I am giving up beer for 30 days

[moreb33rplz]

Hey man. that's like your opinion.

 

[hunter_le five]

Hey man. that's like your opinion.

"One of us! One of us! One of us!..."

 

[Charles1968]

Coffee isn't so bad - around 3 a day has a positive effect on health:
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/mar/03/coffee-drinking-may-prevent-heart-attacks-study

Unlike beer, it's easy to stay within healthy daily levels as a coffee doesn't create a craving for another one. However, I think regular alcohol drinkers can get into a cycle of relying on caffeine to blow away the cobwebs caused by poor sleep and frequent mild hangovers, which is probably a bad thing.

Agree that the alcohol quiz posted earlier is suspect - a few of the questions don't make sense.

 

[Charles1968]

I started noticing how much some people drink, how much it changes them, and how annoying they can become.

Yes it's interesting how much you notice other people's drinking when you quit or cut down. The people with control problems become very obvious. I've also noticed a correlation between drink and career issues such as redundancy. Non drinkers or light drinkers tend to be harder working and more successful later in life as they have more energy and enthusiasm.

 

[Rhumbline]

Another day, another pound.

Yesterday was one of those days when I would have had a bag of chips and three beers.

Good luck to all.

 

[Firewalker11]

Hang in there satan,

It would be too much of a challenge for me to give up caffeine and beer simultaneously. I have cut out all sugar, and I substitute green tea for coffee occasionally.

Today could have broke me. I just sat through 90 minutes of a presentation from two nimrods trying to sell my university a half mil $ software package. You could have snatched two people at random off the street and they would have a good chance of being more knowledgeable about the product. There's a 100% chance that they would be more engaging speakers. The presentation was supposed to last four hours but I bailed.

I'm tempted to contact the company and tell them to check their reps to see if they have any sh!ts left before sending them over, because these two guys were fresh out.

It's a shame, I know the product is decent but I can't recommend it based on what they presented.

Same here but this was the owner giving the presentation. He had a guy and girl with him, dynamic and attractive, good speakers but he talked over them until they stopped trying.

No way he would have gotten out of the conference room alive without my coffee.

I cut him off at the 10 minute mark, life is just too short for this stuff.

When he asked why? I simply told him that if he left the room and let his team make the presentation, I would let them finish.

They smiled, he just guffawed and told me how rude I was. The COO told him I was being kind.

The lad and lady came back yesterday to finish the presentation. It went well.

Coffee saves lives...

 

[Pyg]

This test is stupid. Has anyone ever had a drink who wouldn't qualify as an alcoholic according to that?

And I think this is one of the reason that AA is sometimes called a cult. They will tell you, me and anyone that "you" have an issue. That the only way to address that issue is to join the program and follow "the Big Book". That the only way to a better life is to follow the steps and advice of DR Bob. And if you leave you are done for. I would have failed that test when I was in high school and any time over the last 20 years and I have never had a "problem".
Homebrewers are lucky people, we create and drink our creations. We are chasing flavors. Just not sucking down MGD's!
But we have also managed our hobby into our lifestyles. I for one have had to start exercising more to compensate for my beer consumption!

I have had this conversation with a few AA people and explained that I enjoy beer, I enjoy being able to try different ones. Different flavors, hops etc....
I want to catch a buzz, I drink a couple glasses of black velvet, neat!!!

But you will never convince them.

But here is some light reading to make us feel better about those who think we have a "problem"
http://www.orange-papers.org/orange-cult_a0.html

http://www.positiveatheism.org/rw/ofcourse.htm
http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2015/03/the-irrationality-of-alcoholics-anonymous/386255/

 

[beersk]

Using alcodroid & changing the way I brew has made it much easier for me to steadily lower my consumption to a level that is pretty much harmless but still enjoyable. I still get the brief craving to have another after that one beer, but it passes after half an hour or so, and disappears immediately if you eat.

Other benefits of consuming in moderation: great sleep, waking up feeling great, and being full of energy at work.

I couldn't give up coffee. Did try to cut down to one a day, but I like it too much and I like the energy. 2-3 a day seems about right to me.

very strongly recommend alcodroid to anyone on here. It's fascinating seeing how much you've consumed and great to be honest with yourself about it.

All good points. I'll have to check that app out. I've been just logging in a note book deal on my phone what I've been drinking. Keeps me honest for the most part.

I find that drinking too much affects me mentally more than physically. It just makes me unmotivated, depressed, and a bit irritable. Physically, I'll feel fine, unless I drink way too much. I already deal with depression, I don't need the added affect from alcohol. If I wasn't knee deep in homebrewing and love it so much, I probably wouldn't drink much. But it's a commitment and lifestyle at this point. Homebrewing is just so f*cking cool. Moderation and self control is what life is all about and one of the hardest things to do.

