I Lost Weight Drinking Beer!

 

By Oiznop

 

            I know this may sound strange, but it’s true.  Don’t get me wrong. Drinking beer was just the tip of the iceberg in my quest to shed blubber.  There were other mitigating factors that played a big role in my poundage reduction too.  Here is how old Oiz did it in the span of two years, while still enjoying the pleasures of drinking real beer.

 

            In 2001, I was asked to participate in my cousin’s wedding as a member of the bridal party.  I obliged and had a great time being a groomsman.  When the wedding pictures came back, I had noticed that at age 35, I morphed into a roly-poly blob of an individual.  I always tried to be health and weight conscious over the years. I never smoked, always ran in the summer time, and tried to get to the gym as often as I could. Once I exceeded age 30, I somehow let myself go. Apparently I had not been exercising like I once did, became a couch potato, and was eating the wrong foods. Having been prescribed steroids (which I am no longer on, and never will be again if I can help it) for allergic skin reactions certainly did not help either. 

 

            By late 2002, I had made a commitment to myself to attend the gym more frequently.  I came up with my own exercise plan that included being at the gym six days a week.  I made the most of my membership, using everything from the cross-trainers (50 yes, 50 minutes a day), to the free weights, to the flat board stomach crunch bench.  I also made a commitment to cut down on eating breads and pastries, and to stop drinking soda pop, which is nothing more than sugar and carbonated water.  I certainly picked the wrong time of year to do this, for it was in November of ‘02 when I started, and you all know what was just around the corner. 

 

            After exercising my way through the holiday season and the winter, I discovered the definition of the words pain and sacrifice.  It was tough celebrating the yuletide trying to avoid the eatable and drinkable pleasures of the season.  But we persevered, and by the spring of 2003, I was down 22 pounds, from 213 to 191.  I was eating more protein, more salads, and oatmeal for breakfast in the process.  And I was, and still am, consuming at least 3-5 glasses of water a day.  Now at the time of this writing, (late summer 2004) I am at 170 pounds and still keeping up my exercise and diet regiment.

 

            Where does beer come in, you ask?  I have always been one to enjoy a tall cold one.  Be it at a ballgame, or at a favorite local hangout.  One thing is for certain, though.  I have never been one to drink excessively.  Not even in college, when it was considered to be cool to drink so much that you made yourself sick.  If anything, it’s just the opposite.  In my weight loss quest, I made certain to watch what I consumed, but I never did deprive myself of the pleasures that are out there.  I may have reduced my consumption a bit, but I never stopped.  I still enjoy full-bodied imported and micro brewed beers, as you will see from my numerous reviews on the Beerpal site.  I will continue to do so while I keep up my workout activities.

 

            Contrary to popular belief, beer is a healthy beverage when consumed responsibly and in moderation.  It has been clinically proven that the ingredients in beer have medicinal and nutritional benefits.  There are studies that suggest moderate consumption of beer can be a good anti-oxidant in the prevention of certain cancers.  And moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages has also been proven to be good for the blood flow and for the heart. 

 

            There is myth out there that beer makes you fat.  This is only half true.  Like bread and other carbohydrates, beer will only make you fat if you consume large quantities of it.  Once in your system, the body converts the beer carbs into sugar.  If that stored sugar in your system is not burned off via exercise, it will convert to fat and you will gain weight. 

 

If anything, the foods that you consume with beer are probably more so responsible for weight gain than beer.  Foods such as potato chips (loaded with starch and salt), pretzels, tortilla chips, cheese curls, and other assorted empty calorie junk food with no nutritional value should be used sparingly.  I pretty much avoided these junk foods, with little consumption of them if any, even while watching football games. I try not to eat anything fried, and if I do, it’s usually once a month.  And as mentioned before, I don’t drink soda pop of any form at all.  Not even diet. It’s all empty calories.

 

Keep in mind that I am not saying you should deprive yourself of the wonderful food pleasures in life. I am saying that moderation of anything is good for your body and overall health.  If you want to have that sausage, and perogies or hunk of cheesecake, go for it.  But a steady diet of this stuff will be very detrimental.  Remember, if you don’t burn it off, it’s going to stay with you. When it does, you may not be able to fit into that pair of jeans anymore. 

 

            I know, I know, I have heard all the excuses.  “I don’t have time to exercise.” “I am working 15 hour days.”  “I have kids and a house to take care of.”  “ I have to run here, and run there.” Blah, blah, blah!  My response to that is if you have time to eat like a pig and drink like a fish amid all of that busyness, then you should find time to exercise and prevent yourself from morphing into a blob like I once did.  I will come clean. It’s probably real easy for me to say these things, for I don’t have kids, and I don’t have a house to upkeep. But even if I did, I would at least make an effort to watch myself when it comes to food and drink consumption.  There is nothing more important than your health.  If you let that go, you will have big problems down the road. 

 

            What have we learned from all of this?  We have learned that we don’t have to deprive ourselves of beer, or anything else if we want to stay healthy and in some kind of decent physical shape.  We have learned that being a couch potato is not going to be helpful in this effort, and that exercise is key.  We have learned that moderate consumption of healthy foods, including beer, has positive benefits for our bodies. And we have learned that cutting back on the empty calorie junk food, such as soda pop, chips, pastries, and other assorted goodies will ultimately help you in reaching your goals. 

 

That’s how Oiz did it!  You can too. It will not be easy, but it can be done.  I am living proof.  Here’s hoping it works for you in the long run as well.  Remember, it took me just about two years to go from 213 to 170, so it’s not going to happen overnight.  The big surprise in all of this is that I continued to enjoy full-bodied, hearty and flavorful beer in the process.  I call it sacrifice without the self-denial.  It’s a beautiful thing. To your good health and to good beer!  Cheers!

27-AUGUST-2004