I am giving up beer for 30 days

[Cheesy_Goodness]

Yesterday wasn't bad. I had a quick sip of an Amarillo Ale for QC purposes and the rest went into a fajita marinade.

I did cheat a bit though. I bottled a pomegranate liquor last night and about an ounce didn't fit in the bottle. Would be a shame to waste and all

Four more days for me. All in all it has been a lot easier than I thought it would be (although my goal is only half of the OP's and others)

 

[menotu]

DAY 22:

Creeping in on a week left. Weekdays are quite easy now. I'm enjoying the extra caloric intake provided by not drinking beer.

Just got my Mega Pot 2.0 yesterday. Excited to start brewing again!

8 days left....

It's funny, I just ordered a Brew-Boss system even though I'm planning on cutting back on my consumption when this is all over. I'm thinking I'll focus on quality, not quantity.

The finish line is in sight.

i find this just a little comical since i just received my 10 gallon tall boy brew kettle a few days ago lol

 

[ArizonaGoalie]

It's funny, I just ordered a Brew-Boss system even though I'm planning on cutting back on my consumption when this is all over. I'm thinking I'll focus on quality, not quantity.

The finish line is in sight.

Agreed - quality over quantity. Also, gives me time to age. My Turkeyfest Ale needs 3-4 months in the bottle and my bourbon dubbel likes 6-12 months in the bottle.

As far as quality, I'll be brewing a small batch imperial chocolate stout, racked over raspberries that have been soaked in raspberry liqueur.

Cheers my friend!!

 

[Rhumbline]

Agreed - quality over quantity. Also, gives me time to age. My Turkeyfest Ale needs 3-4 months in the bottle and my bourbon dubbel likes 6-12 months in the bottle.

As far as quality, I'll be brewing a small batch imperial chocolate stout, racked over raspberries that have been soaked in raspberry liqueur.

Cheers my friend!!

Oh yeah!

My first brew with the new gear will be a simple Belgian Blonde, but the second I'm planning will be an Imperial Stout and I think I'll try a partigyle, something I've never been able to do before.

Just for fun, I may go back through the thread and count how many people are on board, seems like there's several and two of my coworkers have joined the challenge when I told them what I was doing.

 

[brewcat]

I'm out. Got to 15 days before my keg was ready. Always planned to stop once my homebrews were ready. I tend to drink less and enjoy more of homebrew. Keep up the good work.

 

[beersk]

Fifteen days is still pretty good, brewcat. Nice work.

 

[Scriv]

10 days in, 20 to go!

 

[ArizonaGoalie]

If you didn't catch it on the front page of HBT or referenced earlier in this thread, the article on 'developing and maintaining a healthy drinking lifestyle' is excellent. Seems like it was written specifically for us on this thread!

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/developing-maintaining-drinking-lifestyle.html

 

[Sir-Hops-A-Lot]

I appreciate that someone has posted this topic. I gave up homebrew for 2 weeks last summer while on anti-biotics and discovered that I slept better and felt better. The link that the OP just put up talks about alcohol units. A litre of 5% beer is 5 units. A litre of 7% beer is seven units. I read a study that used this measurement and recommended no more than 21 units a week (about 13 beers at 5%) with two days of not drinking each week (a liver rest).
It has worked well for me. I still enjoy my homebrew. I just take breaks regularly and feel better as a result.

 

[chisena]

I typically only drink beer once or twice a week. I love to drink, eat healthy, eat like crap, work out, drink water, and drink stouts... Obsessing over any particular one is not good for me. Life's all about balance IMO.

 

[ArizonaGoalie]

23 DAYS DOWN, JUST ONE WEEK LEFT:

Another easy day. I've made it this far, another 7 days is nothin'. I see the light at the end of the tunnel and I'm looking forward to meeting it head-on. I feel like I've made a good mental shift and will be maintaining a much healthier drinking lifestyle going forward.

I want to invite all of you to check out my podcast (it's 100% free):

www.PodcastLimitless.com

After my 30 days is up I will be recording an episode all about my time away from beer and you can count on a BIG shoutout to all my HBT friends who contributed to this thread.

My podcast can also be found on iTunes.

Cheers to a great upcoming Thursday....just 7 days left.

 

[ArizonaGoalie]

Good morning!

A few small decisions I've made about my drinking future, based on my experience and the advice of others in this thread:

1. Continue to use MyFitnessPal to track every calorie eaten, drank, and burned

2. Only drink on Fridays and Saturdays, with the exception of vacations and/or 3-day holiday weekends

3. Keep a record of every beer I drink for awareness purposes

4. Earn my beers through exercise and proper eating, leaving caloric room to enjoy a brew or two

Thanks again for all the support...

 

[Dixon9717]

That sounds like a great plan...

 

[okiepc]

30 years a smoker, gave it up 23 years ago. Drank a lot of hard alcohol, gave it up many years ago. Gave up most junk food & watch what I eat most of the time. I exercise daily & keep my weight close to where it should be.
For my age I am in good health. I have given up a lot of bad habits but I won't give up beer, home brew, or even worry about it.
Just my way of thinking. :rockin:

 

[Calichusetts]

If you didn't catch it on the front page of HBT or referenced earlier in this thread, the article on 'developing and maintaining a healthy drinking lifestyle' is excellent. Seems like it was written specifically for us on this thread!

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/developing-maintaining-drinking-lifestyle.html

I had been brainstorming that article for a few weeks. This thread and another one on liver health gave me the push to write it. Good luck!