 

[naturebrew]

A great way to make sure you control your drink and not vice versa is simply to log how much you consume. I've been doing this with an Android phone app called Alcodroid for two years. I'm used to logging all the measurements from brews, so logging what I drink is no different. When I started, without any particular intention to cut down, my consumption halved pretty quickly. I had my eye on the graph every day and ended up competing with myself to have less each week. I quickly switched to bottling only in 12 ounce bottles and now only have one of those a night. I don't brew anything over 5%, but I brew for strong flavour: lots of hops, characterful yeast, strong carbonation.

Current medical thinking is that 1-2 UK units (8-16 grams) of alcohol a day is good for middle aged males as it protects against atherosclerosis (cause of stroke & heart disease). Going above this quickly reverses the benefit, and bingeing is a fast-track to heart disease and all sorts of other problems. Chronic moderately heavy drinking obviously bad for you in all sorts of ways.

Using alcodroid & changing the way I brew has made it much easier for me to steadily lower my consumption to a level that is pretty much harmless but still enjoyable. I still get the brief craving to have another after that one beer, but it passes after half an hour or so, and disappears immediately if you eat.

Other benefits of consuming in moderation: great sleep, waking up feeling great, and being full of energy at work.

I couldn't give up coffee. Did try to cut down to one a day, but I like it too much and I like the energy. 2-3 a day seems about right to me.

very strongly recommend alcodroid to anyone on here. It's fascinating seeing how much you've consumed and great to be honest with yourself about it.

That sounds cool, I like the concept, will check it out!

 

[Magnus314]

I feel like homebrew helps me handle alcohol better.

Drinking flavorful and satisfying homebrew tends to mellow me out and make me feel happy. Of course there are times when it goes overboard, but even then not like it does with commercial stuff.

Drinking hard liquor or factory spawned "beer" that's lab designed to increase consumption by decreasing flavor so they can sell more, seems more likely to lead me to binging.

 

[Clonefan94]

And I think this is one of the reason that AA is sometimes called a cult. They will tell you, me and anyone that "you" have an issue. That the only way to address that issue is to join the program and follow "the Big Book". That the only way to a better life is to follow the steps and advice of DR Bob. And if you leave you are done for. I would have failed that test when I was in high school and any time over the last 20 years and I have never had a "problem".
Homebrewers are lucky people, we create and drink our creations. We are chasing flavors. Just not sucking down MGD's!
But we have also managed our hobby into our lifestyles. I for one have had to start exercising more to compensate for my beer consumption!

I have had this conversation with a few AA people and explained that I enjoy beer, I enjoy being able to try different ones. Different flavors, hops etc....
I want to catch a buzz, I drink a couple glasses of black velvet, neat!!!

But you will never convince them.

But here is some light reading to make us feel better about those who think we have a "problem"
http://www.orange-papers.org/orange-cult_a0.html

http://www.positiveatheism.org/rw/ofcourse.htm
http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2015/03/the-irrationality-of-alcoholics-anonymous/386255/

This is pretty interesting. I just posted in the "How often do you brew" thread that I have cut back on my beer consumption quite a bit, just to prove to myself I didn't have a problem. I enjoy the taste of beer so much and brewing my own, where it was always around, I was drinking at least a couple every day. It really wasn't difficult, once I got over the taste craving.

It's also what kind of solidified my thoughts that I didn't really have a problem. If I'm ever out of beer, I don't then turn to whiskey or wine and drink that instead. Don't get me wrong, I'll drink a glass of wine or whiskey no problem, but I've never found myself just sucking back any kind of booze to get a buzz going because the beer wasn't handy.

That being said, by most criteria of by my co-worker in AA, I had a serious problem. Even though, unless it was a social occasion, I usually stopped drinking as soon as I would feel the affects of the alcohol moving in. And the beer I brew, that was usually after 2 or sometimes even 1 beer.

 

[mhermetz]

I'll wait till December to try this whole no drinking for weeks at a time thing. Don't think I've done that since 2nd year College. A baby is a damn good motivator, I probably wont even have energy to handle a beer. I'd be asleep half way into it...and who wants to waste a beer like that?

 

[Charles1968]

I find that drinking too much affects me mentally more than physically. It just makes me unmotivated, depressed, and a bit irritable.

A lot of that is probably because alcohol wrecks your sleep. One cause of this is rebound from the sedative effect, caused by a rise in glutamate level in the brain. If I drink too much, I typically pass out as soon as I go to bed but then wake up maybe 4-5 a.m. and can't get back to sleep. There's nothing like sleep deprivation to make you feel bad tempered and depressed the next day. (Remember never to judge yourself when you're hungover or ill or sleep-deprived.)

Homebrewing is just so f*cking cool. Moderation and self control is what life is all about and one of the hardest things to do.

Agreed. You just need some system for imposing control if you've got 4 months supply of beer under the stairs, as I have. That's why apps like alcodroid or keeping records are handy. If I felt I couldn't keep tabs on what I drink, I would stop brewing altogether and probably stop drinking.

 

[ArizonaGoalie]

DAY 10 - NO BEER:

Oh my...10 days without beer. I've turned a corner from wanting a beer or habitually reaching for a beer to no longer thinking about it. Don't get me wrong, I still love beer. I have at least six cases (maybe 8) of homebrew in the garage, including my annual summer saison that I haven't even tried yet.

