I am giving up beer for 30 days

[Charles1968]

Yes, I'm sure the quality of sleep affects me mentally the most. I find that if I don't drink anything that I feel better the next day, regardless of the amount of sleep I get. I'm getting older and wiser I guess.

I have my weeks where I drink too much though and it brings me down. This week is one of those weeks...

Best way to beat depression in my experience is exercise or sport. Something about physical activity switches your brain into a different gear. My brother has taken this to an extreme and is a military exercise fanatic. I'm not that bad but I do cycle every day and it makes me feel great.

 

[Psylocide]

I have officially abstained from beer for the past 4.5 hours. I'm going to celebrate hard when I get home.

 

[Charles1968]

Is there a social world where people don't drink? I can never find it.

A couple of years ago I listed to the artist Damien Hirst on Desert Island Discs (UK radio show, also a podcast) talking about giving up alcohol altogether in middle age - he was pretty much an alcoholic. He said that after decades of drinking socially, he had to completely re-learn his social skills from scratch as a sober person. Personally I find socialising sober a bit of a chore in the evenings, but lunches are a different matter - I seem to have loads of energy at that time of day and always happy to meet a friend for something to eat or coffee without feeling the need for a beer.

 

[ArizonaGoalie]

That's not a world I want to live in.

Agreed

 

[beersk]

Best way to beat depression in my experience is exercise or sport. Something about physical activity switches your brain into a different gear. My brother has taken this to an extreme and is a military exercise fanatic. I'm not that bad but I do cycle every day and it makes me feel great.

Well, I agree. I ride a bike for transportation, about 10 miles a day if I'm just going to and from work. Otherwise, I'll go on rides after work, usually in the 20 mile range. Depression runs in the family, so I guess I'm more prone to it. The riding helps, but it doesn't help as much as is commonly quoted.

 

[ArizonaGoalie]

DAY 11 - NO BEER:

Friday night - craving a pint so badly. A nice milk stout, clean pale ale, or piney IPA would hit the spot. Alas, no cerveza for me. Instead, enjoyed a big banana nut muffin for dessert after a fantastic turkey avocado sandwich for dinner. The thought occurred to me today - what if I just have a glass of wine or a Makers Mark and Coke tonight as a reward - but I stayed on the wagon.

Brewing and bottling tomorrow - a chocolate stout with raspberry liqueur soaked raspberries and my Sam Adams Summer Ale clone respectively.

Belmont Stakes tomorrow. Go American Pharoah!!!!

19 days left.....

 

[Dixon9717]

Way to go OP keep up the will power......

 

[Scriv]

You've got this, just remember why you started.

 

[Rhumbline]

DAY 11 - NO BEER:

Friday night - craving a pint so badly. A nice milk stout, clean pale ale, or piney IPA would hit the spot. Alas, no cerveza for me. Instead, enjoyed a big banana nut muffin for dessert after a fantastic turkey avocado sandwich for dinner. The thought occurred to me today - what if I just have a glass of wine or a Makers Mark and Coke tonight as a reward - but I stayed on the wagon.

Brewing and bottling tomorrow - a chocolate stout with raspberry liqueur soaked raspberries and my Sam Adams Summer Ale clone respectively.

Belmont Stakes tomorrow. Go American Pharoah!!!!

19 days left.....

Yesterday was a tough one here as well. I went shopping and while in the produce section, everything I looked at reminded me that it could be used in a delicious salsa. That would mean a mountain of tortilla chips and a few cold brews to wash it all down.

Bottling day would be hard for me also.

Remember folks, this isn't a temperance campaign, it's more of a vacation from alcohol. Just like a vacation from work recharges the batteries and resets the circuit breakers, this along with the diet is meant to restore things to a more neutral position.

 

[menotu]

DAY 11 - NO BEER:

Friday night - craving a pint so badly. A nice milk stout, clean pale ale, or piney IPA would hit the spot. Alas, no cerveza for me. Instead, enjoyed a big banana nut muffin for dessert after a fantastic turkey avocado sandwich for dinner. The thought occurred to me today - what if I just have a glass of wine or a Makers Mark and Coke tonight as a reward - but I stayed on the wagon.

Brewing and bottling tomorrow - a chocolate stout with raspberry liqueur soaked raspberries and my Sam Adams Summer Ale clone respectively.

Belmont Stakes tomorrow. Go American Pharoah!!!!

19 days left.....

stay strong were almost to the half way point. Another weekend is bound to bring more challenges. I find the week is a tad easier probably just because work eats up so much of the day.

