It was easy for me to blame my belly on the beer.
I wasn’t fat, I told myself, I just had a “dad bod” from all the beers I drank.
Otherwise I was in great shape! Then one day I tried to go for a jog, to prove that I could do it, and I didn’t make it a quarter mile. I turned around and slowly walked back home, thinking about making some different choices. Drinking beer is great, but when you start drinking it at 9am and don’t stop until you go to bed at night, then you might have a problem. I started a workout program the next week, and started tapering off my alcohol consumption at the same time. I knew that quitting cold turkey would not work for me, so my plan was to wear myself out with exercise during the heat of the day. All the exercise would tire me out so much that come the evening I would fall asleep before I could get too drunk. For the first three days, this plan worked out pretty well, and after an intense workout program during the day I would only have two or three beers before crashing. I realized that with a better balance of exercise and nutrition, I would never have to give up drinking beer. Of course, I was done drinking a case in a day, but the exercise and good sleep made me feel so energetic I no longer wanted to spend all day drinking. I look better, I feel better, and I still enjoy my brew.