Vegan Dry January Day 2: Well this is going well

Posh pot noodle

Ah the joys... Well, first thing to say is that I woke up this morning with a very vague idea of what I was, who I was and why my alarm was ringing at 5am. I think it took me a full five minutes to remember.  That's what staying off the booze does to you, kids.

By the time I got up, I was running late. I managed to stuff my bag with an apple, a packet of sultanas and unsalted nuts, an Aldi "Hike" protein bar, an Aldi (other supermarkets are available) Raw bar, and then ran out of the door.

I got the 0555 to Waterloo and had the carriage to myself, so I knocked off a vlog which was mainly me being aghast at how much I now weigh and wondering where everyone was. 

Breakfast involved the Hike bar, the apple and some water, but I was soon out covering a story for ITV News this morning - an 8am interview on the rail fare increase.

In between interviewing the General Secretary of the RMT and the Shadow Secretary of State for Transport, I went to buy me and ace cameraman Marc Smith a coffee from Pret. He wanted a cappuccino. I got a soy Americano. After yesterday's almond milk disaster I didn't feel optimistic. But it was okay. 

Me actually enjoying a soy Americano

I finished my newsgathering commitments at King's Cross then switched stories to cover the Public Health England advice on healthy eating for children. We found a newsagent willing to let me film a piece to camera in his shop. Then I was sent to edit in Millbank. It was the lead story on ITV Lunchtime News and my favourite element was the two mums at a soft play who dismissed the whole 2 x 100 calorie snacks a day idea out of hand.

Lunch was the vegan noodle option at itsu washed down with a diet coke (see top pic). Once home I didn't really fancy dinner so I had two corn cakes and an almond milk instant coffee, which was worse than yesterday's tea. 

Right now I don't feel hungry. I feel ready for day three, which is rapidly approaching.

My profound thanks to everyone who has taken the time to comment on this experiment, either with advice, encouragement or bemusement. I'm also very interested to hear what other people are up to for January, 2018 in general or have been quietly doing all along without feeling the need to go on social media and be all attention-seeking about it, like me.

Thanks to:

Jack and Kim for the recommendation on Oatly instead of almond milk.

Anna for the Koko milk recommendation and Veganuary website tip. 

Anna and Will for the Bosh recommendation.

Gordon for his offer to turn this into a weight loss competition.

Cordelia for the Swedish Glace soya vanilla ice-cream tip.

Mike F for putting me in touch with the editor of Vegan Living Mag.

Janey Saunders for adding me to a Vegan supermarket tips group

and finally Marnie for the invitation to the all-you-can-eat Brazilian BBQ in York for when this is all over.

Good luck to Myfanwy Bournon, Alex Barnett and Tom Greenard who are all being abstemious to varying degrees and a special props to old friend Claire Berliner who is going for a full six months off the sauce. What fun we are all having.

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Weight: 11st 12lb (ouch!)

Exercise: 2 mile walk, 10 mins cycling.

Food:

Aldi Cacoa Hike bar

Alid Raw Macadamia and Coconut bar

Fruit tea

Granny Smith apple 

Americano with soy milk

itsu veggie gyoza with udon noodles

2 x Sainsbury's corn cakes (see, I told you other supermarkets were available)

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Vegan Dry January Day 31: The Last Post
Vegan Dry January Day 30: A Vegan in Downing Street
Vegan Dry-ish January Day 29: Can't see what all the fuss is about
Days 26 to 28 are Nonblogged.
Vegan Dry January Day 25: Simon Amstell is a Vegan
Days 20 to 24 are Nonblogged. 
Vegan Dry January Day 19: Peer review
Vegan Dry January Day 18: Are you a vegan?
Vegan Dry January Day 17: Mmm... cashews.... 
Vegan Dry January Day 16: Taking Stock
Vegan Dry January Day 15: A relapse
Days 13 and 14 are Nonblogged. 
Vegan Dry January Day 12: There was no Day 11
There really wasn't a day 11
Vegan Dry January Day 10: Alcohol wobble
Vegan Dry January Day 9: Avoiding four meals a day
Vegan Dry January Day 8: Smeared Poo
Vegan Dry January Day 7: Separation Anxiety
Vegan Dry January Day 6: Wastelands of Admin
Vegan Dry January Day 5: Oatly is the tits
Vegan Dry January Day 4: Milk is everywhere
Vegan Dry January Day 3: I've lost my nuts
Vegan Dry January Day 2: This is going well
Vegan Dry January Day 1: Vegan Dry January is go

Vegan Dry January Day 1: We are go

Formerly, a hill of beans.

Well, it has come to fruition. Pun intended. And I've already messed up.

First thing I did was pour out a bowl of Aldi Benefit (their version of Special K), read the ingredients, noted they contained skimmed milk powder and tipped them back into the packet.

I checked our cornflakes. Aldi cornflakes do not contain animal products. So I had them with warm (I forgot to chill it first) sweetened, almond milk. That was disgusting.

I washed it down with some tea containing more almond milk. This tasted okay, but looked disgusting.

