Written by Last week I announced I was giving up on beer for the entire month of September. I’ve had a lot of support from you and others who’ve tried it. I made a promise to check in once per week here at The Brew Club with my status as added incentive to keep on keepin’ on!
So, how am I doing? Well, I’m glad you asked!
In all honesty, the first couple of days without beer were the toughest, especially because you get into a habit of having a beer with dinner, or before bed or whatever. It became clear to me that my beer drinking was ritualized to some degree.
I was able to resist, and I did miss the flavor, but as I mentioned after the first few days its not a big deal. I think I can do it!
Another thing I realized from multiple past failures was that I have no willpower. In that regard, I don’t have any beer in the fridge for easy access, although there is still a good amount in the basement – but that’s a lot of work going up and down the stairs so its worked out so far.
I also decided to hold off buying my ‘reward’ beers ahead of time “just in case it’s sold out by October 1st” (that was my logic) so they’re not in the house staring at me either.
So far, so good. Week one down and three to go.
For the record, my weight is 209.2 which is not a loss worth mentioning beginning last week at 209.6. In a way, this might be good because it could be that it isn’t the beer causing my problems after all! A week of not beer resulted in less than 1/2 pound of weight loss! Or, maybe it takes more time to sink in . Who knows, we’ll see.
I guess the main thing is I feel pretty good, and don’t think I’ll have a problrm finishing out September without a beer. Let’s see how I am next Thursday!
Cheers!
Scott – TheBrewClub
Keep truckin’, Scott! I did it about a year ago and the first and last week were the hardest, but by no means difficult. I lost a ton of weight and it was a good cleansing experience. Might do it again soon. Best of Luck!
Thanks Peter! I referenced your experiment last week, and I remember it was a nice success for you. Having lost only a half pound in a week with no beer seems to indicate I don’t really drink that much of it!
Scott,
I just stumbled upon your blog and was horrified! How/why would you ever cut out beer for a month? I just can´t see the point. I mean, if you want to lose weight, just eat slightly better and exercise for 5 minutes or something.
I´m shocked and appalled that you´d consider cutting beer out of your life for any reason (other than ordered by doctor).
This is a travesty and I, for one, feel scandalized. I hope you´re happy!
That said, I´ll be tuning in to see how you´re doing!
@blanston – Thank you for your concern! I know you are right about the diet & exercise thing, but it isn’t just weight I’m trying to lose here. Its a test of my willpower and it gives me at least four articles to publish!
As I mentioned in the initial post last week, http://thebrewclub.com/2011/09/02/my-30-day-no-beer-challenge/ my beer consumption is moderate at best, (one a day usually) and my results so far seem to show that beer is not a negative factor in my diet, otherwise I would have lost more by now!
Still, I’m one to see things through, and I’ve made the decision to go 30 days, and so it will be! As others have suggested, that first beer on October 1 is going to be sooooooo goood! It might just make this all worth it!
I guess Scott, you ought to re-do the picture on the site or something so it looks like tea for the month of September…No need to change the name, just make it about a different “brew”. Good luck. What will you do with all the extra time? Perhaps you should take up fly fishing or juggling.
@Don – I wish! With a 5 month old in the house, there isn’t much time for much of anything anymore! Besides, Lee and Bob are takin’ care of the drinkin’ this month. I know its a burden, but they don’t seem to mind!
Keep up the good work Scot. Thanks for keeping us updated on your progress.
It’s a dirty job, but someone’s gotta do it!
@Nate – Thanks. Its actually easier as time goes by!
@Lee – I know! I feel terrible about it!
Just curious but is that a picture of the Manitou incline in Colorado?
@Rachel – I have no idea! Its from morguefile.com which is where I find royalty-free pictures for the blog from time to time. That’s a heck of a climb though, whatever it is!