How Not Drinking for 99 Days Helped Me Lose 4% Body Fat

_{by Martin Eder, Creative Director at Runtastic}

One month without caffeine, sugar or alcohol – what have you given up before? At the beginning of the year, I decided to go 99 days without alcohol, sugar or white flour. Plus, I wanted to get more exercise, so I did my fitness test and got started on my training plan in the Runtastic Results app.

Why did I decide to cut out alcohol, sugar and white flour? It’s quite simple: it was a New Year’s resolution. 

“The people in my life had a hard time accepting my decision”

My friends, family and coworkers reacted very positively to my challenge, but many couldn’t understand my decision. I had to keep explaining to them why I didn’t want to drink alcohol anymore. Some encouraged me to stick with it, while others tried to convince me to have a glass of wine with them. For me, cheat days were out of the question. When I set a goal, I intend to achieve it.
The 99 days made me aware of how normal the frequent consumption of alcohol is in our society. I find it shocking that people who choose not to drink actually run the risk of having no social life. I still went to parties and other social events – but I spent most of my time being the designated driver 😉
After the first month without alcohol, I was very proud of myself. I couldn’t believe that I had held on for “so long.” But when you think about it, it isn’t really such a big deal: talk to pregnant women and you will quickly find that they have to learn to do without many things. And suddenly you don’t feel so cool anymore 🙂

Quitting alcohol, sugar and white flour

During my challenge, I didn’t eat conventional sugar or white flour. It didn’t take long to learn that I had to spend more time planning my grocery shopping, as well as reading labels in the store. I was amazed by the number of foods that contain hidden sugar. This is when I got more interested in nutrition and discovered new foods like the Jerusalem artichoke. The fact that Runtastic headquarters is stocked with fresh fruit and vegetables every day helped me to eat healthy at work. And at home, I started cooking together with my girlfriend, which definitely brought us closer together.

My favorite meals during the 99 days: veggie omelet, green beans and steak and salad with turkey strips.

Fit thanks to bodyweight training

Part of my 99-day challenge was to get more exercise. Besides swimming, I found the training plan in the Runtastic Results app ideal for my needs. I chose to do three bodyweight workouts per week, and only once did I have to postpone a workout.
Of course, it was challenging and I’m no great athlete, but the good thing was that I didn’t have any excuses anymore because the workouts with your own body weight only take 20-30 minutes. When I was on private and business trips, I would simply do my Results workouts in my hotel room.

The results: Thanks to good nutrition and more exercise I was able to lose 4% body fat and pack on 2 kg (4.4 lb) of muscle. I feel in much better shape than last year and my immune system is stronger than ever.

Would you like to know what I would never cut out? Coffee! That would be really hard 😉 But who knows, maybe that will be my next challenge.

About Martin Eder:
Martin is Creative Director at Runtastic. “I like to swim and I want to compete in the Attersee Across the Lake Swim next year. I love to read biographies of famous people and travel guides about destinations like New Zealand.”

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