A beer bloggers diet

I’ve been feeling worn down recently, running on empty as Jackson Browne would muse, a combination of long hours in front of a computer screen and not eating enough of my five a day. I haven’t been keeping up with 5-a-side footy either or generally exercising enough. Combine that with a regular (but not excessive, I think!) beer intake and a few days of lurgy and I haven’t been giving myself the best chance of reaching Christmas fighting fit.

So, I’m doing something drastic. I’m getting back into running. That’s not drastic, but my approach is.

I’m taking on a running diet. And in order to make sure I don’t have to crawl home on my return to the open road, I’m going on detox first.

The sorts of foodstuffs I may soon need to pair with my beers - thanks to avlxyz for the photo

It’s a detox diet whereby I sort out my body, clear it of caffeine, toxins and other particles that stop my body utilising my energy stores. It’s a prelude to a fibre heavy, low fat diet, high in low glycaemic foods that should have me slow burning energy throughout the day and firing on all cylinders when I hit the streets to jog home from work.

So where does beer fit into this? Well beer is a definite no no. And, as a beer lover and beer blogger, this causes me a bit of problem…

Of course I’m not going to give up beer, and in the short term I have the British Guild of Beer Writers dinner on Thursday, plus a day of beer sampling in London on Friday, so self-inflicted prohibition isn’t on the cards. But it has made me reconsider my beer intake and there are going to be changes.

I often eat mussels in pasta, cooked by my Mrs FletchtheMonkey (she’s not actually Mrs I should point out!) and often I’ll pair it with a stout. It’s a typical Monday night dish, quick and easy yet tasty and pretty healthy, but more often than not one dark moreish beer leads to a second to wash it all down and the week starts off by hitting my daily guideline limit for alcohol.

That’s not bad itself but it isn’t a trend that will help me get back to my best, so it means that I’m having to impose some sort of beer limit on myself, either per day, week or month. Maybe it should be a beer tax, a ‘swear box’ for when I treat myself to a Tuesday night tipple, by adding an extra mile to one of my midweek jogs, or forcing myself to put my miles in before work rather than after (and I’ve never been a morning runner!)

Running the New York Marathon in 2007

It should be interesting to see how I manage. I don’t think I drink too often but I also do think that I shouldn’t be sitting on my arse every night feeling tired. I always pride myself on when I ran the New York Marathon (and when I fell in love with Brooklyn Brewery) and it’s been too long since I felt that personal satisfaction, physically and mentally.

I haven’t got a goal yet, but I’m looking for one, and along the way I’m going to have to manage my beer blog whilst also managing running, juggling work and looking after myself a little better than I have been.

I’m sick of running on empty, and the cure is…running!