No Beer – 30 Days – The results are in!
September 30, 2011
So, here I am, a guy who for the most part has had at least one beer a day since 2008, and I’m just about through my beer-free month! Sure its not technically the end of September, but typically we don’t post on weekends so this is close enough.
Did I do it? Hell yes!
Was it easy? Hell no!
Well, it wasn’t that bad actually, I just thought some drama was needed there.
I think making the public commitment to 30 days without beer helped tremendously. It’s like having some extra accountability I guess, not wanting to come on here and tell you that I messed up and couldn’t exert self-control somehow. That helped I think.
The beginning was the toughest, because as I mentioned there are certain habits I picked up when I’d have a beer. For example, its probably horrible for the diet, but I like to have a beer in the evening. Somewhere between dinner and bedtime, I like a beer. Well, that time still happened, I just didn’t have a beer for a month and at first that was a little tough.
But, I got over it.
By the second and third week, it wasn’t even an issue. Actually, I could probably give up beer completely at this point and be 100% fine. (But I won’t!) So, that just tells me I missed the taste of beer, my consumption level is moderate at worst, and that I’m not addicted to the stuff physically – which is good, even though I knew that was the case from the get-go.
My sleep didn’t change, and thanks to a 5-month old in the house, I’m plenty tired without the nightcap!
My mood seemed to be the same. Mostly curmudgeony according to my Wife, so that’s unchanged as well.
I don’t feel like I have more or less energy.
Weighing in at 205.6 this morning, I did end up losing exactly four pounds (according to my Weight Watchers Digital Scale
Can I attribute it all to no beer for 30 days? I don’t know, but certainly some of it has to be as I have not changed my diet otherwise or exercised any more than before. Maybe a beer a day is too much for someone who doesn’t exercise that much? What’s your take?
After initially resisting, I even got arrogant and ‘pre-bought’ some seasonal beers to keep in the house during September, but didn’t drink one! I bought a 12-pack of Sam Adams Octoberfest, a sixer of the Sam Adams Pumpkin Ale, a sixer of Long Trail Harvest, and a four-pack of DFH Punkin’ and Sam Adams Imperial Stout. And last weekend, my Wife found for me the elusive (to me) Autumn Maple from The Bruery I’ve been wanting to try for so long! All these brews are at this moment unmolested in the basement. For now. (Did that sound creepy?)
Regarding the buying of beer I could not drink thing. I did think it odd, and still do, that I felt compelled to buy the aforementioned beer, even though I was committed to not drinking it. It was like an obsession that this beer or that beer might be sold out by October 1st. Weird. But the main thing was I didn’t cheat where it counted! Maybe I still had to go through some of the motions somehow? What do you think?
So, tomorrow evening, sometime after dinner but before bed, I’m going to crack open one of the bottles of the Sam Adams Imperial Stout, (which is a suburb beer BTW) and get back to enjoying one of the little things that make life just a little sweeter. Maybe just not as often as I used to. 
Thanks for listening, and thanks for the support!
Think you’ll ever try giving up beer for a month?
Scott-TheBrewClub
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September 30th, 2011 at 10:36 am
Scott, Congratulations on making it through your beer-free month!! As with any act of self-denial, the first part is always the worst. Enjoy that wonderful Imperial Stout!! Cheers!
September 30th, 2011 at 11:18 am
Thanks Lee! Yes, the beginning was the worst, but I’m still glad its just about over! (one day too go)
September 30th, 2011 at 4:00 pm
Well done Scott… but if I might make a small suggestion? If you have any more subtle beers than Imperial Stout, then THIS is the time to taste them… after a month ‘on the wagon’ an Imperial Stout will blast your taste-buds to oblivion.
September 30th, 2011 at 4:26 pm
Hmmm. That’s actually a very good suggestion Bob – I hadn’t considered that! Maybe I’ll start with one of my Octoberfest brews first. It’ll still be good, plus there’s lots of time to get to that Imperial Stout now!
October 1st, 2011 at 10:26 am
Congrats on finishing 30 days Scott. Any plans on doing a longer test in the future?
October 1st, 2011 at 3:30 pm
@Nate – Not at this time, but I think I’ll do a month without beer at least once per year. I’m also going to try pre-stocking my fridge with four or five beers that has to last me the whole week. Refill them on Sunday or something, this way I’m limiting myself a little to a max amount per week. If I have them all by Tuesday, oh well!
Its obvious not that the beer IS a factor in the weight, so I just have to keep things in moderation, that’s all. Or exercise more. (yeah right)
October 3rd, 2011 at 9:57 pm
Scott, Congratulations!! You did it!! That first beer back is going to taste mighty fine. I might recommend having the Dogfish Head Punkin first – its a real winner. Regarding beer and weight loss – I would suely lose weight if I stopped drinking because I usually have a beer while cooking dinner. In fact, it’s what I like most about cooking! Without beer, I’d be a lot less likely to cook everyday.
October 3rd, 2011 at 11:00 pm
@Mike – Thanks! Well, I fooled everyone and had a Sam Adams Octoberfest – Bob’s advice in the comments was spot-on. By the time I could have it around 1AM, I just wasn’t feeling up to a big beer like the Imperial, and surprisingly, I wasn’t up for Pumpkin. Still, that beer tasted gooooood!
That said, I did have one just this evening! (DFH Punkin) Mmmmmmm!
So, in your case, if you didn’t have beer, you wouldn’t cook. If you don’t cook, you don’t eat OR drink, so you should shed some pounds quickly with that plan! (Though I don’t recommend it!)
Cheers!