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

Good morning!

A few small decisions I've made about my drinking future, based on my experience and the advice of others in this thread:

1. Continue to use MyFitnessPal to track every calorie eaten, drank, and burned

2. Only drink on Fridays and Saturdays, with the exception of vacations and/or 3-day holiday weekends

3. Keep a record of every beer I drink for awareness purposes

4. Earn my beers through exercise and proper eating, leaving caloric room to enjoy a brew or two

Thanks again for all the support...

Sounds like you're doing it right. Not drinking until it's earned is something I'll probably stick with too, along with cutting back during the work week.

 

[beersk]

I typically only drink beer once or twice a week. I love to drink, eat healthy, eat like crap, work out, drink water, and drink stouts... Obsessing over any particular one is not good for me. Life's all about balance IMO.

Moderation is key. I like being f*cked up just as much as I like being sober. There's a time and place, most definitely.

@ArizonaGoalie - sounds like you got a good plan going. I couldn't (wouldn't want to) drink only on weekends. I'd rather just have 1 pint a day, maybe 2 on weekends.

 

[Rhumbline]

Good morning!

A few small decisions I've made about my drinking future, based on my experience and the advice of others in this thread:

1. Continue to use MyFitnessPal to track every calorie eaten, drank, and burned

2. Only drink on Fridays and Saturdays, with the exception of vacations and/or 3-day holiday weekends

3. Keep a record of every beer I drink for awareness purposes

4. Earn my beers through exercise and proper eating, leaving caloric room to enjoy a brew or two

Thanks again for all the support...

I probably won't be that detailed in my plan. I'll do the Friday-Saturday thing, and I may make an occasional exception during the week as long as it's restricted to one and doesn't impact my weight loss.

Go Team!

 

[Firewalker11]

Man, I hate being drunk. Having a very light buzz? That's ok but that's it so watching my intake is pretty easy. I do agree with the moderation idea too, tapering of to weekend beer drinking and having more water is the goal.

That said, I am thinking about other ideas for empty cornys, flavored water? Sugar free soda? Agave sweetened sodas?

Thoughts?

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

I look forward to having kombucha on tap eventually. I think it's a pretty good beer substitute, but YMMV.

You could probably play with soda recipes and make it pretty low on sugar too, as they don't need to be the syrupy messes you buy.

 

[Toga]

OP how many pounds have you dropped so far?

I second the kombucha idea and or making light sodas. Kombucha has a ton of health benefits and can flavored with fruit making for a great healthy treat. For soda a low sugar fizzy citrus soda could be awesome.

 

[Firewalker11]

Is there a thread for making the scoby?

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

It's as easy as picking up some kombucha at your local grocery (or perhaps your local hippie health food store).

I got a plain green tea bottle, poured it in a bowl and covered with a cheese cloth until one formed.

That said, I'm not convinced the scoby really does much. You could probably brew a gallon of tea and "pitch" a bottle of kombucha in and get the same effect. It's sort of analogous to pitching yeast; everything you need to get booch is in the liquid.

 

[Brian77095]

Just read all of your posts and I am happy for you! I know it has been hard but, you learn a lot about your self and your habits good and bad. You got this! see you at the goal line! That next beer on day 31 is going to taste the very best!

 

[Firewalker11]

It's as easy as picking up some kombucha at your local grocery (or perhaps your local hippie health food store).

I got a plain green tea bottle, poured it in a bowl and covered with a cheese cloth until one formed.

That said, I'm not convinced the scoby really does much. You could probably brew a gallon of tea and "pitch" a bottle of kombucha in and get the same effect. It's sort of analogous to pitching yeast; everything you need to get booch is in the liquid.

Thanks, Target had the live soda on the shelf, I'll grab one tonight and give it a try.

Hopefully I can find one with a scoby in it.

 

[Charles1968]

Good morning!

A few small decisions I've made about my drinking future, based on my experience and the advice of others in this thread:

1. Continue to use MyFitnessPal to track every calorie eaten, drank, and burned

2. Only drink on Fridays and Saturdays, with the exception of vacations and/or 3-day holiday weekends

3. Keep a record of every beer I drink for awareness purposes

4. Earn my beers through exercise and proper eating, leaving caloric room to enjoy a brew or two

Thanks again for all the support...

Good luck for the last week and to the others who've joined in. Hopefully an inspiration to the many people on here who doubtless wrestle with the issue of control where alcohol is concerned.

 

[iijakii]

I can't do the only drink on weekends thing. I wind up getting plastered because I want to make sure it was worth holding off all week for

 

[ArizonaGoalie]

OP how many pounds have you dropped so far?

Last check I was down 15lbs - from 200lb even to 185. I'll have my next dr. appt on 6/29, we'll see where I'm at then....

 

[ArizonaGoalie]

DAY 24 - BEERFREE:

Another productive, easy day to be alcohol free. Great breakfast with a local yacht dealer, played hockey, enjoyed an awesome lunch, solid day at the office, counting down until I reintroduce beer into the lifestyle.

6 days left!!!

 

[MindenMan]

Great job to all that have made a decision to change their everyday lifestyle. I used to drink two beers almost every night, and I have cut it back to one. I didn't have a beer two days this week, so I have cut back at least a six pack over the last week. I don't miss the second beer as I still have a brew with dinner, I just don't have one before.
The average can of soda has 150 calories, and if a person cuts back their daily intake by 150 calories, at the end of one year they have lost 15 pounds of unneeded weight. I know that some beers are close to that so I am just putting it out there...