okay im new to the SBD really i'm new to a dieting. i know your not suppose to drink alcohol on phase 1 at all and a little bit in phase two...but i'm not a wine drinker or a beer drinker...i love jack daniels. ive been trying to figure out if jack and cokes are really that bad i would obviously have diet coke but jack's nutrition is
Calories (kcal) 69
Energy (kj) 288
Fats 0g
Carbohydrates 0g
Protein 0g
Fiber 0g
Sugars 0g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 0mg
Alcohol 11.3g

could anybody help and tell me how much i would really be hurting myself? i'm in college and social gatherings of friends happens a lot and i always feel a bit out when i can't have a drink. just trying to find a happy medium.
Thanks to anybody that helps!

That's for a 1 oz serving. If you must have a drink I'd do diet soda with jack and nurse that drink as long as possible.

One of the problems with alcohol is that it can make you end up eating more as you "loosen up". That's what usually happens to me. Definitely not approved for SB Phase I, but depends on how often you imbibe on Phase II. I feel your pain.

Red wine is allowed for one reason because it is so good for you. If you are not going to overindulge I see no reason not to have jack and diet coke. Just try to limit yourself to a certain number of them per week. I have no idea what would be considered reasonable by others, but if you ask me I would say it is ok to have 5 per week, preferably not all on the same night!

I guess some people can drink spirits and it not impact them, but when I drink hard liquor it stalls my weight loss. Even if it's just "straight liquor". I've gotten to where I very rarely drink hard liquor anymore because it seriously impacts my weight loss. If I'm "out with the girls" and want to have a drink I opt for wine, it seems to not impact me as much.

The last time I went out drinking, I ended up gaining a pound, but I was drinking Michelobe Ultra which is 2.6 carbs per bottle. It wasn't too big a deal for me though, because the next day I just got back on track.

I appreciate the balanced tone of this thread... in general, I am not a big drinker, but I often find myself in social situations that call for at least a drink or two; a hard line anti-alcohol approach wouldn't be sustainable long-term for me.

For what it's worth, my SBD drink of choice in the past has always been the Bloody Mary. As long as I'm drinking, I figure I might as well knock off a few servings of vegetables, and it's really hard to overdo it on such a savory drink. Plus, I find them delicious!

I'm fat due primarily to alcohol. I know that beer is the enemy and I am going to try to avoid it the same way most folks run from donuts.

Alcohol is a depressant. I think it might stall your metabolism and weightloss. It seems to me your choice of drink (with diet coke) would be a good choice say, over having beer. But I'd say you'll have to self-impose limits and see how it all affects your weight loss plans.

Personally, I'm going to try to only allow myself red wine while in phase II and no more than 2 a week. That's going to be brutally hard. (But right now in phase I it's not bothering me at all)!

Good Luck!

Yes, I'm with swandive. If no one can tell from my posts, I really do love wine and enjoy it most weekends (try to stay away during the week). A strident anti-alcohol message would turn me off too because it's just not how I live and wouldn't work for me. I'm not advocating drinking so much you wake up a mess the next morning, but fully admit I do enjoy drinking.

Same here (except my vice is beer). I could never stay on a diet that I could not have a social drink (or 5 ) on. Last night we went out and I enjoyed myself expecting repurcussions on the scale. But I am one of those that can shrug off the gain and get right back on track.

Usually, I do not weigh myself after a night I drink. I seem to retain a lot of water after I drink and can easily gain 3 lbs. of water weight after a night of a couple of glasses of wine. It can be very discouraging but that is why I try not to drink during the week and have set my new weigh in day for Friday, rather than Monday.

I HAVE to weigh myself after a drinking night. I have got to see how hard I need to work after "treating" myself. It would drive me crazy not knowing. Surprisingly, my night out last night didn't effect the scale at all.

Here's my $.02. I am definitely a wine drinker. My own personal rule is no wine until after exercise, so if I'm a slacker there's no wine for me. I was a beer drinker and that definitely contributed to my weight. Dr. A advises against beer. I did have one beer last summer after almost three years and I felt really gross and bloated afterward. I won't do that again though I do drink white wine in the summer.

All that said I would not drink during Phase 1. it's just two weeks and I would worry if I couldn't go that long without a drink. One trick when I'm out with friends, I always order a glass of wine and a seltzer with lime. Keeping that seltzer full slows the drinking down. I rarely have more than one glass of wine when out. That also keeps me from nibbling mindlessly. We all have to figure out what works for us in our real lives while balancing the changes we need to make for this program to work. I love an occasional girls' night out but that won't be my excuse to regain weight.

My little story:

A few years ago I went out with my friends every weekend, and every weekend we had drinks. I finally decided that I wanted to take a break. So I decided to give up alcohol for 3 months, from the middle of January to Spring Break. After one month, without changing anything else in my life I dropped 10 pounds.

Now I am a wine drinker, and I do have a drink from time to time now. When I decided to quit drinking for a little bit I was scared to go out with my friends because I thought it would be tempting to have a drink, but it really wasn't. I told my friends what I was doing and why and they were very supportive. They ordered their beer or vodka and I had water with lime or a diet coke. I still had fun, I still went to concerts or out to the bar, and it was fine.

***Oh, also, when I gave up drinking for that 3 months I ended up losing 25 pounds. I started eating healthier and working out regularly. You would be surprised how easy it is not to have tacos and pizza late a night when you haven't had a drink or two...or five

Good luck!

I like a fine beer- so I'll have a beer once a month with a nice dinner. It allows me to make it a reward and a treat. I will also enjoy wine more liberally throughout the month. 1 glass with dinner when I get a hankering for it. I know Dr. A says red wine, but I really like white, so I'll have white when I want it. There was a study a while back that drinking wine regularly (red or white) still helps your heart. Red's better, white's OK.