Crazy Lent idea... I must be crazy for doing this!

[greeneyedlulu]

No wine
No chocolate
No spending....
For Lent I usually give something up.... this year I'm combining a few elements of my life that need a damn good shake up!!
I'm a drinker, not rolling around in gutter drunk every night, just I can easily drink most of a bottle each night without realising it, cheeky glass whilst cooking, top up to sit down for dinner... you know how it goes!

The chocolate tends to be a daily treat at the end of the day once my little boy is finally tucked up in bed asleep and I've done my daily chores and my bum finally hits the sofa, with a glass of wine in hand (the rest of the above bottle) and the other reaching for the remote control to watch some crappy tv show..... yes that includes eastenders but I love it!!

As for the spending..... well as you can imagine the above mentioned products set me back a bit! So that added to the cost of the mortgage, council tax, nursery fees and blah blah blah!!! Everyone has these costs! I know I'm not special but my God, it's just so overwhelming sometimes being a single mum and having so many outgoings! And I know I'm wasting money by buying lunches and coffee and wine and chocolate each day!

My fridge broke down in January (you know... the month we're all swimming in cash) so that cleared out my little bit of rainy day funds and this month, I'm struggling and I refuse to carry on like this and be so worried about money every day so I sat down and worked out my finances and I'm pretty ashamed by the difference on how much I should have left over and how much I actually do!! Eek!!

So Lent starts tomorrow and I've been paid today, all the bills go out tomorrow and I'll update as I go along on how I'm doing as I really want to give everything a shake up so the way I see it is that

1. If I give up wine and chocolate I will save money and lose weight
2. If I'm making lunches then that will help to towards the weight loss and I'm saving money
3. If I stop spending money on non essentials, I can save and get those few irksome jobs that need doing around the house that are beyond my DIY skills that 'I can't afford'!

I want to make this work and figure if I put it out there that I'm doing it then I will more likely stick to it!

Wish me luck!!

PS. Anyone else who is giving up something for Lent you are welcome to share your plight and pain along side me as I will probably need the support too x

I'm giving up alcohol too. I reckon DH and I have a glass of wine (or two) 5 nights out of 7. So I'm not getting drunk, or even tipsy, but it is lots of calories I could do without, and a habit that could do with breaking.

I would give up those things if I was doing as you are simply for the sake of my health and child, not just for Lent.

It's a tough target you've set yourself.

One year I decided to give up alcohol, chocolate and crisps. It nearly did me in! (hyperbole) - but seriously, it was Very Very Bad. And no I didn't feel better at the end of it, I fell face first into the biggest bag of crisps followed by LOTS of chocolate and wine. Bad bad move.

Since then, I've never done more than 2 "vices" at once.

Sorry, that sounds a bit harsh. Good luck with it.

Maybe I should give up mumsnet and stop wasting time I don't have?

I'm giving up any pre-packaged junk food so cakes, etc. Home made allowed. No booze and I'm going to add in no spending (apart from necessities, obvs)

Giving up things for Lent isn't supposed to be done in the spirit of "what will it do for me". So giving up chocolate/booze to lose weight is not self sacrificing.

If you were to give the money you would have spent on treats to a food bank/homeless charity, then that would be more in keeping with the philosophy of Lent. Similarly if you swap the telly watching for volunteering.

Lent being a Christian festival, it seems disingenuous to me to just stop doing something that's bad for you anyway.

Good lick all

Dam it Steve, I'm now thinking of the ice cream in the freezer! looks down at wobbly belly 😳😭

LOL. Sorry, that should, of course, have read: 'good luck'

Sorry for making you think of ice cream

Stevie xxx

Good for you, OP. I am doing similar. I turn 40 this year and want to sort out my health, which involves losing 3 stone. I figured that the slower I lose it, the better, so am giving myself a whole year. I've lost 10.5 lb so far this year, by cutting down on chocolate, crisps and other crap, and giving up drinking. I planned to stop drinking for a year, but had two glasses of wine this month, and will have another couple on my birthday, because an occasional treat is good! DH and I have also had to sort out our spending, because we got into a bit of a financial mess around Christmas. We have borrowed a little more on our mortgage, stopped paying for school dinners, given up alcohol (both of us) and smoking (him), cut our weekly grocery shop down to £80 (we have two DCs) and are trying not to buy stuff!

The OP sounds like a magazine article.

Lent being a Christian festival, it seems disingenuous to me to just stop doing something that's bad for you anyway

Well, I take your point. I fast for faith reasons—I definitely don't need to lose any weight—but I think that its great that so many are joining in and we should celebrate each other's efforts and provide a welcoming spirit for all ....if that makes sense

Stevie xxx

Sorry kitkats28

I think that giving up something you find hard to give up absolutely does count.

Completely agree with kitkat - giving up something for Lent (or doing something extra) should be for spiritual reasons. If you are not religious, why wait for Lent? Just stop eating the junk food/wine/chocolate if you are doing it for health and weight loss reasons?

Well, I take your point. I fast for faith reasons—I definitely don't need to lose any weight—but I think that its great that so many are joining in and we should celebrate each other's efforts and provide a welcoming spirit for all ....if that makes sense blush

As a screaming atheist, can I say how nice it is to see some genuine Christian sentiment.

I'd like to give up something - probably chocolate as that would be a sacrifice BUT it's my birthday during lent so would I be allowed a day off?!

people don't have to observe lent the way you think it should be done. It's personal. You do your thing, (perhaps giving up religious snobbery) and leave everybody else to theirs.

Religious snobbery? Hahaha. I'm an atheist. I don't understand why anyone would observe Lent as a specific festival, if not for religious reasons.

If non-Muslims were observing Ramadan to lose weight, then everyone would be screaming cultural appropriation.

Do you celebrate Christmas kitkats?

Good Idea for a thread.

As an attempt to counter the sin of Gluttony, I'm reducing my portion sizes. I've try being a vegan for lent before, but by the end I couldn't stop thinking about the ducks in the local park - and not in a good way.

I can't remember all the seven sins but have thought of countering pride by giving up being a internet judgypants, Avarice by not going shopping and Sloth by getting off Mumsnet and doing what I'm supposed to be doing

Atheist or not, you're practising religious snobbery. You're being high And mighty about how other people are observing a religious event. What does it have to do with you why other people are doing it?

it's my birthday during lent so would I be allowed a day off?!

I think so. Certainly people here in Ireland take St Patrick's Day off during lent.

Also, people are allowed to do whatever they want. If anyone wants to do something for lent, they should. Anyone who thinks they get to make rules for others is wrong.

The original tradition of lent includes self denial not self sacrifice so giving up something you love having is in line with that.

I'm giving up chocolate in any form. It's my treat every day once the dcs are in bed and is going to be really hard to give up.

I'm going to join you with chocolate and spending. Good luck all.

I don't understand why anyone would observe Lent as a specific festival, if not for religious reasons.

For the same reasons they would celebrate Christmas and Easter, they live in a country with a Christian history and have been raised within a Christian culture, even if they don't actually believe. I think that it's also worth remembering that many of the Christian festivals have been laid on top, and appropriated aspects, of earlier religions so they tend to fit in with the seasons, so a feast in the middle of winter (Christmas) and a fast at the start of spring (Lent).

As a screaming atheist, can I say how nice it is to see some genuine Christian sentiment

Thank you. That's a very nice thing to say and I appreciate it

S xxx