How I Did

I meant to send this post out a week ago, after I had completed my Dry January challenge and could resume sampling some amazing craft beer.

Though I didn't consume any alcohol in January, I did drink plenty of alcohol-free beer. As I said in a Beer O'Clock video post, Partake Brewing, in Toronto, makes some pretty decent beer for those who are abstaining from alcohol and also don't want to load up on calories from soda (the beer is only 10 calories per can!). I reviewed their pale ale, but they also make an amazing stout that I loaded up on at Broue Ha Ha in Gatineau.

Staying away from booze was not a challenge for me: I've gone dry many times over the years without breaking a sweat. The goal for me was to see if that cutting out the extra calories would reduce my waistline. I also challenged myself to cutting out sugar and to avoid the types of food that I love, but don't need.

That part of the challenge was hard.

One evening, DW cracked open a box of Christmas cookies, and though I resisted at first, she said "one cookie isn't going to kill you."

We devoured half of the box.

I also caved in on a stressful day at the office, when I was putting out a bunch of fires, and a Ganong Pal-o-Mine bar that I had stashed in a drawer kept calling my name. I gave in: at first, only eating one of the two pieces of chocolate-covered, peanut fudge. An hour later, the other half was gone.

The various states of demise.

I always considered myself to be more savoury than sweet, reaching for the potato chips over chocolate. While I was able to resist the bags of chips that the family brought into the house over January, I found that my dormant sweet tooth was something I just couldn't hold off.

I also cheated in the final week with a handful or two of chips.

But despite these transgressions, I managed to get in at least a half-hour of workouts and was in bed by 10:30 on weeknights. I did see my belly shrink and didn't feel as bloated. As January wrapped up, I felt healthier.

We're now well into February. In the first week, I have had four pints of beer and two small measures of Scottish malt. I still strive to get to bed at a decent hour, and think before I put something in my mouth (everything in moderation, right?).

So, I wasn't perfect in January, but I did okay. I'm not about to make major lifestyle changes but at the same time, I'm going to reduce the amount of extra calories that I ingest.

I have an ultimate goal: in September and October, I'm going to be doing a lot of cycling. DW and I are participating in a 100-km ride with some friends in Prince Edward County. A week later, we're buying a couple of touring bikes in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and will cycle nearly 300 kilometres to Bruges, Belgium. A week after that, we'll cycle the Mosel River, in Germany from Koblenz to Trier.

I want to be fit.

And Dry January told me that if I stay on target, I'll get there.

Now, pass the chips!