Stopped Drinking Alcohol

I cant even bring myself to do that. There are so many different and better tasting drinks than having BEER without the alcohol.

Tastes like Coors Light, sounds like a good reason to stop drinking altogether! Sorry, couldn’t help myself.

I’ve been alcohol free since Jan 1st. Haven’t had a weight change, probably the after dinner snack working against me.

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Coors edge sounds all good and well but I’ve got kombucha in my whiskey glass…and it’s working.

Anybody have big plans for feb 1?

Well guys, I made it and hope you all did too!

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Me too! Welcome to the other side :beers:

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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.

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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

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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.

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I’m just glad that the 6 nations takes place in feb! :beer:

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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.

    • I’m lumping low ABV beers in this category (< 1%)

I tend to agree with this. I’ve gone to drinking virgin bloody marys. V8 with a splash of worchestershire and hot sauce. Delicious.

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Cool man! I made it as well and plan to keep going indefinitely. My wife is 50 today so perhaps a glass with her however…Don’t really miss it and the only thing I had trouble with was I went into a rather large calorie deficit. I couldn’t figure out why I was dragging and not riding as well I should have and it just came down to calories in/out.

Can’t remember if I wrote this but, what helped me was simply eating snack very late in the day. That seemed to eliminate the urge. Maybe my body was just always a little behind in calories that time of day??? Don’t know but, glad I figured it out! Peace

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This definitely comes off a bit preachy but the part I found most interesting was this bit from the end:

Specifically, a conclusive, documented argument may be offered which suggests an athlete loses up to 25% in performance gains simply by drinking alcohol during intense training. One single ergogenic supplement may enhance performance up to +5% over the same effort applied under the same conditions. The absolute perfect combination of supplements, nutrition, and hard work may net up to +20% in performance gains. Let us therefore not give alcohol the slightest opportunity to erode hard efforts for which we are spent, firmly focused, and intensely impassioned for finishing the race… the best way we can!

Really resonates with me since I’m spending countless dollars on aero wheel upgrades, spirulina supplements, and a vegetarian lifestyle to help my performance and health. Then I go and have a big night at the pub?! :tired_face:

Yeah - I’m in Dublin this weekend and have already exceeded my weekly average. And the game is tomorrow! :shamrock::rugby_football::muscle:

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nailed it! :+1:

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Made January, thinking I might go for a few more weeks and see how it goes. Honestly haven’t even had the urge to drink, though I haven’t had any social situations where there has been any pressure either.

Absolutely spot on and just clicked a few cogs into place in my simple little brain. Stop sabotaging all the effort on the bike, and the $$ on the upgrades, and start looking after the most important part of the puzzle. Then and then will the Watts will follow.
I’ve had a good three months of being healthy but have slipped thru January (the irony is not lost one either). This thread has just made me realise how stupid it is to be chasing gains whilst not giving my body the chance to recover and adapt.

Dry February for me! March too, maybe.

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I’m catching this tread late and have been inspired to get dry. I can’t remember the last time I went for a solid week without alcohol. What probably was a social activity and or coping mechanism - could now be a problem if I’m to objectively look at it.

…and to think I could get better training results…, well, I’m in need of them :slight_smile:

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So I did dry January and made it all the way through without too much effort. Noticed improved recovery, better sleep and some weight loss as well.

Split a bottle of wine with hubby last night and oh man did I have a rough night of restless sleep. I’m not ready to be teetotal but the plan is to drink a lot less going forward.

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