Drinking at a special occasion?
 

I know we are not supposed to drink while on IP and I haven't. I am curious though, is it actually dangerous? My mom's coach told her that it is very dangerous to drink while OP; something about all the sugar in the alcohol not getting digested properly. We have a big wedding coming up and I am debating if I want to drink at it. I know it will stall my weight loss, but will it actually be dangerous to have a few drinks? Thank you!

I am on about week 13 on the plan.....I would say (and it's just my advice), don't drink at the wedding. Anything that is off plan will stall weight loss.....I say so from experience.

I went to a wedding with my husband out of town about my 8th week on plan and there was everything from margaritas, jello shots, liquor and beer. Everytime my husband would go get a drink I would go to the bar too but ask for ice water, just so I would have something to hold like everyone else. At the end of the night I was so proud of myself and felt wonderful that I had the willpower not to drink. Plus all the compliments I received from my weight loss was worth it!!

Good luck!

My coach recently attended an IP conference and this was a topic in the training. The IP representative said alcohol is extremely dangerous on IP (excluding the maintenance phase) and that it could potentially cause death. Here is a link to an IP article about it.

http://www.sevenmileclinic.ky/attach...hol-and-IP.pdf

Texas is to be commended...she is is right. However; this is the choice many cave in to ...letting their resolve evaporate when this comes up...

Of course it is best to stay On Plan...Lots of reasons...

Many feel it is not worth the time it takes to get back on track after a sideways detour involving drinking. Some have trouble altogether getting back on the wagon...it leads to other wishy-washy decisions and things that slow you down a little, but compounded can derail one altogether.

And of course there a few are glad they did it, and will tell you it is OK..and actually encourage you..

The real answer is no one here can/should answer this for you. You have to decide...and accept how things roll afterward.


The other issue is alcohol may affect you differently esp if you have not had anything with alcohol for a while...

Remember you are weighing less...and the effect can be enhanced by that as well as your tolerance is probably lower now. And your inhibitions will be reduced. Possibly leading to continued off plan drinking after the evening...foods off plan will also possibly be something you more easily indulge in.

Where are you in your journey..beginning? Middle? Close to the end?? If you are knocked out of ketosis...add a week or more to get back on the course..Remember the headaches, the fatigue....and how much a week costs$$$$$. You will be lucky if the week is all you are set back.

Hey Booklover -

I see from your ticker that you've lost about one forth of your goal weight. Congratulations! Are you at the point where people are noticing that you've lost weight? If not it will happen soon. And once that starts you will be on a real high!

If you're still wearing your old clothes - just baggy - it's harder for people to notice that you've lost weight. Most of us can't afford to buy several new wardrobes but if what you're wearing to the wedding is your old size and baggy - it's worth having it taken in a little to show off your weight loss.

Some people find new sizes at thrift stores. I'm in jeans most of the time and I found jean on sale at Costco for $16. I'd buy one black pair and one blue pair. It felt so good to look good! You've lost 25 lbs. That's an accomplishment! Reward yourself by looking good.

I don't know if sparkling water is allowed but I had that with a lime wedge at my own son's wedding. Not because I intended to stay on plan but I was so excited and busy dancing with industrial strength spanx on that I was overheated! I was probably the only one not hung over the next day! And I had a wonderful time hearing how great I looked!

You can have a lot of fun with people who are drinking as long as they think your drinking. I have to say that getting back on plan can be very, very difficult.

This needs to be a bumper sticker! Great!!!!

I'm not taking a side on this however I did read the article above and I'd like to say no where does it support that you could die. It only discusses the physiology of why it is not allowed and is supporting that you should be kicked off the diet if you use it. The article is written poorly, it is not scientific based, it does not have any supporting research or references and it is done by a student. It has good information on the process of alcohol on the body but that is it. There are typos, improper use of mechanics, and many other things that suggest this paper is not from a reliable published source.

It's written by the Chief Science Officer of IP, so I'm pretty sure he knows what he's talking about. I merely posted the article and the precaution from my coach to help others make informed decisions about alcohol intake while on IP.

No need to be rude...I didn't claim the article says you could die. It's just about the effects of alcohol on your body while on IP. My coach was the one who was told by the IP presenter at a recent IP conference that the danger is significant enough that death can be a consequence.

