In January 2012 I weighed 325 lbs. As of today I’ve lost over 140 lbs. To continue my quest to optimize my health, I’m giving up alcohol.

I start the new year weighing 184.6 pounds. That puts my total weight loss at 140.4 lbs. since I started this little journey in 2012. I attribute the loss mostly to my January challenge — no alcohol for 30 days.

Alcohol Causing My Weight Loss Stall
As I tracked my food I got suspicious that the cause of my weight fluctuation was my wine. Oh how I do love the Nectar of the Gods, but my intake was much higher than normal over the holidays.

Also I started experiencing heartburn right before bed, something that hasn’t happened since I switched to a LCHF diet. Hmmmm….something was amiss.

While wine is low in carbs it slows or stops your weight loss. And if you’re not careful it packs on the pounds too.

I wasn’t careful.

So my 30-Day No Alcohol Challenge started the late afternoon of January 1 — we had to finish the champagne we had in the house.

I went through some carb withdrawals for the first 2 days – I craved sugar like crazy and had a couple of headaches.  So I drank herbal tea and slightly upped my fat intake. That killed my cravings.

My heartburn quickly disappeared (Yea!). Also I’m more focused and have more energy.

In other words I feel awesome.

Going Alcohol Free
I planned to give up wine prior to starting my IVF treatments. The plan was limit my drinking to only those special occasions. But with so many holiday parties it felt like nearly everyday was special. Ugh!

Now that the holiday season is over I’m committed to giving up adult beverages. And that includes “special occasions.” Why? Because I can justify any occasion to be deemed “special.”

If I’m trying to optimize my health to increase my chances of having a baby, how does alcohol help me?

It doesn’t.

My 30-day challenge is a good starting point.