This is the result of a conversation weezle and i were having in a different thread but I thought I'd bring it out in the open.

My BIGGEST problem with SB is the inability to have alcohol. This is not because I'm an acoholic and I don't need it. The problem is my social life revolves around drinking. I'm young still and so usually when I go out its to go to a bar or a concert, usually where there's alcohol. I find it really hard to not drink when I'm out, but if I don't go out I get really depressed cause I have no social life and I turn to binge eating. btw i don't like wine.

So what's the solution? When it could keep me from completely giving up on the diet do you think its ok to go out once a week and have a beer or too? Or should I just give up on my social life at the risk of becoming super depressed and giving up on everything?

I would really appreciate people's thoughts/responses.

I'm on Sugar Busters, which is almost exactly like South Beach and we're allowed to have port wine. If you can stand the cough syrupish taste. Sometimes I mix it with a little diet ginger ale and add an orange slice or so and then it's a little like a wine cooler. BUT, I keep it to a minimum because wine make me swell up like an angry puffer fish. Which is no fun when you're trying desperately to lose weight .

OOPS...I was talking to my husband while reading your post and didn't see that part of not liking wine. I just read in my Sugar Busters book that they recommend stearing clear of beer and sugar laden alcohols. Problem is that most liquors don't have the ingredients listed...so I'ts hard to tell what's in them. I'm not a big beer drinker, but I HAVE seen on TV low carb beers on the market. Don't know how low carb they are, but I suppose if it means the difference of you staying on plan or dropping the whole plan all together, then I suppose a beer or two on the weekend WON'T ( I originally posted will here...some typo ) hurt...at the end of the day, as long as the scale is showing positive results, that's the main thing, right?

Wow!! That is hard. Have you ever tried a wine spritzer, where the wine is mixed with sparkling water or diet 7 up or ginger ale? Or possibly sangria which is wine with fruit in it?
I go out with my friends every or every other weekend...It's so funny because the bartender doesn't even ask me what I want any more...he just fixes it for me...large glass of tomato juice with three green olives and a lime squeeze...that satisfies me but I will admit it would be very difficult to find most places..Also...I get razzed about having "just one drink" but so far I have been able to resist..wish I could say the same about dark chocolate!!

I would say don't give up your social life...depression and binge eating are definately not better for you than a beer or two...but think about limiting it to one beer and then following that with ice water, tomato juice, diet soda etc...
No one would know if you were drinking diet soda or a rum and coke at a bar. At a concert, try to limit the amount...start with something non alcoholic first...have 1 drink and switch back to non alcoholic..
Sorry I don't have any words of wisdom for you other than these...I wish I did!!

hey nefarious, i know exactly what your talking about - the pressure to drink even though we know we shouldnt. happens to me a lot too. heres how i deal with it. i usually order water. thats right. while all my friends are having cocktails, i get water. sometimes i get a glass of diet soda or sparkling water with a straw and a wedge of lime, and unless someone sniffs your drink, no one will notice.

heres just a couple of nutrition figures:
Rum and coke (non-diet): 260 calories
Pina colada: 450 calories, 18 grams of fat
Gin and tonic: 200 (fat-free)
12oz. of regular beer : 150 calories
12 oz. of light beer : 100 calories
5 oz. of wine: 100 calories
1.5 oz (a shot) of 80 proof distilled spirits: 100 calories

you can always get half a pint of light beer if you dont like wine. good luck hun and remember to stay strong ! be proud when you say no. coz i know i do when i think of how ill look at my ultimate weight goal. you can do it !!

I know what you mean about the alcohol!!! My problem is wine! I know its allowed...2 3-4 oz servings a day...but i have 2 8 oz servings not every day but often enough. I like a glass with dinner and later in the evening. I have been on the beach for a little over 2 months and have lost 16 pounds so I cant complain. I do try to incorporate the "extra" wine I drink into my calorie count, I usually dont exceed more than 1200-1400 calories per day which according to my doc is not enough, should be at 1500-1600. Anyways...dont give up your social life you'll go nuts, just dont feel you have to match everyone else on drinks. Order 1 and take your time with it, maybe set a 2 drink max for yourself so you drink slower. Really I shouldnt even give advice, I'm a mom of 3 and never go out!!!

I so know what you mean!

I also love my beer ( I am scandinavian, we practically drink it like water )
Even though the Indian beer is nothing like the European its still my favorite drink when we are partying (wine is difficult to come by here, and it tastes like ). However, I have decided to give it up until I have reached my goal and then see if I can have it once in a rare while.
I had a long discussion with myself about how to get through this diet without my favorite things (chocolate, beer, chips mainly). I asked myself what is the one thing I cant live without and chocolate was the answer! Nothing comes close to chocolate. So I have decided that once a week I can have a chocolate treat. And whenever I feel like having beer or chips or whatever my craving is I will ask myself whether I want to give up my chocolate treat for this (sorry Laurie I cant let go of the snickers )! Has worked so far. Am enjoying diet coke when going out these days and although I mostly have to endure some hassle from my friends (all skinny indians, who think diets are for old people) i do okie. I thought I would miss the buzz, but since I anyways hardly ever have caffeine even diet coke gives me a buzz
With regards to the wine. It really is an acquired taste and I think in the long term if you can try to make an effort, healthwise it would be better. As someone suggested winespritzers are great and could perhaps get you used to the taste.

Good luck

Dh and I don't drink alcohol anymore at all (well, okay - I sometimes have a very small glass of single malt scotch if I have a sore throat or trouble sleeping - like 2-3 times a year). I would think that a glass of wine now and then wouldn't hurt once you're on phase 2 - especially red wine. Other than that, my tips for teetotaler survival - drink soda water on the rocks with a twist of lemon, or a tomato juice cocktail (which counts as a veggie!), or drink (as pp suggested) a little wine with seltzer. Then dazzle them with witty conversation, and they will never notice that you aren't imbibing or that you've been nursing the same glass of wine for an hour!

I happened to see in Marshalls the other day and saw a "sugar-free" Cosmo mix and a "SF" Margarita mix...the actual mix was about 5 calories a serving (made with splenda)...so, that plus a little alcohol would be better for you than the sugar in the mix part of the drink and the alcohol, I assume...
check it out and see what you find...there are a lot of crazy options out there. I feel for you though; I'm a college student and when I mentioned I wouldn't be drinking for a while, my friends thought I was nuts!

I'm such a party animal and such a heavy drinker.......but if you can drink Scotch or bourbon (I happen to like Irish whisky) how about ordering whisky and diet Coke or Scotch and soda? Make sure you have plenty of ice and just nurse it along...that way you've only "invested" 100 calories. Once that drink is gone, switch to regular soda and no one but you will be the wiser...

You don't have to give up your social life just because you choose not to drink. I used to feel pressured to drink but I got over that and no one questions why I don't. In the beginning, I always offered to be the designated driver to help me feel better about not drinking. I still go out and though I do have a beer every so often, my outings (even to bars and such) don't revolve around alcohol.

I'm with Mama on this one
I love Irish Whiskey (I used to live in Ireland) I do It on the rocks and nurse it for an hour or so then Diet coke Nurse that Then if I want another drink drink I have one but then its maybe 200 for the night and not foofoo drinks with tons of calories that I swill like water (I forget their alcohol if they taste fruity)

well i don't do the girly drinks....when it comes to alcohol, i like my beer, rum and coke (easy enouhg to have rum and diet coke), rye and ginger and whyiskey sour. problem is, the bars i go to (usually punk bars) don't carry diet pop.

i've decided that if i feel like i'm getting really depressed i'll go out and have 1 or 2 drinks and thats it. i'm also going to try redwine mixed with diet coke. a cooworker suggested it, says you can't taste much of the wine.. if i like that then i'm totallly set for phase 2.

See, for me, I don't feel pressured to drink, nor do I depend on drinks. I have 2 cans of beer in my fridge left over from my birthday cookout (May 15th.) My problem is that if I'm at a bar, I'm going to drink beer. That's the reason you go to a bar. You go to the bar, socialize with your friends, and drink beer. Otherwise, why go to a bar? The sole purpose of the bar is the alcohol.

Unfortunately, that's the only place my friends go. Karaoke is at a bar. Dance clubs are bars. Not that I go out a whole lot anyway, just Friday nights, but still. It's not about what other people are going to think while I'm out. It's the fact that I will not go to a bar and not drink beer. It's like, why go to the grocery store if you aren't going to buy groceries? So, I didn't go last night.

And I'm past Friday. It's a holiday weekend, which sucks, but I know that I get to drink next Friday for Molly's birthday. It's going to be a lot of fun. And once I'm done with Ph1, I'm buying a bottle of Lambrusco. Before I started Ph1 again, I ate at that famous Italian restaurant (O.G.) and had a glass and BOY did it taste good.

For those who don't like wine, Lambrusco is extremely good, not dry or bitter like some wine.

Anywho, my advice is to hold out for Ph1 and then get used to wine on Ph2. I'm not the best person to give out advice, since I'm going to have beer for Molly's birthday next Friday, but like I said before, the whole reason I started SBD again was to lose weight so I could look good for the party.

Did you say, red wine and diet coke mixed together? In the same glass? I'm trying to imagine the taste Please let me know if you like it, that could save me a few "wine calories"!!! If I read that anybody has tried that and acually says it tasted decent, I think I will give it a try!!

Warning - do NOT mix alcohol with diet sodas! The alcohol and artificial sweeteners do not mix well. I did that once (a diet Shandy) and I have never been so sick! I learned later that you aren't supposed to mix the two.