How much do you drink?

[joolbag]

 

For those worried about their weight' date=' if you're able then just ride a bike to work. It's not as hard as it sounds and you'll probably enjoy it.[/quote']

 

SECOND THIS! Once I had kids, I couldn't wake up and go for runs in the morning or whenever I liked on weekends. Only way to stay fit n healthy was the incidental exercise... So I started riding to work one day a week, it became two and before I knew it I was saving on bus fares Mon-Fri.

 

Then I started brewing, and probably am drinking more beer than I ever used to. Mon n Wed I allow myself to have a couple, at most three pints (568mL) per night. My alcohol free days are Tue and Thu. The weekend nights (Fri Sat Sun) I'll allow myself up to 5 pints. After that I'm full and can't have anymore beer. Maybe a wine, but don't feel like beer.

 

I was starting to feel a spot of the pudge coming on, so started riding further and more often on the weekends. Perfect balance of calories in, calories out so no beer gut yet!

[James Lao]

When I first started brewing about 15 months ago it was 2-3 big bottles a night, one when helping the missus cooking, one with food and one afterwards watching the Telly.

Then the beer would run out, before the next brew was ready.

So I got another fermenter, now sometimes it's 3-4 a night .

Beer doesn't run out now and haven't bought a carton for about 12 months.

But I work away, 3 weeks on 4 weeks off, so enforced dry spell for 3 weeks when working!

Usually have couple of Jameson's with ice on the Friday and Saturdays as well, sometime a nice Single malt if I am lucky!

Choke dee

(Cheers in : Thai/Lao)

 

James

[Fancy a Cheeky Pint?]

When I used to bottle, her in doors would count the bottles in the morning. I moved to kegs as its rude to count!

[PXR-5]

When I used to bottle' date=' her in doors would count the bottles in the morning. I moved to kegs as its rude to count![/quote']

 

"her in doors" - love that designation however I'm not quite impressed with SWMBO (she who must be obeyed".

 

I'd rather refer to the missus as "she who would like to be obeyed

 

 

[Corksniffer]

In regards to the whole waistline increase thing, I remember Kelsey saying a while back: just don't eat so much! Instead of cutting back. I thought it was funny and extreme at the time but now: I gave up buying chips like twisties or whatever. Only snack on saladas, nuts, trail mix or the occasional bit of fruit but I've lost 8kg in a couple months. . I cut out crap at lunch n dinner too like chips n stuff, beer doesn't seem to have much impact anymore but I do notice it makes you hungry and want to eat much more. That's where it could get you if you give in. Just have another beer, instead

[Otto Von Blotto]

Yes, you'll probably find that the beer itself isn't the main culprit of weight gain, it's usually all the junk food crap that is eaten along with it.

 

That said, my missus is thinking of buying a pushbike so that we can go riding on the weekends for a bit of exercise. We're trying to be healthier this year by doing that as well as not eating as much junk and quitting the smokes, although she never really smoked much anyway. I've been a smoker since I was 17 and it ain't easy, especially when I have a beer!

[Phoenix76]

Well Kelsey, you put it in a nutshell.

 

Whatever else you do or don't do, give up them coffin nails. I smoked for 37 years, went cold turkey in 1989 from 75 a day. Knew I would put on weight so started at the gym.

 

But right on 15 years later I had a heart attack, thankfully not a big one, but still got a chopper ride. That MI was a direct result of those years of smoking. What I didn't know was, the effects of smoking take 15 years to be out of your system, so this was like a big farewell from smoking.

 

And sounds like you are going the right way with diet. Processed foods, junk food and sugar, mate they will kill you too.

 

Well that all sounds bloody morbid doesn't it?

 

Whole thing is that beer on it's own is not a great contributor to weight gain. Yep it's all the other crap that goes with it.

 

We all know that our beers start out with a lot of "sugar" or carbs. But those little yeasties do a good job of getting rid of them. Read an article in the Brisbane Courier Mail by Cartlon. It was all about these so called "Lo Carb Beers". Even Carlton said it was all a load of crock and just an attempt to con people. They even listed the carb content of their popular swills just to show how we had been snowed.

 

So, eat healthy, don't smoke, and drink up mateys - good beer is good for you.

[JohnBoy]

The missus and me went to melbourne last year and did a tour of CUB, the tour guide there said that the low carb beer was a marketing gimmick... i think its another chemical that is unnecessary to drink.

