My Sabbatical

..is nearly complete. If you don't know (and care to know), I went through a rough divorce 2 years ago.. 3 months later, I lost my house in a flood. I lost track of myself somewhere along the way- probably well before the flood.

I broke it off with the girl I had been seeing in late May and decided to just take a break from everything and get myself together. While I'm still not back to brewing, I am moving forward with my brewery / brew pub and it is nearing completion.

As of today, I've lost 60 lbs over the last 120 days- and have maybe never felt better. The thing is, most people told me I "wasn't fat" even before I started, but I wasn't happy with myself. Since I have my boys more nights than I don't, I decided to do this through a complete overhaul of my diet.. but I don't tell people I'm on a diet, this is just my new lifestyle.

Anywho, I felt like sharing.. it really wasn't as hard as I expected and I am quite proud of myself for sticking it out.

Wow- it sounds like you had a tough time but are now better for it.

I went through something very similar after my own divorce, and realize that growth is good but really sucks when it's happening.

I'm glad to know you're still around. I keep threatening to go to Valdosta (and was only about 50 miles away in February) but so far haven't made it down there. This winter, it looks like the Texas coast for us.

Do you have any updated pictures of the new brewery?

congrats on the new you.

Definitely, congrats on the new you and to hear that you made it through everything in the last couple of years. You really deserved the time off. Spend as much as you can with your boys because you can never get that time back, and they grow up too quickly!

Well John B your post comes as encouragement to me. Me & mine are going through some tough stuff ourselves. Without elaborating too much, my wife & I both need to work on being made whole. I'm glad things are turning around for you and my hope is that you and the boys are in a better place from here on out.

Schlante & blessings,
Phillip

Beer is something you can make anytime but time living life doesn't get a do over. Having the strength to turn it around and be there for your kids makes you a real man. Thank you for your post.

Thanks much guys. I still lurk the boards but haven't been posting near as much. But I have been trying to keep my brewery thread updated: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/deep-six-brewery-back-action-164889/

There should be some good updates coming in the new few weeks.. My bar should getting installed very soon. I am very anxious to see it all come together.

Yeah, I've truly made it to the 'other side'.. It took the better part of 4 years to get here, but have no regrets and will never go back to my old habits.

And Yooper, if you are ever down this way, I'll have a bar stool waiting for you at the Deep Six Brew Pub!

Welcome back Mr Beere!! I wish you luck with everything! Your system was one of the first pieces of beer porn I ever viewed and I'm putting together a shopping list for my brew sculpture and have started ordering parts!

Glad you're back and better than ever!!! Thanks for the inspiration!

BREW ON!!!

Gene

John Beere said:

I decided to do this through a complete overhaul of my diet.. but I don't tell people I'm on a diet, this is just my new lifestyle.

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Awesome. "Dieting" is such a gimmick. It implies that it's only for a short period of time and then when people aren't dieting they go back to their old ways and it was all for naught. You've got it right with the lifestyle change.

DeathBrewer said:

Awesome. "Dieting" is such a gimmick. It implies that it's only for a short period of time and then when people aren't dieting they go back to their old ways and it was all for naught. You've got it right with the lifestyle change.

Click to expand...

Very true.. This is just 'how' and 'what' I eat now. I allow myself to splurge a little on the weekends, and I never stopped drinking- but I did have to cut way back on heavier beers.

If anyone is interested, take a close look at Kashi's frozen dinners and pizzas.. Those became the main staple of my controlled diet.

good on ya mate! glad to have you back around, looking forward to seeing the brew pub progress.

Awesome dude! It's always good to see people face the toughest periods in their life and come out better people. Good to have you back!

Every cloud has a silver lining, and every silver lining has a touch of grey.

Glad to hear life's getting turned around for you, JB. Been a helluva couple years for you.

IIRC, that girl was damn cute, though...

Losing 3.5 lb a week is pretty damn intense. Possibly to the point of being unhealthy depending on your starting caloric intake.

Good luck!

Bird- yeah, she was a very attractive woman.. if the insides matched the outsides, I might have tried to hold onto her during this.

I didn't set out with a goal of losing an average .5 lbs a day.. that does seem extreme, but it is the rate my metabolism works apparently.

Well, kinda hard to believe, but I've lost another 11 lbs since posting this.. weighed in this morning at 159. Now it is officially time to start working out and building myself back up the right way. I can honestly say that I've never felt better..

JB, it's good to hear that your outlook is so great. While I haven't faced the challenges you have, I have been dealing with some major life changes. New baby, job, wife staying home to take care of the kid (that changed EVERYTHING).

I'd let myself go in the past year ot th epoint where my doctor told me I was diabetic. I did P90x before the baby came along, but don't have the time to invest in something that extreme now. So I've moved to a simple lifestyle change to healthier eating; dropped white startes and as much sugar as I can. So far, I'm down something like twn pounds, but nowhere near my target. But it feels good. (Halloween sorta of derailed me with all the crap in the office now. )

My friend pointed me to the Tough Mudder endurance run. I'm seriously thinking of making this a goal to participate in next October.

I hate to parrot what everyone is saying, but I am very happy to see you back, and feeling great at that! Congrats on rebuilding yourself too!

Isn't it amazing when you are looking down a long dark tunnel, it's hard to imagine that you will not only survive, but thrive.

Thanks, JB, for being an inspiration to the rest of us. We admire your tenacity:rockin: