Eye to the future of the #BrewDiet

 

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="180" caption="Free Beer Tomorrow by Infrogmation of New Orleans"][/caption]

After today, there will be five more entries chronicling my month-long experiment of eating sausage and drinking beer. The end, as they say, is neigh.

At this point, it's a foregone conclusion that I'll finish. It's not been challenging since October 6th. That was a Very Bad Day. But now, my body has completely adapted and continues to shed weight. More importantly, FAT. Hell, look at my daily intake below! Two sausages and four beers? That's an incredibly low calorie count.

So what's next? Do I keep going, finding the equilibrium point? I can't continue to lose weight on this diet. There exists a point of diminishing returns. If not, I'd be below my birth weight by next Thanksgiving! (Do the math).

Or do I stick with the low-volume eating (call it caloric restriction if you like), adding in foods I've missed, like pizza. But instead of a whole pie (not all that uncommon previously), have only a slice? But will I be able to keep up the protein level that keeps my doctor grinning? Oh, and my muscle tissue from not being devoured for nourishment.

Maybe I keep the beer intake and mix in the idea of small portions, to see what happens? Do I switch over to scotch? Sake? Maybe mixed drinks of equal impact?

It's a damned fine question. And one I guess I'd better figure out in the next five days, huh?

Here's what I did on my #BrewDiet today:

• Breakfast was a Clementine by Clown Shoes. Very tangerine-y
• For lunch, a Brother David's Triple Abbey Style Ale by Anderson Valley Brewing Company and the remainders of my sausage/curry medley from last night
• Dinner was another Italian sausage from Costco and a 471 Small Batch IPA by Breckenridge Brewery, which you may count as two as it was a bomber

Here's to tomorrow!

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"Your diet would never work for me"

 

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="240" caption="No beer here :( by Chris"][/caption]

I've heard that a few times now. And it puzzles me. Sure, I know I'm a sample size of one. And because of that, I may be a statistical outlier. But if you know anything about stats, you know the odds say something different. Outliers are things you find in a large sample size. I haven't tried this before. I tried it once. And it worked. Is there a chance I'm a fluke? Sure. But you'd be a fool to bet that way.

Invariably -- and this may get a little on the sensitive side -- the people who have said this to me have been overweight. And oddly enough, they've all been women.

The first part I get. People who are overweight have probably been through more than one "lose weight fast" scheme before. And they've all -- obviously -- failed. So here's one more idiot with what ostensibly looks like the novel-est of novelty diets ever. If that crazy diet lauded over by thousands didn't work for me, there's no way this one can. I get it.

The latter is stranger, but could simply be explained by machismo. Boys are supposed to like beer and sausage. Girls are not. No offense, Bavarian Babes, but that's the way it's done over here. So some of the immediate incredulity could have to do with gonads. Who knows?

But here's what I know;  this isn't rocket surgery. I'm not losing weight because I'm drinking beer and eating sausage. I'm losing weight because I'm eating less. The data I'm collecting will ultimately demonstrate that even foods considered "unhealthy" are perfectly fine as long as they are consumed in moderation. I can't say that all calories are or are not created equal. But I what I can say is that it sure as hell doesn't look like calories from beer and sausage are all that bad for you.

But the again, our data collection of this experiment isn't over. Speaking of that...

• A rather late (11:00a) breakfast beer of a Palo Santo Marron by Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
• For lunch,  A Little Sumpin' Sumpin' Ale by Lagunitas Brewing Company to go with my andouille sausage!
• Dinner was a sausage medley with a coconut curry sauce and an Alleycat Amber by Lost Coast Brewery
• Ended the evening with a 20th Anniversary Imperial IPA by Anderson Valley Brewing Company

Four beers? Wow. That can't be much more than 1400  calories for the day. And I'm not hungry. Nifty! Thank you, #BrewDiet!

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Sausage + Beer = -2 lbs. of pure fat. Losing again!

Monday is check-in day with the doc. It always makes me nervous, and this time was no exception. Largely because of the stupid amount of food I ate yesterday. But still, that was only one day, so only the scales will tell.

Oh, and what a sweet song they sang! The details:

Body Type: Standard
Gender: Male
Age: 43
Height: 5′10″ (though my license says 6′ even, because I am still a growing boy)
Weight: 188.5 lbs (2 lbs. down from last week!)
BMI: 27.3 (down  another .3 things. Of what? Dunno...)
Fat %: 22.7% (down almost a point from 23.5%!)
Fat Mass: 43.01 lbs (2 lbs. fat, GONE!)

To say I'm a happy camper would be an understatement. I can't remember the last time I was under 190. A decade, at least.

This is going really, really well. Were I a superstitious man, I'd wonder when the other shoe was dropping. But I'm not, and I'm doing all the right things -- even when those right things go against conventional wisdom -- so I'm happy to keep things going.

I've noticed an interesting banter among people when they learn of my success. I think I'll save that for tomorrow. Here's the intake for those playing along at home:

• Breakfast found me in a meeting, drinking a Messiah Bold by Shmaltz Brewing Company (He'Brew)
• Working lunch was an andouille sausage (hot!) and a a He'brew Genesis Ale by Shmaltz Brewing Company (He'Brew). Yeah, the people I work with are officailly jealous.
• Dinner was a nice Italian sausage from I-don't-remember-where and an Old Blarney Barleywine by Moylan's Brewery. Count this as 2, since it's a bomber. And a VERY BIG BEER.
• I'll end with a Ten FIDY by Oskar Blues Brewery. Fitting.