 

my bmi says that im in the normal range, and i drink a fair bit of beer...

i have heard that your body processes alcohol carbs first before any other carbs in your body, so if your drinking and eating high carbs/fatty foods, then your body works on the alcohol while the rest of the carbs are not being processed and have an opportunity to go to fat. just because i heard it, doesnt make it right...

 

 

[joolbag]

That said' date=' my missus is thinking of buying a pushbike so that we can go riding on the weekends for a bit of exercise.[/quote']

 

Then you will have to change your forum name to King Ottoager!

 

In all seriousness, do it mate! We went down same path - now on weekends we try not to use the car and that's completely possible even with two kids. We really look forward to going places by bike on the weekends - to the shops, to the pub, to the park, the pool, etc. Good way to explore your local area and you will find some great little places and paths that you never knew existed.

[Otto Von Blotto]

Yeah, I did it last year too on my previous quit attempt, at that point I had just gone through a break up (on NYE of all days) and by early Feb I caved in and went back to the durries and my old habits and the bike took up residence in its current spot and hasn't been moved since other than to access my malt containers. Hopefully this time is a bit more successful, given things are much more stable. What sucks is as bad as they are for me, I really enjoyed smoking, especially with a beer. Without it, it's a bit like the beach with no surf, it just feels weird and I don't feel like myself, but I'm sure if I keep at it I'll get used to it. The few times I did go out on a ride were fun though, I used to ride in past the CBD to a pub along the river on the other side, all along bikeways, have a pint or two then ride home again.

[Phoenix76]

Go for it Kelsey, I would like to be talking to you on this forum for a lot of years yet mate.

 

Cheers mate

Bill

[Fancy a Cheeky Pint?]

Went to England 2016 and did a good job of trying all the Real Ales as I went around. Came back to Adelaide 5kg heavier! (Her in doors keeps making comments but I've managed to master selective hearing, so don't notice much)

 

Anyway, I think the bike idea may not be a bad one. They recently started these in Adelaide CBD. Great idea, peddle, drink, stop for food and no issue with the bike getting in the way as you can't take it home afterwards!

 

[Mark D Pirate]

i have seen the bike bars going around Radelaide , but for me at 36 i still fit into my under 18 footy shorts ( waist stays small but shoulders grew)

i try to keep monday / tuesday as booze free days for sake of my liver and my brew stocks , broke that rule tonight but not a big deal

i do have a pretty physical job and eat healthy for a single bloke since i learned to cook as a young fella

for me it's about what i put in V's what i take out

[Corksniffer]

Love that portapub!

 

Go for it Kels'. I smoked for years too (white ox at one heavier point..) from about 12 years old up until 30. The missus has only recently given up too and she always said the same thing, she loved smoking and didn't 'want' to give up. But she just did one day.. we both still can't really believe it. She'd just had enough of being unhealthy. Bad thing is, she also gave up drinking so things were very strange for quite a while there and still getting used to finding a groove we both fit into. I get pissed, and she doesn't. Still weird but hey, whaddya do

 

I gave up because they gave me headaches, so not as hard as most but I will say, it could always be harder and it's only as hard as you make it on yourself. They're like $100 a pack now too, you gotta put your kidneys up on Gumtree to afford them!

[Otto Von Blotto]

Yeah, I was paying $175 for a carton of Rothmans late last year, 5x40 packs, which would last me about 1.5 weeks on average. I wasn't a terribly heavy smoker, usually about 12-15 a day although more if I had a session on the beers on the weekends, which was and still is most of them . When I started back in the day they were probably about $60-65 a carton. I always thought they tasted worse after they went to that plain packaging crap too. I'm sure the price will only keep going up each year, which was another motivation other than health reasons for trying and hopefully succeeding in quitting them.

 

The shit thing about them is you don't feel anything detrimental really happening so that makes it hard too; it's only later on that the effects happen, and as Bill mentioned sometimes it can be years after quitting. Dad's like that, he hasn't smoked for 30 years or so, but his lungs have been damaged by it and are only getting worse now. He's also had heart trouble but that does run in his side of the family, another reason I want to quit now before it's too late, because the chances of me having those Keith Richards type genes aren't very high and I'd rather not take the gamble .

