I am giving up beer for 30 days

Yakima 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
DAY 17 - Living without beer:

LONG day. I really wanted a home brewed pint when I got home late tonight. Had a dessert bar instead. I truly miss having a beer on nights like this, especially while I unwind.

Moving into the 2nd to last weekend without beer. My son has a basketball tournament Fri-Sat-Sun, and I have a playoff hockey game Sun, so it's going to be easy to avoid the brewskis this weekend.

Only 13 days left....
 
This could be a difficult weekend. I'm doing yard work and working on my truck, two activities that practically demand a beer as a reward.

Mind over matter, if you don't mind... It don't matter.
 
Only 13 days left.... You are more than 1/2 way their, you can do this. Down hill side, just coast.
BTW, Good luck in the playoffs and enjoy your sons games.:ban:
 
The last two days have been pretty easy (keeping busy seems to be working pretty well).

We're having brats for dinner tonight. I might use this as an excuse to get into one of my allotted beers. Little QC test for me and the rest goes into the pan with brats. Actually, I might get the wife to be my tester...we'll see.
 
Good for you bud!!

I work offshore in the Golf of Mexico on a 28 day on and 28 day off rotation. I have no choice on giving up all alcohol for 6 months out of the year!

Glad to see you are sticking to it!!
 
Day 5: Friday is pizza & beer night at my house, but tonight will be different. Pizza & wine for the wife, pizza & sparkling water for me.

On the up side, my weight is down a bit. 25 days to go.
 
The only thing that kept me from drinking a beer today was this forum. Long, stressful day, topped off with a migraine. I made every excuse why this has gone on long enough, it's time to enjoy a beer or two, I've earned it.

Only this thread and the great people in it kept me from breaking my quest for 30 days.

Happy Friday night everyone and a BIG thanks.
 
ArizonaGoalie said:
The only thing that kept me from drinking a beer today was this forum. Long, stressful day, topped off with a migraine. I made every excuse why this has gone on long enough, it's time to enjoy a beer or two, I've earned it.

Only this thread and the great people in it kept me from breaking my quest for 30 days.

Happy Friday night everyone and a BIG thanks.
Click to expand...

Hang in there. It was a challenge for me as well, i had the day off, worked on the truck and did yardwork. all things that typically are accompanied by beer.

i also racked a Belgian, just to torture myself.
 
Sounds like Friday was tough for most people.

I told myself I was going to allow myself half a beer for QC purposes (new recipe I hope to share next week), but that seemed kind of silly after 5 days in. I cracked one, took a sip, and passed it along to wife. She took a sip, we agreed it was good, and the rest of the bottle went into dinner. It was super tempting to not finish the whole thing, but that was my own damn fault :p

8 days to go..
 
ArizonaGoalie said:
The only thing that kept me from drinking a beer today was this forum. Long, stressful day, topped off with a migraine. I made every excuse why this has gone on long enough, it's time to enjoy a beer or two, I've earned it.

Only this thread and the great people in it kept me from breaking my quest for 30 days.

Happy Friday night everyone and a BIG thanks.
Click to expand...

Glad you're still holding strong! I just read through the entire thread and it has me considering following in your foot steps...I could use a nice detox.
 
ArizonaGoalie said:
The only thing that kept me from drinking a beer today was this forum. Long, stressful day, topped off with a migraine. I made every excuse why this has gone on long enough, it's time to enjoy a beer or two, I've earned it.

Only this thread and the great people in it kept me from breaking my quest for 30 days.

Happy Friday night everyone and a BIG thanks.
Click to expand...

Glad you managed to hang in there, doing fantastic. Just keep in mind were past half way so its all down hill now.

through this all i just keep thinking of he benjamin franklin quote and wondering why i insist on torturing myself further lol. However i have managed to also not smoke this whole time also so thats a plus. I also find i am looking forward to having a beer versus having them sometimes simply out of bordom. I have also been using my time to get things done versus just having a beer and ignoring them.

Good luck everyone and stay strong.

Franklin_quote.jpg
 
Biscuits said:
Glad you're still holding strong! I just read through the entire thread and it has me considering following in your foot steps...I could use a nice detox.
Click to expand...

As tough as it's been, I recommend a 21-30 day break for all brewers. If nothing else, it will give you a renewed appreciation and sensitivity towards craft beer.
 
