A new start

Oh and I WILL NEVER GAMBLE AGAIN.

Hi change!

Well done on 7 days and good to see your strength growing with each passing day!

I see you everywhere else on the forum except 90 day challenge thread lol. Not sure if you forgot about it but your check in would be really welcome 🙂

Keep up the good work!

S x

Trying to watch full footy match for first time. It's going ok. I need to get over the fear to be able to enjoy life. It's a safe game as I can't gamble online and local bookies are shut. Watching a sat morning game could push me into having a bet on the 3pm kick offs so just need to take one step at a time. I dont want to start watching tennis again as that is too addictive for me. As I'm typing these words it just makes me realise how crazy I must be to a non gambler.

I WILL NEVER GAMBLE AGAIN.

Well I couldn't really get into the footy... I watched 10 mins and then did something else then watched another 10 mins etc. Really sad that I can't enjoy a match at this stage.

Its early days for both of us Change i wouldnt let it worry you that you couldnt enjoy it fully. Ive been told before at meetings its like waiting for the gambling mist in our heads to clear, which takes time but i does happen eventually. All good things come to those who wait and all that ha. On the skipping meals side unfortuantely it doesnt usually work like that. your body actually assumes it might not get another meal soon enough and starts to store more of any meals you have in preperation. Best thing you can do is stick to 3 square meals around the same time each day (with the odd healthly snack). youll drop them pounds in no time especially with the exercise your doing.

best of luck mate

Day 8 nearly done. Thanks for stopping by again Bob. I'll just have to wait with watching footy... might take a bit of time but it's still early days. Looking forward to getting to double digits later this week...

I WILL NEVER GAMBLE AGAIN.

Keep going Change. You'll get there.

With regards waiting I can understand that. That's how I feel with the Horse Racing. Used to think I loved Horse Racing, but did I? I doubt it, I just loved the gambling and thrill of winning something sometimes in 60 seconds.

I tried watching it recently and was just hoping the favourite would get beat as I would have normally backed it. So like you with the Football I'll give the horses a swerve at present.

As long as it's stopping you gambling mate.

All the best.

Thanks Not Again... I flicked on Luton v Stoke last night and watched a whole 2 mins... whereas previously I would have definitely had a bet on that sort of nothing game and needed to watch it to see my money disappear. Hopefully by Xmas when the footy is part of the festive schedule I'll be back to normal and able to enjoy a game.

Day 9 is underway and much like the other 8 days I am avoiding talksport and bbc sport etc. Really avoiding tennis as that is something that I know is on nearly every day of the year and it's where a lot of recent gambling was happening. It's going ok... I sometimes day dream into the future now and think if I don't gamble by X then I'll be able to get Y for the house etc.

Good luck buddy! Just one question- how are you controlling the urge? I say to myself daily that this is it and before you know it I'm checking what games are on for the night ahead. Overall I have lost 5000 and I'm determined that will be it! Any help or tips would be greatly appreciated!

Hi Josh... it's really really tough. I prob don't speak of it enough on here but the urge not to do the pre betting stuff is difficult. Once you do a bit of research the bet is made in your head because if it wins you're so devastated you go on tilt and will gamble. I'm sorry to say that you amongst have to fall out of love with sport and have no interest in it for at least a period. Treat looking up fixtures as gambling and give yourself a forfeit or punishment. It's tough.

I've been going through another period of really bad self loating and it's making the urges to have one last bet even greater. I really want to pay off my credit cards and then I can just draw a line under the whole episode and move on.

Apologies forum readers but I'm just in a state of needing to keep posting my thoughts. Thinking I may start another thread which focuses on a week at a time rather than the continuous day counting clock. I might just go week 1 day 1 etc and then talk through each day, each activity I've done, what I've spent money etc. It may help I dunno. I'm just trying to think of something else to do.

I like to hear a lot of updates from people Change i wouldnt worry about it. The mind of a gambler is a constantly at 100mph and a lot of thoughts come and go. glad your still going strong 🙂

Keep posting as much as you like, your diary is utlimately aimed to help you recover from gambling. Additional bonus is they help the rest of us to see others are going through the same thing and can pickup tips to combat our gambling compulsions.

Hows the change to your diet going? Has it helped?

Bob and Degenerate thanks for your kind words. I've started a new thread with a slightly different focus but I might keep this one going as well and can use this for my daily ramblings.

I've lost 3.3kg in only a week with the new diet and combining it with doing quite a lot of exercise. Probably done 5 bike rides of about 3 hours in duration. Gone for 2 jogs at over an hour. Walked dog each day. Done some minimal weights one day but really want to get weight down a little more before start doing some free weights and putting some muscle on... and also then I can start eating! Right now my diet goes something like proper cereal / bran flakes, carots / peppers / fat free cottage cheese / thin crackers / rice cakes / nuts and dried fruit and then in the evening I eat whatever I want! It's prob not the done thing but works for me.

Trying to do more round the house as so quickly descends into a mess. Garage and shed are bad but the former is slowly getting better. Loft is an absolute disgrace but can't face it right now. Spare room is in decent shape and can actually see the carpet! Front garden is bad and I do work on it but it just takes it from being an embarassment to very messy. I need to get some more time (and money really) to change it into a more manageable garden that won't go crazy if leave it for a couple of weeks. I know nothing about gardening but it's the borders around the edge of the grass that just get full with huge weeds. Told my wife we need to pull all weeds up and fill the borders with grass to turn it into a lawn and we can add some colour with some pots and baskets etc as the borders aren't working for us. I can't keep tidying up the borders! The back garden is a total and utter shambles and I wanted to do some work on it but gambling and life situations have prevented it. It will happen next year! I will definitely flatten it and start again. On a plus side both the apple trees I bought when we moved in are in fruit!

Had the footy on in background while typing my ramble and delighted to see the red s**m getting beat.

I'd be interested to know from others what the biggest positive of giving up gambling is or has been...

more money?

not needing to lie?

getting some sleep at night?

not being depressed?

taking more interest in your kids?

able to improve house?

being able to smile again?

Let me know your own one.