I quit alcohol for a month and lost 8 pounds with no other change. AMA

Never drank alcohol in my life, never had more than BMI of 22. Have a very quick metabolism tho and eat a LOT, which is bad for my wallet ($700 a month just for food, even though I save a lot and eat lots of pasta and oat flakes every day..)

Was a lot of the weight loss immediate or was it gradual?

fffffffff wrote:

Uncle Rico wrote:

Saturday night I made a conscious decision to cease drinking beer for as long as possible. I enjoy craft beers, and I've noticed that I'm consuming 2-3 beers 3-4 times a week. Really crept up on me. I rarely ever just drink "1" though. Once it hits your lips...

What's wrong with 2-3 beers 3-4 times a week? That seems like low to moderate alcohol consumption.

You don't understand alcoholism, and you're accidentally encouraging it with this ignorant comment.

Over time even small amounts cause brain disintegration. Maybe that's not the best word for it but I've seen very lucid people end up not knowing what's what.

Ever seen a fat drug addict?

Drinking makes me lose weight.

sdgsdfgsdfgsdfgsd wrote:

fffffffff wrote:

What's wrong with 2-3 beers 3-4 times a week? That seems like low to moderate alcohol consumption.

You don't understand alcoholism, and you're accidentally encouraging it with this ignorant comment.

Dick Quax disagrees

Nick Willis's browsing history wrote:

sdgsdfgsdfgsdfgsd wrote:

You don't understand alcoholism, and you're accidentally encouraging it with this ignorant comment.

Dick Quax disagrees

Rod Dixon

I gave up alcohol for 6 weeks. No weight change.

Tristate wrote:

I gave up alcohol for 6 weeks. No weight change.

Curious, what and how much were you drinking?

You must have drank a whole lot to maintain 8 extra pounds just through alcohol. That said, 8 pounds could be 16 secs a mile or over 6 mins at boston. Good luck.

jlkj wrote:

Ever seen a fat drug addict?

Drinking makes me lose weight.

There's a qualitative difference between crack and alcohol, especially in how it relates to your metabolism and weight gain.

Yes, dumb@$$, we've all seen fat alcoholics. You'll see one next time you're home for the holidays. Say hi to your mom for me.

Wolf's Bane wrote:

You must have drank a whole lot to maintain 8 extra pounds just through alcohol. That said, 8 pounds could be 16 secs a mile or over 6 mins at boston. Good luck.

I doubt it was pounds of fat though. A lot of water retention, I'm guessing.

So many pearl-clutchers and weaklings in this thread.

No, 2-3 beers 3-4 times/week is not "alcoholism" even under the most cautious definition of the term. Not even close. That said, "safe" consumption depends on genetics. Winston Churchill drank 10 drinks per day for his entire life and lived to 90. For other men, that might enough for an early grave.

sub_3_is_the_goal wrote:

SomeoneWhoKnows wrote:

If you lost 8 pounds in a month with no other change other than stopping drinking of alcohol, then you are an alcoholic and you should never drink again. Don't kid yourself. You weren't just pounding one cold one after a long run. So, maybe two long runs a week, so 8 beers in a month. Count on 180 calories per beer. 180x8=1440 calories. There are 3500 calories in a pound, so 8 beers isn't even a half a pound worth of calories.

Be honest with yourself.

Alcohol encourages water retention. He/she probably lost quite a bit of water as part of that 8lb.

Alcohol is a diuretic. Liver and heart failure encourage water retention.

dfa wrote:

Subject line says it all.

Feeling a lot better overall.

Do I miss a drink or two? Why not. Nothing beats pounding a cold one after a long run.

That said, had to do it to lose some weight ahead of Boston.

How much less attractive is your wife now that you’re sober?

nagoya wrote:

So many pearl-clutchers and weaklings in this thread.

No, 2-3 beers 3-4 times/week is not "alcoholism" even under the most cautious definition of the term. Not even close. That said, "safe" consumption depends on genetics. Winston Churchill drank 10 drinks per day for his entire life and lived to 90. For other men, that might enough for an early grave.

Agreed, but I can easily see it continuing to from 2-3 drink to 6+ craft beers everyday. I don't really enjoy drinking just for the taste. My sister stops drinking after a few sips of wine because she "starts to feel it." My philosophy is more "that's the whole point... that's when you start to turn it on and drink more."

I've also been trying to lose this last five pounds, and no amount of exercise has really helped. Hoping less beer = weight loss.

Alcohol is a drug. We need to stop separating the two in the social narrative.

aoxomoxoa wrote:

jlkj wrote:

Ever seen a fat drug addict?

Drinking makes me lose weight.

There's a qualitative difference between crack and alcohol, especially in how it relates to your metabolism and weight gain.

Yes, dumb@$$, we've all seen fat alcoholics. You'll see one next time you're home for the holidays. Say hi to your mom for me.

ET OOOOHHHH wrote:

sub_3_is_the_goal wrote:

Alcohol encourages water retention. He/she probably lost quite a bit of water as part of that 8lb.

Alcohol is a diuretic. Liver and heart failure encourage water retention.

"Alcohol initially acts as a diuretic, but it affects the metabolism of electrolytes and minerals, and over time can cause a rise in the production of antidiuretic hormone, leading to an increase in water retention."

OP here.

1) No, I'm single. Which partly explains my loneliness and the draw to alcohol.

That being said, I'm by no means deluded to think that having a woman will certainly make my life better.

It's completely possible (and likely) to be in a detrimental relationship.

2) Is alcohol a drug? Yes in the sense that it is mind altering in the short term.

That being said, after I tried a real drug (think Prozac), I got totally batsh*t scared of what a real "drug" feels like.

After taking 3 tablets of an anti-depressant, I swore all mind bending drugs off. Alcohol is nothing like that at all.

3) Was the 8 pounds I lost all water weight? Probably about 50/50.

I had been drinking 20 servings a week. That comes out to about 1 or 2 a week of actual calories.