Thanks for the input everyone. I know the choice is ultimately mine, and that no one can make that for me. I was merely asking if it is, like I had heard, dangerous to drink. I understand that if I do decide to drink, I will be set back about a week on my weight loss. I haven't made any decision and probably won't until the wedding gets much closer. Just looking ahead and seeing if I even have options. If it is truly dangerous, then it's not an option. I'm not willing to risk my life for one night of fun :)

Booklover & others: The simple explanation is your liver is very busy processing the fat you are losing - it doesn't have time or energy to be switching over to processing the alcohol you ingest. This may or may not be dangerous for you personally - everyone is different, BUT it sure will affect your fat loss and ketosis. For what it's worth. Take a fancy IP drink packet - if you feel very tempted, you can have a 'pina colada' or a 'peach mango' or 'cranberry' drink and still look festive...get the bartender to stick a slice of lime on it and voila! Sparkling water with a TINY squirt of MIO will work as well, if you must. Concentrate of music, dancing, reconnecting with old friends & family and you will have a wonderful time!

I think mainly IP has to 'cover their butt' in this kind of case just so no whacko decides to do up a lawsuit because "coach said it was OK."

What we do know as fact is the effects of alcohol on IPers as reported here and on other IP forums ... i

Your body is WAY more sensitive to the alcohol, so if you do drink, one drink can make you feel like you have had several! It amplifies the feelings of drinking quickly and with little warning. I have also read of a couple careless IPers drinking too much (that is a range of amounts depending on each person) and going to the hospital because of reactions.

Also most report killer headaches the next day, even with as little as one or two glasses of wine... Worse depending on body type, alcohol consumed and amount consumed.

Definitely take those things into consideration since you do not know what your personal reaction may be!

(FYI - not advocating the drink, but definitely want everyone to have the information needed to be SAFE!!!)

I wasn't being rude and I wasn't implying anything directly towards you. I don't care who wrote the article, it's poorly written that's not a personal stab at you. You had discussed in your comment that drinking on IP could cause death I was stating that the article does not say that, it merely warns of the effects and talks about the physiology. If that article was written by the chief science officer he needs a new editor. We are all taught in school that articles that are poorly written and have a lot of typos shouldn't be used as trusted resources. He cites no other supporting information documentation. I am not saying I disagree this is merely a statement of writing mechanics and how people are taught to decide what is reliable and what is not. I don't know where the article came from, and without looking I was able to find errors, and I'm just a lowly teacher on the face of the earth so what would I know.

It's not really an article at all... It is a small excerpt from a series of FAQs given to clinics to respond to various questions that come up. (I have seen the 30 page document it is from.) All the FAQs responses are written in a fairly casual manner, with scientific info outlined in basic terms, nothing to deep, so coaches can share responses with clients.

(Still no excuse for being poorly edited!)

LOL that's all I was trying to say. I feel bad that she took it personal. I write a lot of papers because I'm in school and I just felt the writing was bad. Oh well, misunderstandings happen on the net!

My thoughts on alcohol or anything else someone may desire while in P1-P3 is that you should wait. This program is hard, expensive, but works. Why would you want to undo the work that you have done for one night of drinks. Once you are on maintenance, this type of thing can be worked into your plan, but right now, just enjoy the company, and looking good with the weight you have already lost.

They clearly explain the dangers of drinking in the early daily emails. Not only is it dangerous to your health but should someone be pulled over by the police the breatherlizer test can show a false positive with an unqualified amount of consumption. Don't even try one drink! You'll find out why quite interesting.

Wow, this is a tough plan to follow. Just wow. Kudos to you guys.

But no alcohol would be a deal breaker for me.

** I am not on IP **

I don't always get the daily emails (they seem to come some days and not others) and haven't seen the one about drinking. And I would NEVER drive after I've been drinking, whether on IP or not. We will be staying at the reception site, so driving was never a concern.

Thank you again to everyone who commented. I now have all the information I need to make an informed decision. I will not be drinking, as I don't want to take the chances with my health or stall my weight loss.

Thanks again to everyone.

I was on P1 from late October to Mid-March. A very short time to give up things that really are not good for me anyway. Now I can have the occasional drink and be ok....but it is occasional. It is worth it to me to maintain my health.

Kudoos, a good choice and you will not regret it.

drd I am only starting week two so a drink is way far away for me. Nice to hear first hand that a drink is okay down the line. I am a wine drinker, do you think few glasses on the weekend fits in on maintenance? I know of course that everyone is different. :?:

Great weight loss you have there. Amazing! :carrot:

I am still new at maintenance, having only started mid March. Just like the other phases it is all about planning. If you want wine on the weekend, then during the week you may need to stick more toward P2, P3 type meals. The other thing I am finding is that I need to see how my body reacts to certain foods. I tried sushi, and my face broke out and I immediately showed a weight gain. Obviously not something my body liked. I had some trail mix, and that was something I simply cannot control, so it also will not be on my diet. However, I can have a beer ever now and then and not have trouble with it. When the weight goes up more than I like, I tighten it up and make it go down. So far, so good.

