Not dead yet. 1 week after the end of the #BrewDiet

 

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="240" caption="Diet time by Simon James on Flickr"][/caption]

It's been a full week after the end of the #BrewDiet. You'll recall that's when I spent the month of October subsisting on sausage and beer. Yes, I'm serious. You're probably wondering one of the following:

Have you fallen off the wagon yet?

What do you mean, yet? Dick. But no, I'm not. Just hopped off the home scales. They read the same thing they did last week. The trick is portion control. And that I want to keep in mind. Always.

I bet you were sick and tired of beer and sausage, huh?

Not in the least. In fact, I'm continuing to make beer a big part of my diet. Once you get accustomed to having a beer for breakfast, it's kinda hard to go without. I've been to two beer-centric events since the end of the diet, including the fantastic RAREaffair™ put on by The Beer for Brains Foundation. Not just the best beer event I've ever attended. It might have been the best event ever.

I'm still eating sausage, though not exclusively. Now I'm experimenting with different combinations. Like madras lentils and beer-braised bratwurst. Exquisite!

What was the first thing you ate after the #BrewDiet was over?

A single piece of pizza from Otto Pizza. Very tasty. And I was full afterward.

How screwed up are your liver enzymes and cholesterol?

Not in the least. My doctor finally got off his ass found time in his busy schedule to write a blog post from the final time I saw him. He says:

... his triglyceride level dropped by half, his cholesterol dropped by a third, and his “good” cholesterol increased.  There was never an increase or a blip in any of the liver enzymes.  His fat mass dropped, the only non-fat mass of his that decreased was that tissue associated with and supporting the fat mass (I know, sounds complicated).  His muscle mass maintained itself.

You'll want to read the whole piece, as Terry takes a scientific look at some conventional wisdom we have about weight loss.

So... what's next?

I keep on keepin' on. Losing weight is easy. Keeping it off for the long term not so much. So I'm trying to keep it up. And I'm also working on some extensions of the experience. Maybe a book. Maybe a presentation or two. Maybe more things than that.

I'll check in from time to time with progress. Thanks for playing along at home!

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Final exam results of the #BrewDiet

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="240" caption="DSC_5774e by Zach Klein"][/caption]

Well... that was that. Yesterday was the final day of one month of drinking beer and eating sausage. I called it the #BrewDiet. And it was a grand time. And it was for SCIENCE!

Thanks to all of you who encouraged me along the way. Extra thanks to those of you who contributed by sending me beer. Much appreciated!

OK, let's get right down to it.

Beers consumed:

• 100 "uniques". That's a beer I've never had before. Or if I did, I hadn't yet put it into Untappd. I started at 308 uniques and ended today at 408. No, that wasn't planned. But I do appreciate the simple math.
• ~154 total beers. Why the tilde in front? Because let's face it, there were plenty of evenings (like last Saturday) when not all the beers went into Untappd. I don't think I missed any uniques, but I know for a fact I missed plenty of beers. That, and many were bombers which classify as two. So I'm betting the number was closer to 200. 200/31 = 6.5 beers a day. Sounds about right.
• ~62 sausages. Again with the tilde. Look... most days I had two. On rare occasion I had more than that. But for the first 6 days, I only had one. I'll count them later, as my blog posts have (I think) all of them. So for now, I'm going with the 2x31 for the answer. Expect a more accurate accounting (redundant?) when the book comes out. Yeah, there will be one.

OK, that's the intake. What about the results? I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. I know I was.

Weight Loss Stats

First, let's set the baseline.This is important to those of you keeping score at home. None of these things changed in the last 31 days:

Body Type: Standard
Gender: Male
Age: 43
Height: 5′10″ (though my license says 6′ even, because I am still a growing boy)

But here's what did change. I'll give you before and after numbers from the doc's fancy scale:

Original Weight: 199.0 lbs
Ending Weight: 185.1 lbs

Here, let me help you with that math: that's a loss of 13.5 pounds! Fuck it! I'm rounding up! 14 pounds LOST. Eating sausage and drinking beer!

