DryJanuary. Observations as of day 19 (now day 43 and done)

WINE TALK
21

Sadly, from a professional perspective, I have to cheat for tasting and spitting purposes. Otherwise, today is day 16 for me (we started at the end of the NYE weekend).

From a physical perspective, giving it up hasn’t been hard. No pink elephants, no crazy sleep patterns. The quality of my sleep has increased in a serious way, so I like that a lot. Also can tell by the way my clothes fit that I am quickly melting away!

From a mental/emotional perspective, other people drinking around me (I own a sparkling wine bar, and am there several nights a week) hasn’t been much of a temptation. I have shuffled a little wine around from rack-to-rack, and have purchased a few things (some PYCM Burgundy for later delivery from Lyle, and a few high-end Red Burgs as part of my “Xmas Bonus”).

The occasions where I have missed it most - Thai Curry Mondays, when there’s usually a Kabinett or Spatlese paired up, and as part of the weekend meal process, though I really wanted to get out of the habit of having the glass of wine while cooking, as it’s much less healthy than waiting for the meal!

Overall, some people have asked “what’s the point,” and said “life’s too short,” and I guess my Mom’s passing last year from lung cancer and smoking made me want to take a close look at habits with health implications to make sure I was living healthy for the long haul. I want to enjoy some mature Grand Cru Burgundies when I’m old! [wow.gif] I also wanted to take a step back and re-evaluate wine, and have a little more respect for it as a dinner partner and creation of a farmer’s hands.

22

Am I a hypocrite for reading this thread with a glass of '96 Gevrey-Chambertin next to me? [smileyvault-ban.gif]

23

Not if POX’d.

24

Thats great that you are sticking to your regime Peter - life is too short (literally) if you live it unhealthily (is that a word?). After your dr.'s appointment you will feel great and important (I believe) to stay on course.

My next door neighbor is a 60 year old CEO of a F500 company and has the mandatory yearly all day executive physicals and his goal every year is to be a little lighter, more fit than the year before. Month or 2 before the appt every year he goes awol and basically starves himself, cuts out all alcohol and desserts. Day after his physical he’s back to his bad habits. Little bit of the yoyo thing but probably better than not taking care of yourself at all.

My goal is to try to find an even keel and not drift too far from it - easy to say, tough to follow through.

Good luck and hope you reach your goal!

25

Alan. I do poorly with moderation, it’s like with martinis. Once you have one you always have 2 and once you’ve had 2 you might as well have 3!

Tom. Yep. Drinking leads to bad eating! And sleeping does get better!

Jim. Wow. Trying to do this while ITB, that’s extra hard. And spitting is fine if ITB!!!

Dennis. Good producer?

Tom. Yep, I think if you can get back to a particular weight each year, better than not. Too easy to gain 3-5lbs a year and wake up 5 years later up 25 or 10 years later up close to 50! I’m a little like your neighbor, but in a shorter time span. I usually ‘lose it’ during the holiday season from mid Nov through the end of Dec and it takes a few months to get back to normal.

26

Have you thought about the first wine you will open on Feb. 1?

27

Hey Paul.
Small (11 day) change in plans for me. My plan, now, is to keep this going through Feb 11th as I see my dr on Feb 12 and with no alcohol it’s easier to stay the course on my hard core diet and exercise regime. Trying for a real local ‘low’ in weight when I step on that scale. What the hell, why not?

But on Feb 12, I think for sure I’m going to have something special. Pretty sure it’s gonna be a white Burgundy, pretty sure a good vintage of Leflaive ‘Chevalier-Montrachet’, or maybe a good Coche Dury. Anyway that’s the plan right now.

And if the past holds true, about 1/2 bottle will pretty much put me away. Tolerance really drops after this stuff (a good thing!)

28

and BTW, one other thing. Anyone doing this and also doing either the ‘Atkins’ or ‘Paleo’ or other forms of very high protein and very low carb diets, you absolutely need to get some form of soluble fiber like psyllium husks as without it your stomach becomes very unhappy (let’s leave it at that).

29

@ Peter - My sister is where I first heard the term ‘dry January’ , and she is doing the same thing. She thinks she needs to lose weight , but I think she looks fine and healthy , and I’m sure it’s probably the same for you. I guess this ‘dry January’ is a common thing.

30

Heath, yes I think so. In addition to the weight loss, there are supposed to be a range of other benefits (can google them). One is the fat in your liver drops meaningfully (15-20%). I’m not a dr, no real idea what that means, but it sounds good! I will say that so far the single biggest benefit (away from the weight loss) is I’m getting just excellent sleep. I go to sleep quicker, sleep deeper, wake up less if at all (My standard before this was 1 or 2 wake ups a night, now lots of nights it’s zero), etc.

31

Congrats so far Peter! I did South Beach a couple of years ago and found after the first 10 days, it was an easy lifestyle diet to maintain. One thing that helped with the ‘habitual’ part was to substitute a mix of quality herbal teas. Obviously that does nothing to address ‘the habit’ if that’s part of your experiment- but it does make adjusting to the diet a little easier because you get to keep a little ritual in your evening.

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Good luck going all the way and wishing you no premox on your first bottle of the year!

33

Paul. That would just Suck!

34

All this talk about going dry is making me thirsty.

35

Where’s a “Like” button when you need one? [wink.gif]

36

BTW, also hitting the gym pretty hard (for me). I’ve missed a workout only 1 day in January. 2 days of snowboarding (Jan 1 and 2), 1 travel day (Jan 3), and from Jan 4 through today I’ve logged 74 miles on my treadmill and elliptical. Also getting in 2-3 weight circuit sessions a week, 6-8 exercises per circuit, 15 reps min per exercise. So getting the calories out that way also

37

Ok. Update for those thinking about doing this. It’s day 29. I’m down about 7% of bodyweight. No wine to date. I’ve logged about 125 miles on my treadmill/elliptical, also lots of weight sets (light weights, lots of reps), a giant day of shoveling snow last Sunday, and 2 days snowboarding.

observations

  1. I guess it is a habit. I’ve lost the ‘habit’ of having wine every day. While I still like wine and would like it with dinner, etc, I’ve lost the ‘need’ for that habit every day. I miss wine at meals and out at dinner, but not just sitting around at home after work, etc.

  2. And now I’ve worked out in some way 28 of the last 29 days. This has now become a ‘habit’. I was going to pass this morning as I had a busy early morning. Instead I got up 1 hour early and went for a run anyway. Interesting how something can become part of your daily routine over the course of almost a month.

So, 3 days to go and I have the option of a glass of wine, and I have 14 more days to go before my annual physical. Need about 3-4 more lbs and I’ll be good.

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Peter -

Since you have chosen to take this measure publicly, I think it would be pretty cool if you could give us some detailed before and after stats, including:

Weight
Blood pressure
Pulse
BF stats if you have them

And some anecdotes about sleeping patterns and energy levels.

As I hit 50, modifications in lifestyle are starting to interest me, so I’ve been reading your posts with interest. Like you, I have pretty much consumed around 2 glasses of wine most nights for the last 20 years. I’ve always kept my physical condition level high through rigorous exercise, but I would be lying if I said that I have not seen some changes as I approached 50.

39

Peter, I’ve really liked reading this…thanks for sharing.

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Agreed. Between your healthy turn and Jay’s 38 day and counting abstinence from wine purchases I’m getting inspired and motivated!

…okay, not really… but I did think about taking the junk off the treadmill for .76 seconds this morning.