It is very good that you tell your experience maybe others will work. However, each metabolism is different not everyone reacts in the same way, but always the key to reducing weight is to eliminate as much as possible the carbohydrates and fats that are going to be ingested must be "good". The plan that you developed although you are not a nutritionist or doctor was very good in one of the main points to start losing weight (carbohydrates) in addition to that you started to have a more active life (I am not a nutritionist or anything similar to that, my sister if she has any knowledge about those subjects and something I have learned from her hahahaha). It is always good to surround yourself with a person who also shares your rhythm of life and in my opinion the moral that all of your history tells me is that you can lose weight and change your lifestyle without sacrificing what you like most (in your case, the beer), learning to eat in a controlled manner, selecting and preparing food as appropriate as possible.