DAY 18 - SANS BEER:

I'm on to day 19, but yesterday was the toughest day so far. I'm past the 'just reaching for a beer' habit, and now I truly miss a high quality local brew or savoring one or two of my homebrews.

We are also missing our quality time out together, the wife and I. We spend almost every Saturday afternoon at a brewery. We have a couple pints, bring a book, chat, I bring my laptop and work, etc.

I've cleansed and now I'm ready to go back. Nevertheless, 12 days left (practically 11).....
 
Funny thing. Last night was easy for me didn't even really think about it. Should coast through the weekend. Going to be busy.
 
At my son's basketball tournament, long delays between games. I'm 7 minutes away from 7 different breweries.

A bit of torture. :)
 
Day 6: took all beer except Pliny out of the fridge. (It's not good aged and in the fridge it ages slower)

Nothing exciting today, 24 days remain.
 
DAY 19 - NO BEER:

Wanted to cheat today with a little apple wine, but wife would have no part of it. Had a toaster strudel instead.

Tomorrow will be easier. Entering the home stretch.

11 days left...
 
Yesterday wasn't all that bad, but I did find myself wanting a beer (or any alcohol really) at a birthday party for family. I think it was mentioned in this thread before, but social interaction without a beer or two isn't easy.

All in all though, it hasn't been as terrible as I was expecting. I've been replacing my evening beer with a nice Reed's or Goya's ginger beer.

One week from today I'll be enjoying a pint. That'll be two weeks for me, hats off to everyone who is doing it longer.
 
Way to go team!

I just looked back and by my calculation I am on day 17, so I've got two weeks ahead of me.

Bottling one Saison today, weight loss is finally in the double digits, 10.2 pounds.

Good luck to all.
 
yesterday after work was really hard i just about crumbled. Had a ridiculous craving for a beer and smoke. I was very close to saying screw it but held strong and eventually the craving went away. I credit this thread and the support of others for helping me get through it. Thanks to all and another day down.
 
Pkrd said:
So how much wine and bourbon are you drinking?
Click to expand...

So far, zero alcohol for me in 19+ days. Not even a whiff of bourbon or tequila. I've got half a bottle of Makers and half a bottle of vodka in the cabinet, along with cases of homebrew and at least 5 gallons of apfelwein in big bottles. All has gone untouched....
 
Day 14: Down 11lbs this morning, but that was before I ate. Cut back on a lot of my other indulgences, which has been much easier. It's true what someone else already said about alcohol leading to more snacking. Well on my way to my goal vacation weight. :mug:
 
END OF DAY 20:

Busy day with kids and sports. Indulged with bagels for breakfast, but otherwise a sound day. Tough playoff loss for my hockey team tonight, would have liked to dampen the firey pain of defeat with a cold one, but not to be.

I'm 2/3 the way done with this little experiment. Thanks again for the support on this thread. It's been the difference.

10 days left....
 
Awesome work man. Did you play hockey in AZ? I live in Twin Cities and have a couple guys on my league team that played at ASU. Pretty damn good players!
 
Just when I think this is easy I walk into the supermarket and I'm faced with a mountain of crispy, salty, wonderful chips just begging me to fill my cart, leaving only enough room for beer.

Came home and had a nice bowl of yoghurt with fruit instead. Man, I resent the hell out of that yoghurt.
 
Yesterday was a toughie. I spent most of the day in the kitchen doing a few projects (smoking bacon, making spinach pie triangles, infusing liquors, etc) and could really have used a pint of...well anything. My happy place is in the kitchen drinking and doing things like chopping veggies and such. Going with the latter was a toughie.

No alcohol for me either (unless you count a sip of beer for QC purposes and a few bottles of kombucha @ ~.5% alcohol).

Anyone figured out what their first beer/drink back will be? It's still early for some but I've got the rest of today and 5 more days.
 
Cheesy_Goodness said:
...

Anyone figured out what their first beer/drink back will be? It's still early for some but I've got the rest of today and 5 more days.
Click to expand...

Well, I've got a batch of ginger beer in the fridge, but I'm pretty sure that my re-entry beer will be a Duvel.

I just bottled a beer du garde so it will be a bit too early to drink it in two weeks.
 
Day 15: HUMP DAY! I am trying to stay away from thinking about what my 1st beer back will be, as thinking about it makes it harder to abstain. I know I am going to try a couple batches bottled after I started all this, other than that, who knows?
 
