James Swanwick took part in a daily habit many of us also do but when he finally decided to give it up he was stunned by his weight loss and change in fitness
Belly fat is notoriously hard to lose, especially through exercise alone. But one man has revealed he was able to lose a whopping 6kg (13.2lbs) in 30 days by giving up his daily drinking habit.
James Swanwick, founder of Alcohol Free Lifestyle, quit alcohol on March 13 2010 and was “shocked by he results” and huge amount of weight he lost. James explained that following the Australian drinking culture meant drinking a “socially acceptable” amount, which was a few glasses of wine over dinner during the week, and several cold beers during the weekend.
Because he was having fun and being social, nobody suspected he had a problem, but by his mid-30s he realised he was feeling “sluggish and irritable”, his face was puffy, and he didn’t sleep well. He first attended an AA meeting, but because he wasn’t an alcoholic, it didn’t help. While sitting in a pancake restaurant in America after a night of drinking, he decided to have a “hangover breakfast”, but seeing pictures of all of the greasy food on the menu made him feel nauseous.
In that moment he decided to give up alcohol for 30 days as a “personal bet” to test his self-discipline. According to a recent post on James’ Instagram page, he found the first two weeks really tough. He explained: “The first two weeks were hard. When I went out with friends and ordered water, they gave me a hard time. ‘You’re un-Australian!’ they’d say.
“But I survived those two weeks. I felt better, slept better, and had more mental clarity. After 30 days, I’d lost an incredible 13 lbs (5.9kg) of fat around my stomach just from stopping drinking. ”I had more money in the bank. My skin looked considerably better, and I enjoyed getting out of bed for early morning exercise.”
He found that the benefit his overall health was so dramatic he decided to stick with it. In just a month of no drinking, the 46-year-old had lost an incredible 5.9kg off his belly. Not only that, but after three nights he found he was sleeping better, after seven days he had more clarity, after two weeks he “woke up a new man, bursting with energy and drive”, and after a month he had not only lost 13 pounds of fat, he had more money in the bank and his skin was glowing.
He also felt so confident that he auditioned to be Sportcentre anchor on ESPN and got the job. He said: “I was like, ‘Wow, damn, in 30 days of not drinking my whole life has seemingly transformed”. According to James, he “felt so good” he wanted to keep going to see “how far” it would take him. One year after giving up booze James had lost 11.3kg (25lbs) and had even “attracted higher calibre friends and romantic relationships”, but still ordered a drink at a festival to celebrate his huge achievement.
However, after giving it a second thought, he put the beer down and decided to make a permanent change, and now leads a sober and totally “transformed” life. James has since coached thousands of people to adopt an alcohol-free lifestyle, and is the author of The 30-Day No-Alcohol Challenge. He is also the host of the Alcohol-Free Lifestyle Podcast, and co-founder of the health brand Swanwick sleep.
