Inspired by 17th century German monks who allegedly survived on a rich beer called doppelbock during Lent, an Ohio man has embarked on a 46-day beer diet, dropping all solid food until Easter Sunday.

Many Christians choose not to consume beer during Lent, as a way of abstaining for something they find pleasurable, but Dell Hall, the director of sales at Fifty West Brewing Company in Cincinnati, Ohio, is doing the exact opposite. On March 6th, he embarked on a 46-day beer diet, dropping all solid food and getting his nutrients only from beer and vitamin supplements. Although he admits the first few days were rough, Hall claims he now feels amazing and is 25 pounds lighter than when he started.

Photo: MabelAmber/Pixabay

“Day two and three were pretty rough. I wanted to bash some Taco Bell after a few beers because that’s what we do,” Dell Hall told the Cincinnati Enquirer. “The last couple days I haven’t been hungry at all. I hope that’s going to be a good sign and I maintain this level of clarity.”

Although the monks that inspired his diet consumed a hearty type of beer they called “liquid bread” due to the high levels of carbohydrates it contained, Hall has opted for variety, drinking whatever beer he craves at that moment. Dell has his first beer at around noon, when the hunger really kicks in, and then a few more after work. He also drinks black coffee, unsweetened tea and sparkling water to keep himself from getting sick of beer.

Even though he claims the beer diet has nothing to do with wanting to shed extra pounds, Dell Hall has been monitoring his weight ever since he started, and by April 7th – a month into his Lent challenge – he had already lost 34 pounds. He’s already dreaming about having a steak After Easter Sunday, but plans to take it easy and allow his stomach to re-adjust to solid food.

“Your digestive system sort of shuts down,” he told Insider. “So you have to slowly re-introduce food.”

Interestingly, Hall says that ever since he adopted his beer diet, his sense of smell has been enhanced somehow, and he can now smell chili in the air from the nearby Pleasant Ridge Chili restaurant.

“Our air in Cincinnati is permeated with the smell of Cincinnati chili. It’s delicious,” Hall said. “There are so many different parlors … I wonder if our sense of smell isn’t in tune to it because it’s everywhere.”

Dell Hall is documenting his 46-day beer-diet on Facebook and YouTube.