Originally Posted by evepet:
Me too. I had no idea what I was doing to myself weight-wise either, with my wine drinking. :mad:

Same here, too. At this point I'm thinking that if I can go a month without drinking, why even go back when I reach goal weight? It certainly will make maintenance easier without the wine. And as an added bonus, I'm finding that I sleep more soundly as well.

I generally have a very rowdy, fun group of friends. Lots and lots and lots of shots when we go out. I had the same dilemma ~ 2 weeks into the program when it was my best friend's birthday party. I got the same advice you did and only drank water that evening. That first time was not fun. But as I continued on the diet, it got easier and easier to be social with the group. I still drank water and had a blast watching their antics plus it was a cheap night out since water is free :) And I was able to drive home instead of taking a cab - more $ saved YAY.

Now I'm in maintenance, and last Saturday was a friend's going away party (she's moving to Australia, lucky) and even though I could have drank like I used to, I found that I didn't even want to. I stuck with water to drink, had one shot with the guest of honor, and that was it. I had so much fun and felt great on Sunday :)

I would say that it's hard to imagine going to a social event and not drinking (for me it was), but once you do it you find it's not really all that bad!!

I've not had a drop of booze in over nine months. The toughest time was at my sister in law's wedding. I bought drinks for other folks and my wife. I told her I really wanted a beer she said she was sorry for me. I was down 80 pounds at that time, I am down 154 now. I smiled and told her the improved sex life was way better than the beer would be. We both laughed. You need to decide for your self. I would not do it. JW has a great suggestion.

Thank you. I need to hear this. I'm doing weight watchers and alcohol can be included (occasionally) without cheating,but for me,drinking while on a reducing plan is nearly always a short cut to failure. It uses up calories that should go on nutrition, and if that isn't bad enough it stimulates my appetite and weakens resolve.

Since everyone has given you the breakdown on alcohol on this diet - I'll give you some experience with it ...

During my first Phase 1 (I'm on round 2 now to lose an extra few) - I did great for 4 weeks straight with no alcohol at all. I am an avid believer in red wine health benefits and usually enjoy a glass in the evening.

During my 5th week I was hosting a party at my house that I had been planning for 6 months (way before I started the protocol) and I did have 2 glasses of wine. I knew full well that I would and I stopped at 2 - as a side note, it didn't taste the same. That week I only went down .6 lbs and I was 100% besides the wine.

Obviously the recommendation is to NOT drink at all. If you do, that week of being 100% won't count for much at weigh in. As far as getting kicked off the program - well, I think that's a bit silly and if a coach threatened me with that - I'd find another coach. UNLESS, of course, you are constantly doing it and it becomes a major health issue.

Also - after 2 wines, I was basically drunk. Before the protocol I could drink a whole bottle by myself and still be good. So at least I've become a cheaper date :D

Good luck!

Originally Posted by evepet:
This diet seems to have reset me somehow so that I don't even want wine anymore... and I'm a person who drank a lot of wine before. That's a big plus for me, as I certainly don't need those empty calories. And now that I've learned how having wine with a meal preoccupies the liver with metabolizing the alcohol and allows the carbs and fats in the food to be directly stored as normal fat, I definitely think twice about that glass of wine. I'm back on P1 so it's a moot point anyway - but this is something that I'm glad I've learned for my maintenance days to come.

I know what you mean about that reset. I was watching the Biggest loser and next week's challenge is being put in a room with all kinds of calorie laden food. All I could think of is "wow that is an EASY challenge!" put one of us in there with a pillow or a book and we would be fine! Hubby had pizza last night from our favorite pizza place. He offered me a piece (bad hubby!) and all I could think of was ick! Needless to say I didn't eat any of it

Originally Posted by marigrace:
Thank you. I need to hear this. I'm doing weight watchers and alcohol can be included (occasionally) without cheating,but for me,drinking while on a reducing plan is nearly always a short cut to failure. It uses up calories that should go on nutrition, and if that isn't bad enough it stimulates my appetite and weakens resolve.

How very true about the last part! Back when I was on WW years ago I found that I rarely drank alcohol since it meant cutting back someplace else, and I placed too high a value on real food to drink empty calories. :lol:

I have been reading the information about how alcohol is metabolized and how this affects ketosis on some blogs, but I am curious whether anybody knows where this information is coming come, i.e. primary scientific studies? Can anybody hint me in the right direction?