great deal (I've already checked for a new one three times today, even though I know nothing's coming...)  It must be a lot of work to fit this in around your everyday life and I appreciate what you've helped me to do a great deal.  I won't let you down!

Lastly, thanks to anyone who's read my blog, liked or commented.  It's nice to know that someone's reading this shit.

So that's it.  Done.  The only thing left to do is to post the final photos and weigh in.  I'm going to do this right now.  Sheesh...