Well done on the no-alcohol month so far! I’m still going strong and not really being tempted. Tonight is a Burns Night Supper (big occasion here in Scotland) where the alcohol will be flowing but I’m a designated driver so it will be pretty straightforward.
Your “belt hole” metric struck a chord - it’s one of my key performance indicators for “how healthy am I?” Whenever I’m tempted to reach for that extra bit of cake, I often visualise how this 54 year old will look in his skinsuit in the coming season - it’s a strong motivator!
The main thing about missing out on my evening glass or two of wine is that it’s made it much easier to cut out the late evening snacking. This and cutting almost to zero my real drug of choice, processed sugar (candies, cookies, chocolate) has had the greatest effect.
I’ve cut out refined sugars and junk carbs and dropped the same. High 150s to low-mid 150s.
I think this has also helped stabilize my energy levels during rides, and I no longer need the gel or coke sugar boost before hard workouts like VO2 max.
Yeah I’d say the 5 lbs lost since late December was as much to do with eliminating post dinner eating for me. No sweets but, salty snacks. That and the liver is processing the carbs, fats and proteins right away rather than metabolizing the alcohol first. The mirror doesn’t lie and it’s actually noticeable.
I think I’ve said this all before but, the only down side so far is balancing calories in/out. I’ve been in too large a deficit and my riding is suffering. I’m paying attention and know my BMR via a resting metabolic test and can estimate calories riding via the PM with Kj’s. But, somehow it still snuck up on me. Weight loss was never the focus. Getting leaner was important and I believe the weight will level out where it will. Power is more important for my riding style…
No alcohol and no eating out/buying food. The speed at which bloating/water weight fell off the first 5 days was shocking. Always forget how much a booze heavy december makes me bloat up excessively.
I was motivated by a few posts in this thread to give dry January a go. It’s the longest I’ve gone without a drop since I started drinking many moons ago. Really pleased I did…
The positives:
After a disappointing ramp test at the start of Jan I’ve just ramp tested this morning (after doing the Sprint Tri Build plan) and gained 19 watts! Easily the best aero position FTP I’ve got so far. I’m delighted as I felt like I’d hit a plateau at the stat of Jan.
I’ve felt really good. I’ve had my highest ever HRV recovery scores (measured using HRV4T) and my resting heart rate has been slightly lower on average.
My training has been really consistent. I’m usually pretty consistent with my training, but so far this month I’ve hit all of my 30 planned workouts (bike/run/swim/strength).
I’ve saved £.
The negatives:
I’ve had to endure some of my wife’s TV selections sober
I’m worried I might have to stay off the alcohol to be able to train to my new FTP
One thing’s for sure… the nightly whiskey while watching TV is getting knocked on the head.
I too have cut out alcohol in 2019. It’s amazing how terrible alcohol is on your performance.
For those who still want to enjoy a light beer. May I suggest Coors Edge, it’s non-alcoholic and tastes surprisingly similar to Coors Light.
45 calories. Less than 0.5% ABV. 8g carbohydrates. 4g sugar…not bad, eh?
That used to be cdc guidelines for drinking that was not considered at risk for adverse health outcomes. Just this year though guidelines have changed and no amount of alcohol intake can be considered safe, although this remains a debated topic.
I train better if I’m drinking a few (3-4) beers a week. I think it’s carbs and reduced stress. However any amount of alcohol in evening tends to make it nearly impossible to climb out of bed at 5 am to get a vo2 max session in. That mental prep starts the night before for sure.
Made it through Jan with no alcohol. Though, it’s pretty easy for me to not drink as I rarely go out or even have a desire to drink. I have a six pack of some nice double IPA from the local brewery, but no desire to crack them open. They could stay there till summer.
Good luck to those who have more trouble than I with this. Keep going
I’ve been on a drastically reduced alcohol intake since about Christmas.
Down from maybe 2 (large…) drinks a night, to 1 or 2 a week total.
Down a solid 6 pounds without really changing too much of anything else. I’ve probably been a bit stricter with my diet, especially late night snacking. I had been sort of second guessing not dropping the 10 pounds I wanted to lose before starting structured training, but it looks like this is going to work out just fine.
There are some pretty good craft NA* beers out there. And this is coming from longtime beer nerd. Athletic Brewing Co is probably the best I’ve come across. I wish we could get Nanny State here in the U.S.
