Tomi:

I feel your pain. I am a social drinker. And a teacher. Now it's my summer time, and weekends are filled with family BBQ's and nights at the lake, or on a friend's patio having a couple of beer/glasses of wine, and once in a while a lot more than a few. I've got a couple of weddings to attend this summer, and one of my best friends and I have the same birthday, so we usually throw a HUM DINGER of a party for it.

Basically what I decided, is that I will give up the booze for a few months (lucky boyfriend. No more coin tosses for DD, or paying for cabs for him). I figure not drinking at a couple of weddings, and on my birthday, is totally worth getting rid of the 50+ pounds of extra weight I'm carrying around with me.

I think a lot of people make this decision. And based on my experience, it does work. When we know it's not forbidden forever but right now we're choosing to drop some weight....don't know, it just seems to help the initial sting. And for a lot of people, there's a change that takes place during the process of losing where that "desire for" takes a backset to the desire to be healthy/feel better/etc.

Good to be in the same boat with you Vanfresca! Best of luck with your summer, it sounds like you're determined to do it. Summer is tough, we have a lot of musician friends and love to go out to hear live music, which almost always means you're in a bar or party where everyone's drinking. The daily couple of beers I think is easier to forgo. It's just a habit I've developed over the last 4-5 years; I didn't do it before and I can not do it again but the parties are hard.

I've lost almost 50lbs over the last 18 weeks and it's obvious so many of the people I know want to hear about the diet. 90% say "no alcohol" is a deal breaker. I have to say that looking in the mirror now compared to then is worth all the beer in the world. I'll be going to Ireland in August and, yes, I'll have a Smithwick or 2 while I'm there but the important part is that I will be in maintenance by then so I can plan accordingly.

It all comes down to what's most important to you at this point in your life. Like the video that was posted early says - would you give up alcohol for 9 months if you were pregnant? Then why not for 3 months for your own well being?

Yes, you're right. Thinking of it as a not-forever change will make it easier to do. At the same time, I really do want to break my bad habits with beer as well as food, and hope to make not drinking daily a part of my maintenance also (look at me talking about maintenance on day 4)

Congrats on your loss, that's inspiring! 90% of people said it was a deal-breaker eh? That makes me feel better

I hear you! My husband and I are wine and craft beer enthusiasts (we belong to a wine club and he homebrews). One or the other was part of our nightly ritual for a long time. Add in that I began IP in the middle of summer (bbq's, beach parties, many gigs by our performer friends), and stayed strict on P1 through my 20th HS reunion, Thanksgiving and Christmas, my birthday and Valentine's day - all events that would include more than one adult beverage.

I did my homework, and knowing that no matter WHAT my body was doing (i.e. ketosis and calorie deficit) any alcohol I consumed would be burned first instead of fat was enough to keep me away from the drinks, no matter how much I enjoyed them. NOTHING was worth spending one extra minute on Phase 1. And not only did I survive, but I retrained my mental focus at all of those events big and small - everything became less about the food and drink and more about the people and experiences. At my reunion, I brought a bottle of Pomegranate Mio and squirted it into a glass of soda water. Nobody was the wiser

Bottom line, for me the drinks were just part of the things I had to put on the back burner while I got my body healthier. And I can say from the other side of the fence that it was COMPLETELY worth it

Thanks Scorbett, that's inspiring! And useful. I will think of you and your story at these events to help me avoid temptation.

Wow. Kudos to you guys. You really are doing it the hard way!

Depends on how you look at it. If the focus is on what we think we're missing out on, yeah it's the hard way. But if the focus is on the long-term goal of weight loss through healthy food and lifestyle changes, it's not a hard choice at all

I agree. But I am not drinking more than I used to.

I am just eating less, eating more healthy and exercising more than I used to.

Which is good for me.

It's all relative.

Absolutely - and it looks like you have had a very successful journey! Congrats!

If there were only one way to lose weight successfully, or one way that worked for EVERYONE, the diet industry wouldn't be so robust

Thanks. Now THAT is the biggest lesson!

Do what works for you.

Someone in my family...( who needs to lose weight herself ...even more than I did 6 months ago).. told me she thought the diet I was on sounded " awfully restrictive". My response was that "for me, the diet's not nearly as restrictive as being overweight."

Eh? The diet industry is so robust because it is built around getting web hits, then selling books, magazines, and supplements.