The Whisky Diet: July 2013

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Drink weller with LYTEshow

Those righteous dudes over at Drinkwel have done it again and devised a new product for the serious drinker. And this time there's no pill to swallow--just a tiny capful of critical, calorie-free electrolytes to replace those lost to beerination. Alcohol is awesome at fighting heart disease, and a great tool for losing weight, but there's no doubt that it sucks you drier than a fossil of a raisin in a kiln. That's why I usually drink plenty of water with my whisky. I've often thought of supplementing that with a sports drink designed to replace fluids, but such concoctions tend to have sugar or artificial sweetener, both of which I try to avoid.

LyteShow is just what the doctor ordered (or might order if I really saw one or cared what they said). I actually find that it gives water a slightly pleasant taste and makes it seem like I'm drinking something of substance--and I am: magnesium, zinc, chloride, and more. An order of LyteShow includes a small and handy travel flask-- the cap of which doubles as a convenient measuring device.

So whether you're abusing diuretics for sport doping, fighting forest fires, getting drunk off your ass, or drinking alcohol and caffeine for good health like myself, LyteShow is the perfect addition to smooth out some of the pitfalls and rough edges.

Weight: 191 lbs

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Last of the Irish

Gained 9 pounds in a week!

Last November, I drank 2 day's worth of Canadian and Irish whiskey in 2-3 hours and got pretty darn sick. On my birthday last week, I ate 2 day's worth of food in 10-11 hours and also got sick. While events like these are undoubtedly stupid, I believe they serve the greater purpose of rekindling motivation. Maintaining a healthy balance forever is both difficult and boring. Extreme negative experiences, even self-inflicted, can create polarized goal posts that we are driven to defend against repeating, at least until they slowly fade into the past. Anything we can do to refresh those negative memories can help renew continuous improvement, and so it is under that guise that I again drink what I previously vomited up on my fleece jacket several moons ago.

A bit farther into my past, I considered Bushmills, Jameson, and Tillamore Dew to be my favorite, premium whiskies. Having completed my Irish whiskey tour, they now taste somewhat bland compared to others--Tillamore Dew being the most distinguished of the trio. But I'm still more than happy to have them on my team reminding me of the past. I really do think it makes me stronger, in my typically twisted fashion.

Weight: 189 lbs

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Achievement Unlocked!! -- 180 lbs (-49)

So I took ex-lax yesterday for a little boost. Does that make me a Lance Armstrong?

Speaking of which, unless I'm dying of a dreadful disease, or get a part in a movie, I swear by the Hammer of Thor that I'll never weigh this much less again. I certainly look different, but not all that much better, and I honestly don't feel any particular improvement (on the contrary, I am often colder, and I hate that!). Except for a few valuable lessons that I will recount later, and pooping a bit less, I think this weight-loss thing was a big waste of time and effort. Then again, I was turning 50, so I had to do something. Losing ~50 pounds by drinking a lot of whisky and not exercising was definitely something.

And so ends a very, very long diet. Jack In The Box, here I come!

[+] What I Consumed Since Last Post ...

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

I Can See My Privates! -- 181 lbs (-48)

A new low! (In more ways than one.)

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Sunday, July 14, 2013

Wolfhound & Clontarf -- 182 lbs (-47) [3X]

Wolfhound, IMO, is another indistinguishable Irish whiskey in the same camp as Finnegan, Kilbeggan, Jameson, etc. It calls itself "the gentle giant", though I'm not sure where the "giant" part comes in. It's still good, though--don't get me wrong.

Clontarf is a different story. It is hard for me to describe, aside from being a bit more complex and having a physical kick that makes me wince. Clontarf also pays homage to a historic Irish vs. Vikings battle, and I must say I feel like fighting Vikings after drinking it.

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Thursday, July 11, 2013

6 Days Left! -- 183 lbs (-46) [8X]

I am so looking forward to being done with this year-long diet. Regardless of whether I reach my goal of weighing 180 pounds by the 17th (which is looking barely possible), I will stop tracking what I eat, drink, and weigh on that day. I don't know if I'll try to maintain a healthy weight (which for me means staying under 200 lbs), but I suspect I will eat a little more and drink a little less, on average. I will continue to maintain this blog for at least another year, fighting the good fight (the right to drink in moderation 24x7) and occasionally posting bottom-shelf reviews.

[+] What I Consumed Since Last Post ...

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Concannon & Powers -- 185 lbs (-44) [36X]

With a little over a week to go on this year-long diet, I'm still not sure if I'll reach my goal of 180 pounds. As predicted, self-control has been difficult over the 4-day holiday weekend--the only "saving grace" has been 2 days of dysentery I'm blaming on a bad hot link I ate at our local 4th of July fair. And it is sick, literally and figuratively, that I'm to the point where I'm thankful for such a GI failure--possibly a sign that I am taking this commitment I made to myself, and the 1 or 2 people that occasionally read this blog, a bit too seriously. A sign that I will blissfully ignore.

Concannon & Powers are here to cheer me on and help me push my limits. They immediately changed my opinion of Irish whiskey lacking in variety with their smooth character and strong undertones of butterscotch and caramel, respectively and respectfully. I may be eating like crap, feeling like crap, and, well, crapping like crap, but I'll be drinking finely blended golden whiskey to weather on through.

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Thursday, July 4, 2013

American Pride (bourbon) -- 184 lbs (-45) [24X]

Did you really think I'd be drinking Irish whiskey on this day? No way--it's American bourbon and beer, baby. I'm not sure if I'm proud to be an American, given that pride is a cardinal sin, but I greatly appreciate my liberties and try to use them whenever possible. I certainly don't take my freedom to drink whiskey for granted. It was illegal for a time and there are many who would love to make it that way again. American Pride is one of the few American brands that weathered Prohibition as medicinal whiskey. The advert that got them through it speaks to me even now:

"If You Use Whiskey at all - American Pride IS WHAT YOU WANT! For Medicinal or Potable Purposes of Any Kind.”

Sadly today, like so many whiskies, it has lost it's historical flavor and is now a cheap bulk bourbon via the wonders of acquisition. But even more have been lost forever, and at least I can afford it.

Happy 4th!

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Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Finnegan, Kilbeggan, Donovanabevegan -- 185 lbs (-44) [33X]

I may like the taste of Irish whiskey best, but thus far I'm not detecting the same level of variety I've experienced with scotch (even the cheap stuff). And as W. Ross Ashby said, "variety absorbs variety, defines the minimum number of states necessary for a controller to control a system of a given number of states." Lack of self-control explained!

Seriously, Finnegan and Kilbeggan taste exactly the same to me, and rate 3-3-3.5 on my sweetness, strength, and complexity scale of 1-5. There is a clean taste present in these Irish whiskies that makes me feel like I'm in an Irish Spring or Stayfree commercial, and that I also find in the few single malts I have tried. Rather than complicate the scale I'll just say this fresh feeling enhances the complexity. Finnegan and Kilbeggan are both owned by Cooley Distillery, which is owned by Beam, Inc.

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