But hey, that's just weight. We all know that weight changes with fluid. Is it all that surprising? Let's look at the rest of the numbers:

Original BMI: 28.6
Final BMI: 26.6

That's a net lost of 2 BMI. I'd be more excited, but I don't know what BMI means. But it's down by two, so that sounds  good to me. If you care, look it up. If you know, good for you! I don't care. Don't bother telling me in comments. Because I don't care.

Original Fat %: 25.3
Final Fat %: 21.4

OK, I'm smart enough to figure out percentages. That means that I lost 4% (rounding up, remember?) of my my mass as pure, nasty fat. That sounds pretty fantastic. And according to the "target" numbers on my doctor's fancy scale, that's within the "desirable range".

Didja here that? I'm desirable!

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. That Fat % number translates directly to fat mass:

Original Fat Mass: 50.5 lbs
Final Fat Mass: 39.5 lbs

If the word "fat mass" doesn't sound nasty to you, what the hell is wrong with you? I've dropped 11 pounds of fat mass! And if I were to travel to the moon, those 11 pounds of mass would still be gone! I love physics!

But you're not a physicist. You know what the scales tell you. And those scales would say something different on the moon. And I'm not likely to travel to the moon. Ever. Which kind of sucks. But I'll get over it. Why? Because I lost 14 pounds eating sausage and drinking beer, bitches!

Yeah, yeah... some of you want to know about my cholesterol, lipids, and other funky blood serum stuff. I'm going to let my doctor discuss those results. Suffice to say that I'm not dropping dead anytime soon. In fact, my panel looks better than when I started. No, I'm not kidding. Stay tuned for that.

What's next?

Keep it off, obviously. But that's a post for another day. I have some ideas... and this isn't over!

Related articles

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Last (?) day of the #BrewDiet

 

 

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="180" caption="smile by Miles Bader"][/caption]

If you've been following me on Facebook or Twitter, you already know the score. I'm a very, very happy man.

If you're not following me there, then you'll have to wait for the final results. Because in this post, all I'm going to do is tell you about my intake. They call this "cliffhanging". Deal. The other post will be out  tomorrow AM.

• Breakfast and lunch was a bomber of Irish Red by Rubicon Brewing Company Sacramento, California, courtesy of Katie Charland's husband, Tyler.
• Lunch was a brat I cooked with a not-all-that-great coconut stout. But it made a pretty good beer brat!
• Talked a little biz-nass with @PaigeIam while enjoying a a Count Hopula Blood Red IPA by SanTan Brewery
• Post-fantastic doctor visit, I had a hotdog and a Hop Ottin IPA by Anderson Valley Brewing Company at The Garage Restaurant & Bar
• Wrapped the evening with a bomber of Hoppy Feet by Clown Shoes, so mark it down as 2 if you're playing along at home.

And that's it! Or is it? Tune in tomorrow AM for another installment of... #BrewDiet!

Oh, and Happy Halloween!

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Slow moving Sunday.

 

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="100" caption="Project 365 Day 16: The Drugs Don't Work by Greg McMullin"][/caption]

Short day. Short post. Read about yesterday to find out why.

• A chorizo burrito. Fantastic hangover food. When I got up at little after noon.
• Around 3:00, a Vanilla Porter by Breckenridge Brewery
• Then an IPA by Stone Brewing Co. at around 6:00

And I'm spent. Literally. Here's to tomorrow. The last day (?) of the #BrewDiet.

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Halloween party on the #BrewDiet!

 

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="250" caption="Me, my lovely wife Sheila, and Ruthie"][/caption]

Today was our Halloween party. Knowing that, I should have planned better. In hindsight, I know I should have. But I didn't, which isn't all that surprising.

If this is your first time reading my #BrewDiet posts, please understand that this day is rather atypical of the 28 days that have come before.

But hey, it was a party. So party we must. And did.

That's me on the left, dressed as a fairy hunter. Why a fairy hunter? Because my wife dressed like a fairy. An I had to hunt for her. I guess. And say hi to Ruthie on the other side. As a non-drinker, she has mad patience to show up and hang out with us sots. Or maybe we just provide ample entertainment that serves to validate her decision not to drink!

