Well, what a difference a week makes.
This is me…at least for two more weeks.
This month I’m on the wagon and, when I wrote about the first week here, I reported that I hadn’t seen much in the way of benefits. No sign of improvement on the bathroom scales or no improved sleep. There was also no great signs of improved clarity of mind (though I guess as I was never drinking stupefying amounts of beer, that any clarity of mind improvement would be slight at best).
that first week felt like it went on forever. Like, it had 15 days in it or something. Perhaps that was exacerbated by my thought process which was ‘‘I might have a beer now. Oh yeah, I’m not drinking until March’’. Must have thought that about a hundred times last week.
But this week it’s been quite different. The week certainly didn’t feel longer than normal, in fact it felt like it went by quite quickly. There has also been some action on the bathroom scales too – down about 1.5kg from last week. And I’m hardly thinking about wanting a beer now.
Sleeping, well, that’s still the same. I still feel a bit tired; most likely because I’m getting up early to go for a walk/run. But overall things have improved. I guess that first week was like a hump I had to get over, where my body and mind had to acclimatise to being beer-free. Now that I am, the body and mind are able to function much better and not dwell on beer (and I reckon the decision not to read beer books all month helped too).
Also, I realised I can sort of participate in Craft Beer Rising next Saturday. As the Illawarra Brewing Company’s celebrations involve growler fills of beers from around the country – and they use counter-pressure – I can get a fill or two next Saturday and they should be fine to drink a week later.
Winning!
Categories: health, No beer til March
BEER IS YOUR FRIEND 
Keep up the good work. I’m quite interested in seeing what kind of benefits you experience – 1.5kg lost aside – over the month.
Thanks Liam. As well as weight loss and improved sleep, I’m expecting to have a refreshed palate come March, that should make beers taste a bit different. James at beerbarband abstains at least one month a year and he says his palate really improves.
I think if I was inclined to do a dry month, the palate cleansing is what I’d be looking forward to most.
I’ve had much the same experience when on a dry month. Takes at least 10 days for me to shake the desire for beer and associated “drawbacks”. But by the end of the 2nd week, I often see and feel the benefits/changes/improvements.
You’re half way now, and I reckon the last 2 weeks tend to be easier and easier.
Keep it up! It’s good stuff.
And you’re not missing out on anything.
If you think you are missing out on something…just think about the last 30 years of Aussie craft beer that most of us missed out on anyway.
Yeah, James I was thinking that the last two weeks might be a bit different from the first two. The next big challenge will be what happens once February finishes.