DryJanuary. Anyone else involved.

WINE TALK
21

I’m on the wagon through Friday, which is 2 weeks. I exercise daily, so it’s not really about losing weight/getting fit…my wife and I just figured we needed a little break from the extra indulgence of wine around the holidays.

So far so good (can’t remember the last time I went 2 weeks with zero wine/alcohol), with the only ‘tough’ part being when I was grilling steaks last weekend and didn’t have any red wine. Something about that just felt all kinds of wrong.

Gotta admit though…I’m pretty damn excited to have a couple glasses on Friday.

And by the way…checking in on this board regularly does NOT make it any easier :slight_smile:

22

I tend to do this most years, in part for weight loss and part for post-holiday season “cleansing.” The hardest period to get through is when the flurry of offers come in (several expected next week) and on Berserker Day.

23

I never drink enough for this to be a problem, either with sobriety or weight. I wish that it contributed significantly to my weight; I’d do alcohol fasts regularly. We drink no wine on school nights, and on weekends/holidays, we share a bottle, starting with dinner.

I exercise hard at least 4 days a week, usually 5-6. It isn’t enough to combat the pasta and rice and bread and other goodies I consume. That is my problem.

24

I weigh within 4lbs of what I did in high school. I workout an hour a day during the week and usually 90 minutes to 2 hours a day on the weekend via a hike or bike ride. I don’t take rest days, just vary the intensity of the daily workout. We drink 3-4 bottles of wine a week. We eat mostly proteins, veggies and fruit. No bread, crackers or the like. Our only vice food wise is good cheese. I see no reason to go to extremes to “balance” my life.

25

Funny, Peter, I thought of this thread from last year and was thinking about asking if you were going to do it again.

I myself about 11 weeks into ‘Dry January.’ Towards the end of October, with the holidays inbound, I decided I was going to go through the holidays the way I did January 2016 - no swallowing of alcohol, just taste-and-spit (I am ITB, after all, and it is difficult to do my retail work and own a bubbly bar with no wine whatsoever). I wanted to get out ahead of the holiday mayhem, and it was surprisingly effective.

I’ve lost about two full notches of my various belts. My sleep quality is much better. I figure I get about 98% of the taste experience I would from swallowing and cut out over 99% of the calories. I realize there is a minuscule intake of alcohol even with expectoration, but it wasn’t meant to be a purity test.

Checked. Eleven weeks tomorrow. I expect to go at least three months, perhaps longer. For vanity as much as anything! [berserker.gif]

On the exercise front, I have had to nurse a badly sprained ankle since mid-December, so once I can go intense again, I expect even quicker results.

26

I am doing it, I feel great but expect to have some wine this weekend. but no beer (my primary vice) for a while.

27

My weight increased one-half pound during the holidays…er, uh…winter festivities. Fortunately, with my exercising a bit more and drinking very little, it is back down to 147.5 pounds.

28

That’s because your life is already in balance. Get out of this thread for the unbalanced masses! Just kidding. :wink:

Seriously, I do not think there’s anything wrong with or unhealthy about my lifestyle either, it’s much in-line with yours. I’m also within a 5 pound margin of error from college, when I started working out seriously. It’s more interesting to see what, if any, impact there is on my body. Plus, scraping down to extremely lean for me at 44 is a fun exercise in supreme control. I doubt I’ll look my best at that level, but I’m curious to know!

29

You have something powerful to motivate you and that is your desire to explore the “what if”. It is a personal challenge for you and I commend you for doing it under those premises. [cheers.gif]

30

My wife and I are doing a dry January. It sucks! My palate is so bored. I’m in solid shape and have managed the exercise/wine balance quite well, this was my wife’s idea to prove that we can do it, and so she can get a jumpstart on a workout routine. I can’t friggin wait until February.

PS - I think we’re taking Inauguration Day off. Who can not drink on that day?!

31

This is crazy talk.

32

That and helping my husband. It’s so much easier to do when both halves participate.

33

That sounds miserable - I’m out. I am exercising a lot more though and that’s not much fun either.

34

Stationary bike 6-7 days a week… helps eliminate the need for dryness. :slight_smile:

35

Glad it works for you, but that doesn’t sound like a life I would enjoy living. No bread? Seriously?

36

No bread here either… in fact, no cereal grains at all.

37

Pizza every once in awhile. We can’t give up EVERYHING. [wow.gif]

38

I will try and drink more and eat more in January to make up for you all. It won’t be easy but I’ll give it a go.

39

Inconceivable to me. Again, glad it works for you, but a diet without bread and cereals (and pasta?) would be like giving up music or art.

In all things moderation. (Or so I hear)

40

Yo yo here until I found eat-stop-eat. Works awesome and you don’t have to restrict anything (well I don’t). Turning 44 this month and weigh less now than in high school. And I’m hella lazy.

http://www.eatstopeat.com/

Basically eat/fast/eat. 24 hours is considered a fast. Lots of food and metabolism myths out there.