More Exercise = Less Beer

I used to drink almost every day. Not heavily, but usually a beer or two when I got home from work, plus a few extra drinks on either Friday or Saturday night. It wasn't a problem at all, but when you think about the calories from not only the beer, but from the bar food as well, and it's not a surprise that I was rapidly expanding my mid-section. I always said that if I just cut the beer out of my life, I'd drop a good 10 pounds. But how can you say no to a cold one after a stressful day at work? It was my vice, and I was fine with that because of the stress relief that came with it.

 

 

When I started hitting the gym 5 days a week, I noticed a change almost immediately. I didn't have time to have a beer when I got home from work, because I was leaving again within 15 minutes to go to the gym. Then coming home afterwards, I was high from the endorphins that the workout released, and no longer needed a beer to relax me for the night. I basically killed the cravings for alcohol during the week, either by working out or eating healthier.

 

  Vodka in a water bottle helps kill the beer cravings as well

 

The interesting thing is that this isn't in line with what the most recent scientific studies show. This link from the New York Times sums up a couple of these studies. It seems that most people drink more  with an active lifestyle. So, technically I should be maintaining my pre-healthy-lifestyle-change levels of drinking at the very least, if not drinking more. But hey, I'm not going to complain. Thanks to cutting back on the beer-a-night lifestyle, I'm now a cheap date for the hubby! 

 

 

That's my kind of workout!