Then we walked up the Thames path to Weybridge to see the in-laws at their traditional New Year's Day drinks party. I had a fruit punch, some veg crudité and chowed down on an olive, which had been stuffed with anchovy. I wasn't about to spit it out. Oh well.

Dinner was three slices of Aldi malted bloomer bread, some vegan olive spread ("Live free!") and a packet of crisps. Then I had a baked potato and beans with brown sauce. Yum.

Yesterday I weighed myself (before the excesses of NYE) and was 11st 10lb - a full half stone heavier than I was in June. We'll see if this vegan, no-drinking fun has any effect.

If you want to see my daily Vegan Dry January vlog, it's here on youtube, or hopefully embedded below.

Further updates tomorrow.

****************
Weight: 11st 10lb (minimum!)

Exercise: 4.5 mile walk

Food:
Tea with sweetened almond milk
Bowl of cornflakes with almond milk
Carrots, cucumber, celery, pickled cucumber, olive with anchovy (by mistake)
3 slices of Aldi malted bloomer
20g olive oil spread
Packet of reduced fat plain salted crisps
Baked potato
Beans
8 squares of Montezuma orange and ginger chocolate.
Mint tea.

****************

Vegan Dry January Day 31: The Last Post
Vegan Dry January Day 30: A Vegan in Downing Street
Vegan Dry-ish January Day 29: Can't see what all the fuss is about
Days 26 to 28 are Nonblogged.
Vegan Dry January Day 25: Simon Amstell is a Vegan
Days 20 to 24 are Nonblogged. 
Vegan Dry January Day 19: Peer review
Vegan Dry January Day 18: Are you a vegan?
Vegan Dry January Day 17: Mmm... cashews.... 
Vegan Dry January Day 16: Taking Stock
Vegan Dry January Day 15: A relapse
Days 13 and 14 are Nonblogged. 
Vegan Dry January Day 12: There was no Day 11
There really wasn't a day 11
Vegan Dry January Day 10: Alcohol wobble
Vegan Dry January Day 9: Avoiding four meals a day
Vegan Dry January Day 8: Smeared Poo
Vegan Dry January Day 7: Separation Anxiety
Vegan Dry January Day 6: Wastelands of Admin
Vegan Dry January Day 5: Oatly is the tits
Vegan Dry January Day 4: Milk is everywhere
Vegan Dry January Day 3: I've lost my nuts
Vegan Dry January Day 2: This is going well
Vegan Dry January Day 1: Vegan Dry January is go

I've had an idea

I've spent a year not drinking, so doing Dry January doesn't really appeal. However, if you throw in a bit of dietary fun, I'm your man.

January 2018 will therefore be Vegan Dry January for me, yes it will.

I'm not going to be too fierce about this. I have an energy bar I like which doesn't have any animal products in the ingredients, but nonetheless claims it "may" contain milk. Same for a bar of Green and Black's which I was given for Christmas. Things like this are fair game.

I don't have to worry about the veganality of wine and beer as I won't be drinking and I'll just get me some almond milk to put in my tea and cereal and I should be fine.

I make vegan bread by substituting the butter for olive oil, which I prefer. And I love nuts, which I wouldn't normally eat because they are so calorific. But January 2018 is going to be cashew-tastic, believe me.

So I'll be fine! Won't I?

These are the foods I already eat which I think are vegan (obviously i'll have to go check the ingredients on some of them):

Bread.
Breakfast cereal.
Fruit.
Vegetables.
Nuts.
Tea.
Coffee.
Montezuma chocolate.
Rice.
Noodles.
Onion, garlic and tomato pasta sauce.
Crisps.
Chips.

I'll be fine.

How hard can it be?

(check back in a week's time to find out)

Dry January called off early

There she is. Mummy's special grape juice. Not long now!

We have just had word that Dry January has ended early.

A spokesperson said "We're sorry. We forgot this was a five weekend month. Everybody's been very well-behaved but if we don't call it quits now, things could get out of hand."

Faye Cotter, who hasn't touched a drop since 1 Jan, told this blog: "Thank f*** for that. Honestly. I had no idea how horrible it was going to be. Four weeks is enough, isn't it? Good. We've proved something. Now, who wants a pint?"

Although landlords had been looking forward to the boost in trade on 1 Feb, a spokesperson agreed it just didn't seem right.

"Ending on a Monday was shaping up to be a real test for dry drinkers. Go on a bender at the beginning of the week and admit you probably do have a problem? Or try to hold out for another four days? Far better to finish Dry January on a Friday night so Britain's alcohol dependents can kid themselves they're just choosing to put a bottle or two away in celebration."

Toby Foster Does Dry January

I meant to write a summary of my thoughts after I started back on booze. I spent 2015 not quite getting round to it. It was a busy year.

A couple of days ago BBC Radio Sheffield called and told me their excellent breakfast show presenter Toby Foster was doing Dry January. They asked me if I'd like to have a chat with him about my experiences of going dry for a year. Here is the result:

Or if you can't see the above widget, here is the result, on my Soundcloud page.

Nick is Now Drinking

First drink in 12 months. Champagne, obviously.

