Bitters Cocktail?
 

Some suggested having Bitters & Perrier for a no carb, no/low calorie cocktail. I know bitters have some alcohol, but are 2 dashes (less than t) OP?

I am also curious about low/no carb alcohol. I don't officially start IP until Monday, but I have been trying to wean myself off of carbs slowly this week. I have a going away Happy Hour to attend tonight so this is very topical for me! Beer/Wine/Mixed Drinks/Liquor...I'll drink whatever works, lol!

Hi Dresa,

My coach told me if I wanted to cheat it was best to have a vodka & soda with a splash of lemon. However, many people may have strong opinions on whether to do that.

I do know bitters (to me) tastes like an Old Fashioned, and I don't feel so out of it at parties.

Apparently, according to Livestrong's Myplate calorie counter, Bacardi Rum and Diet Coke is carb free as well.

So it won't knock you out of ketosis, but may slow down weight loss (calories). Which may be a trade off over the holidays for some. However, I would guess more experienced IP community may weigh in with a different opinion.

My weigh in place says no to anything carbonated due to the formation of carbonic acid that can mess with your body's pH. Of course they couldn't explain it past that...

Hard alcohol (vodka, rum, tequila, etc) have no carbs.
That said, they are also NOT on the P1 plan.

When we get into fat burning mode, we will burn the alcohol before we burn fat. You're just slowing it down.

I don't understand these coaches who are teaching cheats. I think they are trying to milk the wallets even more!

Stick with the plan, lose the weight. It is only temporary.

And believe me, if I can make it thru without a drink, ANYONE can!

RE: carbonation
Some are actually okay. Must make sure there is no phosphoric acid in them. This diet is alkaline and we don't want to add more acids. I find plain selzer water in our area is fine.

When I indulge in a cocktail every now and then, I have firefly vodka and water with a lemon. Tastes like iced tea :)

If I'm at an event where everyone is drinking, I order club soda and lime. It looks like a drink and no one bugs me about why I'm not drinking. I hate club soda, so I don't even drink it (I also get regular water and drink that). I know others will bring Mio and add that to club soda or water so they don't feel deprived. Rainbow will bring the grape drink and drink it in a wine glass.

Lisa hit the nail on the head with alcohol of ANY kind. Your body is going to burn the alcohol first once it's in your body, and that is precious (and expensive) time that your body could be burning fat. Will it throw you out of ketosis? probably not. But MANY have posted that they felt the effects of the alcohol worse, and experienced a worse hangover the next day, than before IP.

My personal take? It's not really worth it to have the drink. It will all be there once you are in Maintenance, and the less you deviate from the plan, the faster you will get there :)

To the OP, 2 dashes of bitters isn't going to do anything but be delicious :)

To everyone else, there have been several alcohol threads even in the short time I've participated here. I'm sure a search will find them.
For me, I drank throughout my loss. My choice was vodka/water with a lemon. I still choose it over some of the sugary cocktails I used to drink.
Yes, your body will process the alcohol first before fat. It takes an hour a drink. Totally worth it for me :D

You didn't mention how much you had to lose or even if you followed IP. This protocol is expensive. I have over 100 lbs to lose total. Cheating makes the program cost more (and makes others complain it doesn't work) and take longer

I drink vodka/soda with lemon or lime but not on IP. I'm choosing to remain 100%. The alcohol will always be there. I can live without it while I focus on my health and wellness

Lets concentrate on how to do the program correctly, rather than how to cheat.

We all make our choices, and weigh the pros and the cons - as I said, for me personally, the drinks aren't all that important to me in light of the short period of time (in the grand scheme of things) that I will be on the diet. And the more I hold off on things that will slow the process down, the sooner I will be able to incorporate those things back into my life.

The other side of drinking alcohol that nobody has touched on yet is the effect on your liver when on IP. Ideal protein, by its very nature, puts some stress on your kidneys and liver. Alcohol does the same. Separately, neither one is going to have too grand an effect on a healthy person. But throw too much at your liver/kidneys and they DO have the potential to over-stress the organs. Again, this is my personal take - but it's just another reason that drinking while on IP is just not worth it.

When I started my IP journey three weeks ago, I chose to completely give up alcohol while on IP, and let me tell you, that is one HUGE FEAT for me. If I can stop drinking it during my weight loss process, ANYONE can. I'm not going to say I don't miss it every day, I do. But losing these pounds for the least amount of money (no alcohol slowing my process) is much more important to me.

I completely agree with Scorbett WRT the increased negative impact on the kidneys and liver. Very good point.

I don't have to state how much I lost in every post I make, thank you very much!
Different things work for different people, the diet already was a huge change for me and the occasional cocktail or three while out wasn't something I was willing to give up. To each his own, don't tell me what I can and can not post. Rude.

It's actually a viable question, not meant as a rude one. If you have 20lbs to lose, extending your time on the diet by indulging in alcohol here and there isn't going to impact your overall length of time on the diet by much. If you have 75lbs to lose, or 100lbs, indulging could have a HUGE impact on the time spent on the diet.

No need to get defensive, we are all at different points on the weight loss journey, and what might be OK for you could set someone else back weeks (and hundreds of dollars). We all weigh the pros and cons when choosing what to do - and the more accurately we can present our take on a subject the more it will help those who are trying to make a decision.

I'm with you. I occasionally drink. Usually a martini with a twist or a vodka soda with limes. I probably have a drink every two weeks or so. I find that it makes me feel normal and I do not feel like I am deprivingmyself. I suppose it puts me a few calories behind, but I find that to be an acceptable sacrifice for me. I do, however, drink lots of water in case there is any added strain put on my liver and such. All of this being said, I am not a yo-yo dieter. I am also not a huge drinker in my daily life. I'm not a binger and I don't crave things like an entire jar of peanut butter or a whole bag of Halloween candy. I gained weight in grad school and after when I began a very stressful, high hours requirement job that casued me to eat lots of takeout. Now, I'm working the weight off and won't ever get here again. Because I don't have the fear of going back to bad habits, I don't fear a cocktail or two every other week.

We have to each choose our own path. So, cheers to you all whether you are holding a martini or mio. ;) No judging here.

I ended up having a bacardi rum and diet coke last night at the HH that I sipped for an hour, lol. It was worth it to me, especially as I haven't even "officially" started IP. I've just been decreasing my carbs so my body won't be shocked when I start for real Monday (if my darn supplements are shipped on time, anyway). I think it's up to everyone to do what feels right to them.

Some people can go cold turkey. Some can't. My plan is no alcohol at all as of Monday, but I have a Thanksgiving coming up with an in-law that usually requires alcohol to cope.

Hopefully I can get through it sober and unscathed. I wouldn't begrudge anyone their choice to occasionally induldge, as long as they are mindful of the possible impediments to quicker weight loss.

Thanks Ugh73,

My original question was about 2 dashes of bitters. This technically is 0 calories, and 0 carbs.

Understood - bitters is considered alcohol (45% alcohol by volume), that is why the discussion has fallen on drinking vs not drinking while on IP. And as the posts have stated, when it comes to alcohol there is more to the reasoning than just calories and carbs.