 

Anyway, I also hope to be around here for a long time yet, just a shame that most of the fun things in life are bad for us

 

Cheers

 

Kelsey

[ChristinaS1]

Wish you all the best with quitting smoking Kelsey. It is the best thing you can do for yourself. I tried sneaking cigarettes as a kid but they made me choke and tasted bad, so I stopped trying. I am so glad I never forced myself to ignore the messages my body was sending me. Truth is my body can probably only handle one vice: alcohol.

 

Have any of you who have quit, or tried to quit, switched to vaping? A lot of kids are vaping here. Much better for your lungs, although it probably still damages them. Most likely less carcinogenic, but I am not sure. Still just as bad for your cholesterol level, blood pressure, and heart.

 

When I was still working as a nurse practitioner I had younger patients, like in their early 40s, develop high cholesterol and get to the point they needed medication. Some of them decided to quit smoking instead. Those that did usually succeeded in bringing their cholesterol down to the point they no longer needed cholesterol medicine. It works. They were saving themselves from high blood pressure and heart disease too, or at least pushing that years down the road.

 

I saw a lot of people in their early 50s coming in with their first case of pneumonia, usually in the winter time. They would be totally surprised. Invariably they were smokers or ex-smokers. After that you'd see them come in with pneumonia every winter, then every time they caught a cold, and then more often still. People with COPD spend a lot of time on antibiotics and puffers. Best not to let it get that far.

 

Cheers,

 

Christina.

 

[MarkC]

I gave up smoking 30 years ago, went cold turkey after suffering a really heavy cold, haven't touched them since.

I smoked Winston, Gauloises, Camel, Sobranie - any good Virginian or Turkish tobacco did it for me. Apart from losing the lingering smoke smell and the health impacts, everything tastes so much better.

Still get twitchy when I smell good tobacco...

[Bird1986]

Wish you all the best with quitting smoking Kelsey. It is the best thing you can do for yourself. I tried sneaking cigarettes as a kid but they made me choke and tasted bad' date=' so I stopped trying. I am so glad I never forced myself to ignore the messages my body was sending me. Truth is my body can probably only handle one vice: alcohol.

 

Have any of you who have quit, or tried to quit, switched to vaping? A lot of kids are vaping here. Much better for your lungs, although it probably still damages them. Most likely less carcinogenic, but I am not sure. Still just as bad for your cholesterol level, blood pressure, and heart.

 

When I was still working as a nurse practitioner I had younger patients, like in their early 40s, develop high cholesterol and get to the point they needed medication. Some of them decided to quit smoking instead. Those that did usually succeeded in bringing their cholesterol down to the point they no longer needed cholesterol medicine. It works. They were saving themselves from high blood pressure and heart disease too, or at least pushing that years down the road.

 

I saw a lot of people in their early 50s coming in with their first case of pneumonia, usually in the winter time. They would be totally surprised. Invariably they were smokers or ex-smokers. After that you'd see them come in with pneumonia every winter, then every time they caught a cold, and then more often still. People with COPD spend a lot of time on antibiotics and puffers. Best not to let it get that far.

 

Cheers,

 

Christina.

[/quote']

 

I've started to vape, although I do smoke cigarettes a little still

I've gone from 25 cigarettes a day down to 4 cigarettes a day since vaping. Just need the motivation to get down to 0

[PXR-5]

I struggled with smoking for about 30 years. Got away from them for a year or two and always found an excuse to take it up again.

 

Read a book that emphasized that I had to work hard at smoking to get addicted - you have to put up with all that burning, coughing and bad taste. Christina, you didn't work hard enough (fortunately). The other thing it emphasized was that if I picked up a smoke again (ever), it was liable to cost me thousands of dollars a year (and it comes down to just 1 smoke when you are addicted).

 

Didn't go through any rituals (like patches, although tried them previously) but gave up just over 8 years ago and will never touch one again. Think of it at times, but not prepared to have that one cigarette to re-fuel the addiction again.

 

John

[Otto Von Blotto]

Thanks Christina, I'm hoping this is the last time I'll have to quit. I remember trying a cigarette when I was 11 or 12; it must have been a full strength one because inhaling it inevitably made me cough and splutter. I didn't touch one after that until I was 17, and just about everyone else at the place I was working were smokers, so I joined in and yeah... That time I didn't get the coughing and spluttering either.