Rhumbline said:
Came home and had a nice bowl of yoghurt with fruit instead. Man, I resent the hell out of that yoghurt.
Click to expand...

This made me laugh a bunch, i understand only too well the feeling.


Cheesy_Goodness said:
Anyone figured out what their first beer/drink back will be? It's still early for some but I've got the rest of today and 5 more days.
Click to expand...

Cant decide if ill have 1 of two beers i bottled at the start of this or go up to a new tap room that opened up a few weeks ago, decisions decisions

either way ive only got 10 days to go and 1 more most likely very hard weekend to get through.
 
Im doing the same thing prior to my wedding. I cut my carbs down quite a bit, and am only allowing myself 1 (albeit large) glass of red wine per week. Im on day 8 and I am down 7.5 lbs... Also i'm keeping myself busy doing projects around the house, helping people and sweating my butt off.

I'll probably start to plateau in a few days, at that point, I'll start switching out different foods and running a bit outside with the dog.

I've done this before and in 1 month I lost around 20# when switching to a High protein low carb diet.

If I can't drink the beer, then I shall brew it!
 
Day 15... I wonder how my homebrews are doing? Wanted to enjoy one yesterday after kegging a wheat. Will be fun tomorrow when I check the carb level on the other keg. Might have a beer!
 
turkeygecko said:
Awesome work man. Did you play hockey in AZ? I live in Twin Cities and have a couple guys on my league team that played at ASU. Pretty damn good players!
Click to expand...

I did play hockey in AZ, started playing in 1994, hockey was nothing in Phoenix back then. Two rinks, if you would even call them that. Once the Jets moved to the Valley hockey really took off. It was nice to see so many rinks and so many people playing, especially kids.

I moved to San Diego in 2009, played for a couple years out here, but the leagues were messy. So I joined a very, very competitive ball hockey league. Keeps the competitive spirit going. And man, some of those guys can shoot a ball 90+ mph and it moves, unlike a puck.

It's been cool to watch ASU go from a club hockey team with players I played with and against, to a fully funded Division I program. The players there now are light years ahead of where they were 10 years ago, even 5 years ago.

Cheers!
 
Day 15? Well, I've had a second sort of skip day. By which I mean, I had a beer this weekend. I don't feel bad about it though.

After a tense morning with SWMBO Sunday, I took to my bicycle and fled to the climbing gym. Gym done, I hit the trail. I'm a urban biker, with a fixed gear, single speed bicycle. I hopped on the SRT which goes for just about forever (part of a network from Florida to Maine) and proceeded to bike the farthest I ever have. And then I turned around and headed home.

On the way out I passed Conshohocken Brewery and was sad that I wouldn't be able to stop. On the 26 mile journey out I passed one other food spot, a small cafe not far from the brewery. Having left home around noon, and turning around on the trail around 3, I was seriously ready for some grub. I manage to hold out for the cafe. Which is closed. At 4:30PM. mothereffer!

So with every muscle aching and seriously considering just sleeping on the trail, I stopped at the brewery, ordered quantities of food, and a pint of their lowest alcohol beer, a very tasty Mild Ale at 3.5%. I resisted a second and got on my way again.

Considering the whole point of this (for me) is to lose weight, I don't feel too bad about yesterday. I burned well over 3K calories between the gym and the ride. I was in serious need of nourishment with few other choices (other than wandering off trail in search of game). I might have forgone a beer at the brewery, but it would have felt a bit rude.

Oh well, I'm down 10 pounds since this all started, and I'm really happy about that. I have about 12 pounds to my (start drinking) goal weight, and I think I might keep going after that.
 

Similar threads

bad raccoon brewing
Big beer just got huge--am I doing this right?
Replies
7
Views
467
Hoochin'Fool
Hoochin'Fool
Zenmeister
I give up! I need to get trace amounts of O2 out of my beer
Replies
17
Views
1K
wepeeler
wepeeler
orgenomescii
Brewing like a Barbarian: Ancient Irish Descriptions of Malting & Brewing
Replies
2
Views
1K
McMullan
McMullan
K
Beer overly bitter after priming
Replies
10
Views
1K
mac_1103
mac_1103
S
Rotten Egg smell on last days of ferment
Replies
3
Views
1K
MightyMosin
MightyMosin

Latest posts

Back
Top