i am also on this program 17 weeks and love it. when i do have alcohol, like this weekend at the festival, i'll drink Mich ultra, water, water, water, mich ultra, water, water and more water!!! :-) i step up my HNS's - 5 a day and stay OP except for the beer. but definitely have to step up the water big time to flush the beer out. it's a once a month thing (parties, festivals), not every night and not every weekend. on vacation, i took the pink lemonade powder HNS (protidiet) (order from diet direct in the large 17.6 oz container) and mixed it w/ sugar free margarita mix (10 cal) and tequila and still lost a lb. that week..i drank tons of water also...did pop into the ocean a number of times LOL! i also increased my activity. seems like a lot to do to have alcohol but that was my choice. Kindof like when we get take out - if it's fried chicken, i take the skin off...if i'm somewhere and they just have hamburgers, i take the bun off and load up on the lettuce...had a sub the other day in a meeting and left the bread and ate the turkey and lettuce Sometimes Life gets in the way :-)

Wow...to me that is will power! When we have subs, I leave the bread on...totally my weakness. Unfortunately, my favorite part of KFC is the skin!! LOL So, I don't go there!!!!

Keep an eye on the margarita mix...I have seen the sugar free version, and it appeared to be high in sodium.

Fortunately, I am not an alcohol person. I do enjoy a drink occasionally, but have had no problem passing it up while OP.

I enjoy your posts!!

Tami

Thanks! That is a great way to look at it: just take this time and get it done. And yes, I live in the Northwest, where wine is a big part of the culture, which doesn't help. Oregon and Washington (I live on the border) are both really big into it. But I'm doing ok - I got past 14 days, then on Friday night I chose to have just one glass. Kept the food clean. Now i know I can do at least 2 weeks at stretch as long as I keep my social life low-key. Progress, not perfection!

I weighed in this last week (my first week back doing this hard core) and was dow 7.5 lbs! Yippee!! I did talk to my consultant about wine and missing it, etc. She did say that if I knew in advance that I'd be having a glass that night to NOT have the fruit at lunch or the carb at dinner. She said just do protein and veggies and lots of water. I have had a glass of wine the night before I weighed in and lost 2 lbs before so I trust what she says. Alcohol doesn't take you out of ketosis....consuming carbs will, though. Congrats on getting past 14 days

Shopgirl, i like your consultant and her way of thinking.. that's great advice! thanks for sharing. for me, my weight gain was definitely carbs. i had told my consultant one time that i was eating my veggies than this plan called for sometimes and he laughed and said, no one gets fat eating veggies so don't worry about it! it was definitely the cheez nips, crackers, cheetoes, popcorn..... :-)

meant more Veggies not my :-) winding down...have been up since 5 am and it's time to go to bed!!!

Yea [B]Shopgirl![B]. 7 pounds! And interesting advice from your counselor. I'm going to plan for two more 'dry' weeks, then if I'm feeling good about my overall progress, maybe I'll do that, skipping the fruit and starch. I don't want to get into a deprivation mode where I feel I am "cheating". This is the most Rigid program I've ever done but I guess that's why it's so fast. I have to keep my head in the game... Not feeling sorry that I "can't" have something.

Good posts, everyone. Cheers! (that's a small joke)

How about trying a Fresca with either a HSN or Fiber drink?

Yes, that's pretty good. I will say that it has gotten much easier than when I first posted. I haven't been perfect, but what is most important to me is that I am addressing the habit. I don't ever want to feel like I "have to have it" again. I have totally avoided social gatherings for the past month, which I still am very nervous about. This weekend is a good friend's b-day and her DH is planning the evening: wine at their house, then to an unnamed restaurant, the to a comedy club, then back to their house for cake and coffee. This is going to be a tough one.

doesn't it seem like once you started this program that the parties and get togethers are all about food and alcohol? LOL! live in a very social partying town!!! there must be 2-3 fun events a week!!! even my boss wants to take us out to eat or drinks after work all the time....i'm in another office so can avoid those most of the time but it is funny now that i'm on this diet that it seems like they are even more temptations! which is why the boards are so important because i can learn from you "losers" out there on how to stay OP in those situations :-)

I am sorry I don't have advice for you, I just empathize with you!!! I was highly addicted to caffiene of all sorts and most deffinately was a wine every night girl as well! Fortunately, they offer B12 to help with caffiene but I don't think anything for alcohol.

The only thing I do is suffer through it. Sorry I couldn't help.

I just thought I would go back to this thread to report how far I have come breaking the everyday wine habit. I am only having it about once a week now, usuallu on the weekend. Once in a while I have had one glass on a week night. For me this is huge. Its is breaking the habit as much as anything. i will have sparking water with an HNS or a diet ginger ale when I get home from work. I would probably lose faster if I would eliminate it all together, but I'm doing ok.