An Ohio man who vowed to live off beer for Lent not only kept his word, he also lost weight.
Del Hall, who works at Fifty West Brewing Company in Cincinnati, told WKRC he lost 44 pounds during the 46-day period between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday thanks to his liquid diet.
“I didn't die. I'm actually healthier than when I started and it's actually possible,” Hall told the television station.
Hall did not eat solid food during Lent, drinking only beer and an occasional glass of water. He got the idea from 17th century monks.
"Being master brewers, they decided they would take a popular style of beer in Germany, bock beer, make it extra hearty and that would be their liquid bread and that's what they call it," Hall told WKRC in March. "So the monks in Bavaria, they would call doppelbock liquid bread and basically it would sustain them through the 46 days of Lent.
"It's not just possible monks did it, it's pretty plausible," Hall told WKRC this week. "I wasn't sure if beer was going to allow me to experience all those things that fasting does but it absolutely has. I mean, I really feel like I'm in my 20s again and I'm in my mid-40s, so I feel great."
Hall stuck to his vow despite the good food he saw at area restaurants, refusing to cheat.
"Sometimes it doesn't even matter if it's actually good food or not, it smells great so that was super hard to be around all that," Hall told WKRC. "I know that I have integrity and I did the entire challenge without a single cheat. That was really cool and I was really proud of the fact that I did that since obviously, you know, I'm overweight and I've indulged a lot in the past."
Hall said his first solid food after his fast ended was guacamole, the television station reported.
"Eating is wonderful. It's everything I wanted it to be so my first true solid food was guacamole and it was the best guacamole I've ever had," Hall told WKRC.
Hall said he washed down his guacamole with beer. After all, some habits are hard to break.
About the Author