 

[BrooklynTom]

Keep going. Your doing great.

 

[Brew_G]

This is a great idea, and I'm glad that those of you taking up the chore have stuck with it!

Last spring, I went to the doctor for a physical and found out that I weighed 15 lbs more than I expected. I didn't check my weight before that for fear of what I'd see, so I was blissfully unaware that I'd packed on the lbs like I did. My wife and I were in great shape a few years ago as we geared up for our wedding, but we both lost the plot when we bought a house and got a dog, and our weights went up slowly over time until that slap in the face last year.

We decided to start going to the gym, and I gave up weekday drinking along with it. Talk about hard...I could barely get to that first Friday after the decision was made to really go for it. I can only imagine what 30 days off the sauce would be like!

I dropped 26 lbs in three months and have kept most of it off since then (the holidays last year saw me pack on a few lbs). I still generally only drink on Fridays and Saturdays, but I have given in and drank a few beers during the week from time to time as a treat/indulgence in weakness.

I don't have any plans to stop drinking for an extended time, but I do understand the cravings and that they get easier to control the further along you go. Good luck to all of you!

 

[IkeKrizzule]

I'm going through a bit of an involuntary dry patch. Had acl surgery yesterday so no beer since Tuesday and probably for another 2 weeks or so. Not too bad yet, but I'm sure I'll miss those 1-2 a night before it's over. Have a Wee Heavy that should be ready when I am so will look forward to that.

 

[ArizonaGoalie]

DAY 12 - NO BEER:

Productive little Saturday to keep my mind off beer....

Started with a 3.5 mile hike in the early a.m., moved to some tennis around noon, then some killer homemade pizza followed by game 2 of the stanley cup finals.

Beer did cross my mind more than a few times today, but I held strong. Even stopped by a local tap house/bottle shop to buy a gift of Three Philosophers for a friend. The tap list looked mighty inviting, but I resisted. Oh man is that first beer going to be sweet in a few weeks.

18 days left....

 

[Rhumbline]

Good job, I need to work in more exercise but the weight loss continues.

I'll be racking my Saisons to secondary this week, gazing upon all that beautiful beer, I'll need to stay strong!

 

[menotu]

DAY 12 - NO BEER:

Productive little Saturday to keep my mind off beer....

Started with a 3.5 mile hike in the early a.m., moved to some tennis around noon, then some killer homemade pizza followed by game 2 of the stanley cup finals.

Beer did cross my mind more than a few times today, but I held strong. Even stopped by a local tap house/bottle shop to buy a gift of Three Philosophers for a friend. The tap list looked mighty inviting, but I resisted. Oh man is that first beer going to be sweet in a few weeks.

18 days left....

I feel your pain, made it through saturday with only minor thoughts of having a beer. however i got off work early today and am grilling on a beautiful sunday afternoon. I have to admit a nice cold ipa sounds amazing right now. But i picked a few iced tea's and am holding strong. Have a great sunday everyone.

 

[Rhumbline]

Another day down.

The no beer part is easier than the no snack part. Went for a short hike yesterday but I need to do it in the morning, not at noon in the Florida heat.

 

[naturebrew]

Hope everyone made it through the weekend, amazing how many projects get done when you feel good and have energy.

 

[ArizonaGoalie]

DAY 13 - NO BEER: (late post)

Bottled my Sam Adams summer ale clone. Smelled great. Had a playoff hockey game in the early evening, so beer was easy to resist. However, we won, and normally I would have a pint or two after a big win. I had some pop tarts instead

17 days left.....

 

[treacheroustexan]

I so want to try this. Maybe some time in the future. Thanks for the updates and good job.

 

[fsr_racer]

Day 7 for me. Friday night, after a long week, I really wanted to try a new light rye I bottled a little over a week ago, but stayed committed. Down 7lbs last I checked, but will check again this evening. Yesterday I bottled a pumpkin ale that will age until the holidays. The vanilla smell was killing me, but it will be worth the wait.

 

[Scriv]

Starting my own break, today is day 1.

 

[Rhumbline]

"..You know, if one person, just one person does it they may think he's really sick and they won't take him.

And if two people, two people do it, in harmony, they may think they're both ****** and they won't take either of them.

And three people do it, three, can you imagine, three people walking in singin a bar of Alice's Restaurant and walking out. They may think it's an organization.

And can you, can you imagine fifty people a day,I said fifty people a day walking in singin a bar of Alice's Restaurant and walking out. And friends they may thinks it's a movement.