I was looking forward to a relaxing wind-down to the end of 2014. At 7.34am on New Year's Eve I got a text from BBC Radio 5 live. Could I come on the radio to talk about my Not Drinking in the context of the general hoo-hah about Dry January?

Of course I could.

We did it from my temporary "studio" in the kids playroom via Skype. It seemed to go okay. Here's an edit:

Shortly before I did the interview I received a £40 donation from a university friend.

Then a nice man from the BBC's General News Service called. He'd just seen I was in the 5live running order. Would I be interested in talking about the same subject to some BBC local radio stations as part of what they call a GNS offer? Of course I would.

Whilst waiting for this to happen a £36.50 donation came in from a couple of friends from Oxford, £20 arrived from a former BBC Three colleague and another £20 came in from a BBC colleague I only really know through twitter. A schoolfriend bunged me £50 and another university friend gave me £20.

A GNS offer involves offering a guest's availability to all the BBC local radio stations for 8 minutes at a time within a specified timeslot (in my case two hours between 3pm and 5pm). I have spoken to hundreds of GNS-produced interviewees since I started on BBC Surrey, but I have never been one before. It was fun.

At 3pm I dialled into Broadcasting House on Skype and over the next two hours I spoke to 15 different BBC local radio presenters about my Not Drinking. Some interviews were pre-recorded. Most were carried live.

One way of getting good at being interviewed is to do lots of them in short succession on the same subject. Here are three of them - interviews number three, seven and twelve of the day (I did a phono with my own station BBC Surrey at 1440). Feel free to dip in and out.

During this time the kids were looking after themselves next door whilst my wife was out doing some last minute present-shopping for our middle child, who has a birthday soon.

There were some noises off during one live interview, but the only time my son burst into the room was during a pre-record, so we were able to stop and pick it up again.

Whilst I was carrying out the interviews an anonymous donor put in £10 and just as I finished a friend from my student radio days kindly put in another tenner.

At 7.30pm we went to Byfleet Dave's house for new year. The children have four uncles, two of whom are called Dave. Abi once decided to differentiate them by location, so they are now known as Far Away Dave and Byfleet Dave.

Another friend from BBC Three donated a fiver.

We polished off a curry by 9pm and got our youngest to bed by 10pm.

Another schoolfriend put in £50.

Temporary studio. Or as it's usually known, children's playroom.

We played a board game, attempted a bit of Nintendo Wii and as the fireworks hove into view on BBC1 I was handed a glass of fizz. As the Big Ben bongs went at midnight I had my first sip of alcohol a year after I had my last.

It tasted funny. I had been up since 3.40am so I was quite tired anyway. I tried a beer, which didn't go down very well. At around 2.30am I had a nice glass of Sauvignon, which I did, finally, enjoy.

So that's it. I'm drinking again. I had three beers on New Year's Day at my in-laws, where I ceremoniously handed back my copy of Dr David Marjot's The Diseases of Alcohol to the priest who gave it to me.

Thereafter a neighbour gave me £20 and my best man, who already donated £20 at the start of 2014, gave me another £100.

On the evening of 1 Jan I was asked to go on the Mark Forrest Show across the BBC in England to talk about what giving up had done for me and tomorrow I'll be talking to Dan Chisholm on his regional BBC show about New Years Resolutions and how to get through them.

Over the course of three days (31 Dec to 2 Jan) my fundraising total had gone from £1530 to £1921.50, not including gift aid, which has taken it way beyond £2000.

This morning I was in the gym at 6am. Some habits acquired over the last year are going to take a while to shake off.

I'm going to write a couple more blog posts before winding everything up on here. If you have donated I am profoundly grateful. It made me happier than I thought it would every time someone felt moved enough to chuck a few quid in my direction. Thank you.

There is, of course, still time if you want to add to the final total.

Thanks for reading this blog. I hope you have a happy and prosperous 2015.

UPDATE: Total amount raised: £2130.00 ... including Gift Aid: £2501.26 - thank you all so much.

Laziness

Walton PureGym 7.30am, Boxing Day

I am a big fan of laziness. I champion it. I think time spent in idle contemplation, relaxing, reading, drinking and socialising is time well spent. It has to be balanced by work and productivity - I think you should earn your leisure time to make it more meaningful - but it seems too many of us have bought into the myth of hard graft making us all winners. For most of us, our labour is making someone else a winner. And that winner is usually a prick.

In the light of the last 12 months, I might have to reassess the above sentiment. It could well have been the booze talking. This year I was sending work emails on Christmas Eve and in the gym by 6.30am on Boxing Day, where for a full hour I was joined by no one. Which surprised me. I thought there'd be a few. When there isn't one other person doing what you're doing you start to wonder if what you're doing might be a little bit weird.

Thing is, much as it's nice to spend time clearing up after and sorting out arguments between the kids, I rather enjoyed being productive on Christmas Eve, and I rather enjoyed going to the gym this morning. Christmas Day itself was... well... calorific?

I've enjoyed working hard this year. Possibly far too much. But it has brought its rewards, and I'm enjoying those too.

I guess it's all about balance.