Busy day at the office and playing hockey tonight, so an easy day off the sauce.

20 days left my friends......

 

[ArizonaGoalie]

My routine after Thursday night hockey is to stop at the convenience store and get a 16oz can of Sierra Nevada. Missed it tonight....on to Day 11...

 

[Dixon9717]

Good luck all the power to you...
I'm thinking of doing the same thing since SWMBO has me in a diet to lose 20lbs. It would go much faster without beer. But damn that's tough....

 

[Janet]

Be strong my friend.

 

[Janet]

Another day, another pound.

http://www.amazon.com/SySrion-cast-iron-Cleaner-Stainless-Steel-Chainmail-Scrubber/dp/B00XMMKPI0/


Yesterday was one of those days when I would have had a bag of chips and three beers.

Good luck to all.

 

[biochemedic]

I have done this previously, and may have to consider doing it again...

It also occurred to me...all this not drinking and brewing at the same time...might actually be a way to get a pipeline up and running again!

 

[Rhumbline]

DAY 10 - NO BEER:

Oh my...10 days without beer. I've turned a corner from wanting a beer or habitually reaching for a beer to no longer thinking about it. Don't get me wrong, I still love beer. I have at least six cases (maybe 8) of homebrew in the garage, including my annual summer saison that I haven't even tried yet.

Busy day at the office and playing hockey tonight, so an easy day off the sauce.

20 days left my friends......

Way to go, AG!

We're 1/3 of the way there. I think when this experiment is over I may restrict myself to Friday-Saturday only for beer & wine.

I've got two Saisons bubbling away in fermenters making the house smell great. One might be drinkable in a month.

 

[naturebrew]

Way to go at 10 days! Good luck to all in continuing your quest to 30 days, you can do it!

 

[SatanPrinceOfDarkness]

I'd be asleep half way into it...and who wants to waste a beer like that?

Who? My fiancee like every Friday night. She'll open some DIPA and then nod off 10 minutes later. I call it "pulling a SatanPrinceofDarkness'sFiancee'sName".

 

[ArizonaGoalie]

Good luck all the power to you...
I'm thinking of doing the same thing since SWMBO has me in a diet to lose 20lbs. It would go much faster without beer. But damn that's tough....

A couple years ago I lost 25lbs while still drinking beer. It took a few months, but my secret was the MyFitnessPal app which allowed me to count calories. If I knew I wanted to drink beer that day, I made sure to go on a run, hike, or long walk to buy calories.

Good luck to you and thanks for the support!!!

 

[SatanPrinceOfDarkness]

I guess this is day 10, 11? And I should really say 11-1, since I had a skip day for a wedding.

Yesterday I managed to brew without drinking anything. This weekend will be tough, as all weekends are. My friend has her art up at a bar for First Friday tonight, and then tomorrow is my anniversary, fancy dinner and all.

Can I say this... sobriety is kind of weird. I don't drink excessively, but I do find myself drinking at most social engagements, because that's just what happens. Is there a social world where people don't drink? I can never find it.

 

[beersk]

A lot of that is probably because alcohol wrecks your sleep. One cause of this is rebound from the sedative effect, caused by a rise in glutamate level in the brain. If I drink too much, I typically pass out as soon as I go to bed but then wake up maybe 4-5 a.m. and can't get back to sleep. There's nothing like sleep deprivation to make you feel bad tempered and depressed the next day. (Remember never to judge yourself when you're hungover or ill or sleep-deprived.)



Agreed. You just need some system for imposing control if you've got 4 months supply of beer under the stairs, as I have. That's why apps like alcodroid or keeping records are handy. If I felt I couldn't keep tabs on what I drink, I would stop brewing altogether and probably stop drinking.

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...

 

[Rockn_M]

Is there a social world where people don't drink?

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

 

[Scriv]

I'm thinking of doing the same thing. My weight is up, energy is down, sleep is lackluster at best, motivation to exercise is dwindling.

 

[Dixon9717]

Thanks for the good advice ArizonaGolie. Two years ago I lost 40lbs in 4 months. For awhile I wasn't drinking anything, then I decided just Saturdays I would indulge, then be a good boy the rest of the week. It worked, then after a vacation to Hawaii and drinking everyday and eating whatever I wanted I couldn't get back on track and kept drinking pretty much daily. Working the midnight shift didn't help and I put 20lb back on. I think limiting to Saturday drinking again will work but man that's a loooong six days.........

Kudos to OP for doing what we all should do once in awhile......

 

[joyceman]

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

Saudi Arabia?

 

[brewcat]

I have done this previously, and may have to consider doing it again...

It also occurred to me...all this not drinking and brewing at the same time...might actually be a way to get a pipeline up and running again!

That is what I have decided to do. And I'm not necessarily planning on 30 days. I have four brews going, but nothing will really be ready for another two or three weeks. Just decided to not buy beer for awhile.

On day 5 for me. I have a porter sitting in the fridge that I want to try in a meatloaf recipe, so I may have 8 ounces on Sunday.