No beer for 3 months!!!!!!!

[Spicoli]

Hello fellas. Ya I have been on the wagon for three months. I have 10 gallons of a Bohemian Pils, 10 gallons of October fest (its November) and ten gallons of something else that I forgot the name of. I haven't been able to brew in that long also. What a drag huh. I quess the good news is that I have lost 40 lbs. I'm working on getting my high school body back. I'm back in the gym running 4 miles a day and lifting 3 days a week. It's kind of tough to do that while enjoying a sixer every night. The wife has even been giving me more attention these days. Funny how that works.
I can't wait for the next big beer festival, I'm gonna go for it. Anyway good day!!!!!

[HogieWan]

why did you abstain for these months - are you going to drink that homebrew, or do you need my address?

[Dextolen]

Great job spicoli!

[bruin_ale]

Wow, that's pretty amazing. Did you change any other eating habits or just the beer?

[Bilbo Beergins]

Back in the early 90's I swore I quit for three weeks and, after ridin' the wagon for a while, realize it had only been three days. God bless you, Spicoli. Keep it honest, and don't think you're missing out on much, except that 40 lbs.

By the way, where did you find that picture of my body you pasted onto your face?

[Spicoli]

I cut out the beer because I was putting on weight like I have never done before in my life. The more I was brewing, the more I indulged. My blood pressure was through the roof also. Both good reasons to abstain for a while. I also felt more frequent urges to drink. I don't like the feeling of being out of control. I am a bit obsesive compulsive, and addiction doesn't quite sit so well in my head.
I did change eating habits quite a bit. When I was drinking, I would munch throughout the evening and hit the ice cream right before going to bed. I have since cut that out. I also eat about 5 times a day now for a total of around 2500 to 3000 calories a day. I try and stick to clean foods such as oatmeal, eggs, wheat bread, veggies, fruit and lean meats. I stay away from most white flour, soda, sugared cereals and processed foods. Fast food is totally out of the question. I was reading the nutritional facts at an Inn and Out Burger. A double double has 600 calories, the fries have about 500 and the soda has a bunch also. Mostly calories from fat. Don't get me wrong the double double is one of the best tasting burgers around, but my health has become more important lately.

[HogieWan]

Originally posted by HogieWan
are you going to drink that homebrew, or do you need my address?

you never answered this part of the question:)

[chazwicke]

Good Job! I will never give up beer or coffee totally again. I enjoy both too much. By the way Spicoli How old are you? In my career, I have lost 60 lbs three times and worked darned hard at it only to eventually gain it back. Hope you do not have that happen.

[Spicoli]

I am 32 years old. Far to young to have health problems. I believe the gym will become part of my weekly routine again, so I hope not to ever gain weight like that again. I want the body I had when I was 20 years old back. That was about 195 lbs @ around 9% body fat.
I will drink again on a more social level. I found myself drinking alone far more than I should have been. I also found that the buzz was becoming more important. This is a combination for disaster, and I won't let that happen.

[bruin_ale]

I know the feeling Spicoli, I sometimes take a few days off with no beer to assess my drinking habits. A few weeks ago, I was having some stomach problems so I cut out coffee and beer for almost two weeks. Funny thing was that I traced the stomach pain back to those sour gummy worms and not my beloved beer or coffee!

[chazwicke]

Well I do have coffee every day but I don't drink beer everyday. I sometimes skip 5 days between beers and if I do drink beer at home it most often is only one. So I'm not too worried about the beer. Now the sedentary lifestyle...........;)

[brewcrew76]

Great Job Spicoli! I have regularly exercised for the past 14 years and have found that everything you mentioned in your post goes a long way to staying in shape and keeping the weight off. I would say the 3 keys are exercising regularly, spreading your meals out to 5+ a day and eating the right foods that you mentioned. I am sure you will succeed if you keep these habits..

[Bilbo Beergins]

So, Chaz, did you gain 180 lbs.? (Just kidding, bro, I know what you mean).

Spicoli, I remember several years ago Susan Powter (sp?) suggested a link between processed carb addiction and alcoholism. I prob'ly had as hard a time quitting the ice cream as I did smoking. Good job at cleaning up. You'll be around much longer to bless your family and friends because of it.

I quit beers for 10 years (sounds like a country tune) and now limit myself to about one a day, 3 on special occasions. Anymore than that and I'm sure to make a bung hole out of myself. Not that I remember ever having done that in my drinkin' days, but so I've been told (that's a joke, folks).

[xtalman]

I haven't gained a lot of wieght, some since some of my pants are tighter, since I stopped working out after my daughter was born 4 years ago. My beer consumption goes up and down but we are eating better overall since the wife went on weight watchers about 3 months back, her sweet tooth got the better of her. Now just to get the motivation to start working out again.