While many were giving up beer for lent, one Ohio brewery worker went the other way.

As VinePair reported in March, Del Hall of Fifty West Brewing Company in Cincinnati, Ohio vowed to survive on nothing but beer and water for the duration of Lent. Not only did Hall keep his word, he even lost 44 pounds during the process.

The brewery worker was inspired by 17th-century Bavarian monks who traditionally fasted on a “bock beer diet” between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. “[Doppelbock] would be their liquid bread,” Hall says.

“I wasn’t sure if beer was going to allow me to experience all those things that fasting does but it absolutely has,” Hall told WKRC. “I mean, I really feel like I’m in my 20’s again and I’m in my mid 40’s, so I feel great.”

There were a number of temptations along the way, but the brewery worker says: “I know that I have integrity and I did the entire challenge without a single cheat.”

After Lent finished, Hall says he broke his fast with the “best guacamole” he’s ever had. And he even washed it down with a beer.