 

I do have an e-cigarette at the moment but I'm using the juice that doesn't contain nicotine. I'm hoping this will help me get off the nicotine without entirely giving up the hand to mouth habit of it, which I can work on later and then eventually not have either normal smokes or the e-cig. Trying to do it all at once has proved too much both times, especially when I'm around people who smoke, and I'd rather not be yo-yoing numerous times between quitting and smoking. I have noticed that I don't pick that thing up and puff on it as often as I would have a regular cigarette though. In any case, it's intended as a temporary measure, and if it works to stop me having any more real ones again then it's a success in my book.

 

I will miss it with a beer, but at the end of the day if I quit it now then I'll be able to enjoy a lot more beers for a lot more years.

 

Cheers

 

Kelsey

 

 

[ChristinaS1]

Thanks Christina' date=' I'm hoping this is the last time I'll have to quit. I remember trying a cigarette when I was 11 or 12; it must have been a full strength one because inhaling it inevitably made me cough and splutter. I didn't touch one after that until I was 17, and just about everyone else at the place I was working were smokers, so I joined in and yeah... That time I didn't get the coughing and spluttering either.

 

I do have an e-cigarette at the moment but I'm using the juice that doesn't contain nicotine. I'm hoping this will help me get off the nicotine without entirely giving up the hand to mouth habit of it, which I can work on later and then eventually not have either normal smokes or the e-cig. Trying to do it all at once has proved too much both times, especially when I'm around people who smoke, and I'd rather not be yo-yoing numerous times between quitting and smoking. I have noticed that I don't pick that thing up and puff on it as often as I would have a regular cigarette though. In any case, it's intended as a temporary measure, and if it works to stop me having any more real ones again then it's a success in my book.

 

I will miss it with a beer, but at the end of the day if I quit it now then I'll be able to enjoy a lot more beers for a lot more years. [img']cool[/img]

 

Cheers

 

Kelsey

 

 

There are lots of ways to quit. Do whatever works for you. It is nice to have some tools to help.

 

I can't help but notice that your current avatar, and possibly in your last one as well (if I remember correctly), is a picture of you smoking. It is obviously a big part of your identity. Maybe it would be a good idea to change your picture, to one of you not smoking? It might help you imagine yourself as a non-smoker....

 

Good luck my friend.

 

Christina.

[Hairy]

I'm sure if you asked him, Kelsey would say that in every photo he is 'smoking' regardless of cigarettes

 

Re drinking, I don't have big sessions but I drink regularly. Six beers would be a decent session for me.

 

I tend not to drink on Mon to Wed. I try to hold out on Thursday but I rarely do, so Thursday is one or two schooners.

 

Friday, Saturday & Sunday is somewhere between 2-4 schooners a day.

 

That is just a standard week though, it changes for different occasions. If I go to the pub then I may have a couple more. On holidays I tend to drink each day; again not huge amounts but more than normal.

 

Most of my beers are around the 5% ABV mark.

[Otto Von Blotto]

at Hairy. Yeah the pictures don't really bother me too much. You're right though, it was... I always had a cigarette in one hand and either a beer or a Jack and Coke in the other. It probably didn't help that I was involved in the hard rock/heavy metal scene either, where the proportion of people who smoke compared to those who don't is a lot higher than it is in the general population. I don't play in any bands at this point, and don't really go to a lot of gigs anymore either, so that should help things too, largely being away from that scene now. I still love the music though.

[Hoppy81]

I drink around 15lt in a week at the moment during summer which is quite easily do to really haha.

2 x longnecks each day Mon-Fri

5 x longnecks each day Sat and Sun

 

I'm still a newbie at brewing (batch 4 fermenting now) so i can not see it getting any less anytime soon

[ImaginativeName]

I tend to drink whatever is cold, so I only put a few in the fridge at one time.

 

Kelsey, quitting ciggies is one of the best things you can do.

 

It's funny how we say "quitting", "giving up", like we're going to be suffering deprivation, but what are we really giving up?

 

Bad health?

Wasting money?

Stinking like an ashtray?

 

The list goes on.

 

I've quit a few times, gave them away again around 1 year ago, although I had 3 over a 24 hour period a few months back when I was really stressed, it's not the end of the world if you have one, it can even serve as a reminder for your smart decision to give them away in the first place.

 

I felt pretty close to sick with each of those 3 ciggies, it was like self flagellation.

 

Stay strong brother, you don't need em.