And that's what it is , the Alice's Restaurant Anti-Massacre Movement"


Arlo Guthrie - Alice's Restaurant Massacre Lyrics

Looks like ArizonaGoalie started a movement!

Sometimes chaos is good.

 

[beersk]

"..You know, if one person, just one person does it they may think he's really sick and they won't take him.

And if two people, two people do it, in harmony, they may think they're both ****** and they won't take either of them.

And three people do it, three, can you imagine, three people walking in singin a bar of Alice's Restaurant and walking out. They may think it's an organization.

And can you, can you imagine fifty people a day,I said fifty people a day walking in singin a bar of Alice's Restaurant and walking out. And friends they may thinks it's a movement.

And that's what it is , the Alice's Restaurant Anti-Massacre Movement"


Arlo Guthrie - Alice's Restaurant Massacre Lyrics

Looks like ArizonaGoalie started a movement!

Sometimes chaos is good.

I heard that Arlo is going to perform Alice's Restaurant in full on a tour this year. It'd be the first time in over 20 years or something like that. I saw him play a couple summers ago. It was amazing. I generally listen to metal (the blacker the better) but that was an amazing experience.


Keep up the good work you guys who are breaking from beersk. I've been cutting back a ton, but I don't think I'll be taking any super long breaks. I also want to lose some weight, so less beer will lead to better food choices, I'm thinking. Back on MyFitnessPal...logging cals is a pain in the ass, but ya gotta do it to keep on track.

 

[ArizonaGoalie]

DAY 14 - BEERLESS:

Warm day in San Diego. Would have been nice to wrap up a Monday with a tall glass of cream ale, but it's just a fantasy.

Enjoying game 3 of the Stanley Cup. A day away from halfway.

16 days left....

 

[Rhumbline]

The March continues. Great job everyone.

My weight is still heading in the right direction but I've got a ways to go.

Tomorrow is the halfway point, very cool. There's no doubting the benefits I've seen, not sure how many of them are physical vs mental, but it really doesn't matter. This experience has been a positive one.

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

Think I'm going to try a mini version of this too. No beer for me until Sunday the 21st, starting yesterday, so about 2 weeks. I'm allowing myself two beers in between (one beer I bottled over the weekend and one I'm bottling tonight to make sure they're up to snuff for an upcoming trip. Might be able to get wife to split them with me).

Yesterday was easy. At work for 11 hours and had stuff around the house that needed done so I didn't miss it at all.
13 days to go.

 

[sfish]

truly awesome thread.
"BEer STRONG"
You're gonna go far, if you can do this you can do anything.

 

[SatanPrinceOfDarkness]

Day Many,

I haven't given in since the wedding, so only one skip day since this all started 2 weeks ago. Survived a gallery opening at a bar, my anniversary, and brewing all without drinking anything. I've lost about 8 lbs so far, which is awesome. I'm sure a lot of that was water weight at the beginning, but it's not that the scale doesn't swing back and forth so wildly.

The hardest thing for me right now is the beer I have bottled ready to drink. I have 3 weizens that I haven't tasted but have already started giving out. All good comments so far, but it's hard to trust what people say. I asked my bartender for friend and she said she thought the lemon tasted a little mediciney, but the other person said the lemon was her favorite. I need to have friends over for a tasting party so I can just have a sip...

I have to say, I really enjoyed going to a bar and not drinking. I saved a ton of money and still had a very good time.

 

[beersk]

The March continues. Great job everyone.

My weight is still heading in the right direction but I've got a ways to go.

Tomorrow is the halfway point, very cool. There's no doubting the benefits I've seen, not sure how many of them are physical vs mental, but it really doesn't matter. This experience has been a positive one.

Man, I find it hard to believe that your weight is dropping that much just from not drinking beer. You must've been drinking a lot huh?
I always felt like my weight was more affected by the food and the amounts I was eating more so than the beer and amounts I was drinking. There'd be weekends where'd I'd just get sh!tfaced Friday and Saturday night and my weight wouldn't change a bit on Monday. But a weekend or week of not drinking much and eating sh!tty and the weight starts creeping up...

Just sayin'... But congrats. Keep it up.

I have to say, I really enjoyed going to a bar and not drinking. I saved a ton of money and still had a very good time.

I did this last night too. Went out for an aunt's bday and had nothing, no beer, no food, and still had a great time. I did have one at home beforehand though. Rode my bike hard on the way there, felt awesome. It's nice to be social again without beer, almost feels like me again from ages ago before I started drinking. Less focus on the beer, more focus on the situation, the people you're with, etc.