Here's the rundown on my intake:

• Breakfast was a Yellow Wolf by Alameda Brewhouse, plus some nice maple sausage links. It's a bomber, so count two.
• Lunch was a Noël Des Géants by Brasserie Des Géants. Another bomber. 2 more points. Plus I had some hot pork sausage that didn't get used in the dip I made for the party.
• The party began and I started with an A Little Sumpin' Wild Ale by Lagunitas Brewing Company
• Then a Morimoto Soba Ale by Rogue Ales.
• Then a Brainless On Cherries by Epic Brewing Co.
• Followed by a Winter Solstice by Anderson Valley Brewing Company
• ... and a whole bunch more I forgot to add. That explains how I'm feeling as I write this on Sunday.

The party was pretty epic. Thanks to everyone who came out. Assuming we're still talking, that is.

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Igniting zombified Zeppelins on the #BrewDiet

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Flamenco chick, dead baby in a Baggie, & Gumby. Happy #Halloween!"][/caption]

Fridays are always fun days on the #BrewDiet. Typically that's because of #evfn, where more than the normal amount of drinking ensues. This day was fun for a few different reasons.

First, it was our company Halloween party. Half a day at work -- in costume -- then a beer and bratwurst party! Was that a special concession for me? Probably. Very much so. The

Second, it was Ignite Phoenix #11. And yes, I'm an unabashed fan of Ignite. Since I wasn't presenting, I could have a beer. And enjoy some sort of sausage feast from Short Leash. No idea what I had. I told the guy to pick for me. It was damned tasty!

Then after Ignite, we were off to take in a zombified Zeppelin cover band. No, not kidding. Hey it's Halloween weekend! Beer at places like this suck by and large, so the pickings are slim. But I made due and we had a good time with more of our friends.

The break down of my intake:

• Breakfast was a Ten FIDY by Oskar Blues Brewery. And no, that doesn't help with productivity. Good thing it was a short day.


• Lunch was a sausage, sans beer. Hey, there's a party to go to.


• Party drinks: 3x with an 8th Street Ale by Four Peaks Brewing Co. Not my favorite. But it worked in the setting. Oh, and I might have had a bratwurst. With sauerkraut.


• At Ignite Phoenix 11, I had a Ponderosa IPA by Prescott Brewing Company. Oh, and that Short Leash meal. Damned fine.


• Nightcapping with a Pale Ale by Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. at Club Red

Saturday night is our own Halloween party. I shall do my level best to track the fun!

Related articles

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Spooky ending to the #BrewDiet in sight

 

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It's going to be a busy end to the #BrewDiet. Tomorrow is Ignite Phoenix, plus a concert featuring a friend of mine. Zombies, from what I understand, will be the norm. Prior to that, I'm doing my best to draw the ire of Human Resources, wearing ostensibly one of the more offending costumes. Ever. Pics tomorrow. Or whenever I get around to posting pics of tomorrow. It's a busy day.

Saturday we're hosting a combination Halloween party and going-away party for our house. The kid is moving out, so it's time to downsize. I'll enjoy the savings, as well as the less cavernous feel. So it's lodging-hunting in the AM, party at night. A different costume, for this. Less offensive. Still a bit odd.

Sunday should prove fairly normal. Meeting on ePublishing things, then playing catchup on the loss of productivity on Saturday. And quite possibly nursing a hangover. Wonder how that will be on the #BrewDiet? I'll let you know.

And then there is Monday, the final day of the month. It's also the official Halloween, and my team at work are dressing up. Again. With difference costumes. Themed. And it's my day to see the doc the final time, with a final check-in of my stats.

But don't fret. I have a feeling you'll be seeing more of the #BrewDiet. I don't think we're quite done.

Regardless, you've got four more posts from me coming. Then probably a fifth telling you what my plans are. This should be interesting.

My intake for Thursday:

• Breakfast was a Monks Wit by Abbey Beverage Company LLC, enjoyed during a finance meeting at work. Because those should always be tempered with beer.
• For lunch, a PILS by Lagunitas Brewing Company and the requisite sausage.
• Dinner was sausage plus a bomber of a Dragoons Dry Irish Stout by Moylan's Brewery, so count as two.
• My night cap (prior to shaving for my Halloween costume, which was probably foolish) was a VERY tasty a Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. by Shmaltz Brewing Company (He'Brew). Gave it 4 stars on Untappd!

Sweet dreams and bitter beer!

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