Good night!

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Sunday, with sausage on the #BrewDiet!

I ate way too much food today.

Headed to a late-morning meeting, my belly commanded a stop at Doggie-bertos. You had me at Chorizo Burrito!

Then we went to Citizen Public House again in Old Town Scottsdale. They've taken the Sausage of the Day off the menu, but were happy to adapt to my dietary restrictions with a plate full of sausage (and maybe other) goodness!

Also, it pays to know folks. Got introduced to Richie at CPH by Dan, while the mural you see above was being painted on the outside. That led to a bit of special treatment by the CPH staff, for which I am quite grateful! Significant thanks to our friends Susan & Paul from Los Angeles for spending a great evening with us.

That's my kind of Sunday on the #BrewDiet! Here's the intake:

• Breakfast was sans beer. Sorry. But damn, that was a fine chorizo burrito!
• Lunch was sausage free (after that breakfast) when I cracked open a 22 oz 25th Anniversary Vanilla Doubledog by Abita Brewing Company. It was very decent and got much better when I let the second half sit for an hour on the counter before drinking. Don't get this too cold.
• Sundays are bomber days, so I started off with half of a Danny's Irish Style Red Ale by Moylan's Brewery. A solid red. I like mine more aggressive, but I can deal.
• Waiting for our friends to arrive, I enjoyed a Ruination IPA by Stone Brewing Co. at Citizen Public House. Bomber. So count as 2.
• During the off-menu extravaganza of sausage, I washed it down with a Hefeweizen by Four Peaks Brewing Co. at Citizen Public House
• Now, writing this post, I'm killing the last of the Danny's Irish Style Red Ale by Moylan's Brewer

Tomorrow I visit Terry's office again. I'll have weight results tweeting out mid-afternoon, and a blog post coming!

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ASH event on the #BrewDiet

Today was the Arizona Society of Homebrewers Oktoberfest event. Holy. Cattle.

I finally signed up for ASH, though I'm not a home brewer and have no intentions of becoming one. But ASH is a an organization worth supporting. And as a member, I get to go to their events and drink their beer. SCORE!

Here's how today went:

• Show up
• Start drinking
• Keep drinking
• Eat a sausage
• Get the wife to pick you up.

Awesome. Dozens of home brews that you just saddle up to, pour, and enjoy. Some were fantastic, and all were very drinkable. Such is the kind of club ASH is: these guys are about as pro-sumer as you get.

I fielded lots of "hey didn't I see you last night on TV?" questions, or affirmed the "Oh, you're the guy drinking beer and eating sausage this month" comments. I was by no means a celebrity at this even that drew in hundreds, but it was nice to be recognized.

I didn't even bother trying to keep up on Untapped. I tried no less than 20 beers, meads and various items tonight. Quantities ranged from sips to pints. 2 sausages for the day, and that was it. You'll forgive this post, as I'm a little toasted and need to watch some college football to let it mellow out.

And I've got the sausage from last night's TV spot cooking. Going to be a great week!

Television clip features #BrewDiet & my doctor

Here's the video clip from my feature on 3TV last night. They interviewed my doctor for part of it, so you can see that we really are doing this for science! And beer.

Thanks to Carey Pena for coming out and getting #BrewDiet a little more exposure!

You, me, TV and the #BrewDiet

Tonight I was interviewed by the lovely Carey Pena, investigative reporter and fantastic woman on 3TV here in Phoenix. She came to ShEvo Studios with Jeremy The Camera Guy and did a big photo shoot that will show up on the news in about 30 minutes. Yay! And just as soon as it's available online, I'll tweet and Facebook it to the world.

So here I sit, post-#evfn, post-TV interview and trying to figure out what we're doing tonight. That is completely controlled by the women-folk in my life, so I'm calling it short.

Here's what I drank/ate tonight:

• Breakfast found me sipping a Milk Stout Nitro by Left Hand Brewing Company
• Lunch was kielbasa with BBQ sauce and a Polestar Pilsner by Left Hand Brewing Company
• Then Carey Pena came over and made me eat another kielbasa and a Double Stout by Green Flash Brewing Co.
• Transportation arrived to take us to a Rotator IPA: Falconer’s IPA by Widmer Brothers Brewing Company at The Hungry Monk.
• I kept drinking, heading to a Kellerweisse by Free State Brewing Co. at The Hungry Monk
• Not to call it too early, I moved on to a NorCal IPA by Moylan's Brewery
• I called it a night -- so far -- with a Two Hearted Ale by Bell's Brewery, Inc.
• LATE EDITION! Looks like I wasn't as done as I thought. A buddy of mine with different drinking tastes came over and we split a Belgian Style Yeti by Great Divide Brewing Company. Damned tasty!

And now, in theory, I'm off to dance. Tomorrow I'm drinking with the Arizona Society of Homebrewers. That'll be interesting.

 

 

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