Homebrewing getting in the way of health goals

Back in january i told myself i would only drink beer on sunday and eat clean..At that time i was unable to brew cause i did not have the time so it was easy to abstain from drinking all week..Now 6 months later i have homebrew on the brain 24/7 and find it very difficult to not drink beer..i feel like im failing myself and my health goals but brewing is my passion and it make me happy ..sometimes i think i gotta choose between my health and brewing cause i dont think i can do both..Anybody else struggle with balancing health and drinking beer?

 

Beer is nutritious. I was worried so I stopped for a few weeks. I didn't feel any different. I went to the doctor for my 10 years "annual" checkup. Flying colors. Besides being a few, ok maybe a dozen or so pounds heavier that I would like... But I am about 40 pounds lighter than what I was before I started homebrewing.

So stop worrying, less stress......

 

Good grief - Putting it on a "verboten" list is only going to make you obsess over it.

Just have one or two now and then. It's not like it is black tar heroin or a bag of Cheetos. You might go a little overboard at first, but things will even out and drinking one or two every two or three days will be fine. Even better, go visit a friend or relative and enjoy a couple of beers while playing cards or something. My dad and I get together at least once a week (usually twice a week) to play Cribbage or Pinochle, and have a couple of beers. The recreation stretches out the time between beers, and also keeps it from being a single-minded obsession.

 

You can have both, but the path to achieving that is pretty tough and takes time. It depends heavily on will or the lack of.

Are you single, married with children? Do you love your family enough to do something actively NOW, so you get to spend many years along side them? How old are you, do you smoke, eat a lot of meat, what kind of job do you have?

Do you exercise regularly or have at least one activity which pulls you out of the house 3-4 times a week for at least 30 to 60 minutes of moderate to high intensity?

All those things combined, will allow you to both brew and drink beer and be healthy. ( I assume you do not want to go extreme and never touch beer, sweets and meat, ' cause if you do, then YES, you need to drop brewing and drinking anything besides water and tea )

But if you want a balanced life style, one thing I learnt is that for 1 bad thing you really need to do like 2-3 good things. And it is barely enough.

Drinking beer on Sundays ( I myself stop at max. 3 x 330 ml bottles ) is OK. As long as it is only on Sundays and you stop at a reasonable amount, which yes, it is far less than you imagine and the rest of the week you are doing all the right things, then you should be fine.

Or you could continue the way you are doing now and take your chances.

I do not mean to sound in any way. I am 176 cm tall ( 5 feet 9 inches ? ) and was 100 Kg ( 221 pounds! ) at the age of 29. I am now 34 years old, I weigh 25 kg less, I exercise almost every day, eat healthy, quit smoking and go out into nature many times every week, and only drink when I want, and that's like 1 time a week at most, but brew beer for friends and myself. It is still as pleasureable and exciting now as it was when I was drinking 4-5 times a week.

 

I echo what's already been said.

In addition, a few years ago a couple of studies came out relating drinking alcoholic beverages and length of life. Drinkers, even heavy drinkers, had statistically significant longer life spans than those that abstained totally. The take away from this, and what the researchers guessed in their conclusion, was that the results likely had little to do with the beverage. More likely it was due to the stress relief and social aspect of most drinking. It's a fact that unmanaged stress is detrimental to not only length of life, but quality of life as well. Managing this stress and social interaction are key components. Add onto this the stress relief and enjoyment of brewing your own and I'd say your doing yourself and those around a favor! Of course you can go too far as with anything, but you get the point.

That all being said, I'm in the same boat. It isn't always about health and lifespan. Sometimes you want to look good naked too. Taking in those extra calories will have a negative affect on your waistline. I balance it by making sure I'm burning those off and not taking in even more elsewhere (soda!). Be active and try to work out everyday. Sometimes it doesn't work out as life gets in the way, but if you have that in your daily plan it'll happen more often than not.

My two cents anyway.

 

I'm very fitness oriented and I log everything that goes into into my body via a calorie tracking app on my phone. When I have beer, that goes in the app too. In that way I'm able to fit beer into my overall fitness goals. For instance, tomorrow I'll go bowling with some friends. I'll have a few beers in the process and they'll all go into the app. Whatever amount of calories those beers contribute to my diet will have to be subtracted from whatever else I eat that day. If I drink 600 calories worth of beer, then I have to eat 600 fewer calories of everything else. We bowl late, so I'll just have to make sure I have a few hundred calories left over from the rest of the day to "spend" on beer.

I know having to do that seems onerous, but you get used to it more quickly than you'd think. In any case, it's the only way I'll ever be able to have my beer and waistline too. Just remember, in fitness nothing comes free. If you want to drink beer, you have to "pay" for it somewhere else in your diet. Exercise will also give you more calories to play with, aside from helping your general wellbeing.

 

I always struggle with this. I love ending my day with a couple beers but I know as I get older it will affect me more and more. Adding to my waistline, affecting my sleep and liver, feeling bloated, etc... I think if you can live an active life, eat clean and well, and be happy overall, then you're ok to drink a couple beers when you feel like it.

I stopped drinking pretty much everything except coffee and water so I have room for the beer calories. Eating clean will help too. Just try not to over think it. Don't drink too much but also try to keep your stress about it to a minimum. Good luck!

 

Lower your expectations!

On a serious note, try and find balance. Exercise more. Modify diet as appropriate, etc.

 

It is a struggle. I agree with all of the above comments on balance. I regularly run & bike 4 - 5 times a week. The ONLY reason I do this is to balance my habit of beer & being unable to resist any donut shop. I do have to be concious to limit nights before a run or a long bike ride to 1 (maybe 2) beers. My weight luckily has remained the same for last 5 years with this process.

It is hard as there are many days I don't want to do the exercise, but if/when I do slack off I don't let myself have any of the "indulgences". One miss like that usually kicks me back into gear for another month! 🏻

 

I have a fitbit. If i get my goal of 10000 steps while at work then i can drink a extra beer.