I really thought when I hit maintenance I would really want to have alcohol but that hasn't been the case. Granted, I'm only a week into maintenance but I'm finding a lot of what I thought I would miss just doesn't sound all that good. I figured I would wait on the alcohol for a bit since I've added back in so many things, kind of give my body a chance to adjust before I give it too much "new" stuff to deal with.

And like drd, it wasn't really that hard to give it up while I was losing - regaining my health was way more important to me than having a drink!

Makes sense and how I imagine it. Just one day at a time. Plenty times for a social drink down the line. I broke out running and I am not looking back!

Ditto..the beauty of a lifestyle change...is WE are actually Ok with the
changes we have made. In fact...it is a conscious choice and deprived is NOT how we feel once that switch has flipped. We all know people who "choose" things......and respect their choices.

Now we expect that from others on our choices...

The change in my attitude to alcohol over the past four months and 10 days (not that I'm counting!) to be interesting. Before IP, I would have said that I drank moderately (mainly Friday nights, weekends and social occasions) but the thought of no wine on a Friday night or no rich red Pinot with dinner was horrifying. Now that I've been doing this for some time, I know that I could easily never drink again. I know my friends and family would find it a bit strange but I've learned that I don't need to have an alcoholic drink at every opportunity that it is available. And that I can live quite happily having it on an occasional basis rather than it being the norm. I'll admit that there have been slightly awkward social occasions where I think that a drink would assist the situation but it's also been a learning experience to begin to rely on my own social skills to improve the situation and get beyond the awkward stage.

I'm now looking forward to maintenance and continuing to wake up on Saturday and Sunday mornings with a clear head! And as 65x65 said, this is a lifestyle change and I'm OK with that.

WOW, isn't vitriol hard on the liver too? ;)

my 2 cents: alcohol does kill whether we're following IP or not!!! and this is not a judgement - just look at stats

have a good one we deserve it

In what i have read on maintenance, alcohol is discouraged, as it has no real nutritional value. However, this is real life... Red wine is the least of the evils, according to the IP docs I have read. Lucky for me, I enjoy red wine. I know some people don't. I used to love sweet, sweet white wines, and now I find I do not enjoy the taste. I had my first vodka drink in maintenance two weeks ago- it was an orange crush. It took me about ninety minutes to drink the one drink. It tasted good, but it definitely hit me quickly. There was no way I could have had more than one!

Same here! My co-workers could not believe I was giving up wine as the school year started!! I was nervous, as I like a glass every now and then, but it was WAY easier than I thought. As yummy as they may be, alcoholic drinks can be full of empty calories...what a waste!

Renee

I'm not a scientist but I am a teacher and a student and I can say that it's not something I'd use as a trusted source or reference.

Ok so anyone who's read 100% knows I fell off the OP wagon Friday, I didn't eat off plan but I went out with friends, I ended up having a few drinks and here's what I will say, I drank vodka and water with a splash of cranberry. I didn't get any more or less drunk than I did pre IP. Of course we are all different human beings. I haven't always been heavy, but I have always been a "drinker" I've always had a high tolerance for alcohol. I did have 2 glasses of water for every one drink, and the drinks were over the course of a night from 6pm-1am. I didn't have a hang over the next day but I don't usually. I did have a good time, I could have had the same good time without the alcohol. I am not condoning drinking I am saying what we need to remember is that we know our own bodies best. Do I recommend drinking while on OP, NO because we're not supposed to, we're on a diet! But I won't scare someone either. Use common sense.

It is important to remember you owe NO ONE an explanation of what you are doing. I sure do agree with Schenectedy, it is a good idea to have a strategy and some words in your head to handle situations as they arise that will take the focus where you want it. If you want to discuss...fine..but so many find that is not what they want and often is the last straw socially, and would prefer to not discuss this very personal decision.

If some one quit drinking because they had an alcohol problem...who would dare tread there with questions? It absolutely blows my mind what people will ask if they think you are "on a diet"!

And Schnectedy...congrats on your son's endorsement of how great you look!!!:carrot::carrot:

Please don't whack an expensive bottle of champagne into a house. Use a cheap one and savor the good one. Champagne does not make you fat, cake with icing does. A good quality bottle is art and should be enjoyed in the company of good friends.

Nicely said! Drinking is not an option and basically not even a choice....not if you are looking to lose weight. :dizzy: