I just wondered how many of you drink alcohol while low carbing? I've cut down my drinking and limit it to dry red, white and sparkling wine. I drink about 2-3 nights a week. It doesn't seem to have stopped me losing weight, although maybe I could have lost it faster if I gave it up. Some things are too much to ask though.

Alison

Hi Alison!!

I've just started out, and my hubby is LCing as well, I dont really drink much, but hubby loves a drink at the end of the day. He has been drinking 2-3 bourbon & diet cokes a night or 3 or so beers, and has lost 2.5kg this past week, I've lost 4kg. He always looses heaps more weight than me so maybe the alcohol has held him back a bit. Anyway, he had 2 glasses of red wine last night and this morning his ketostick only read trace - he had been on small....... I think the red wine might have done it as we ate exactly the same things all weekend......

Cheers - jaddles

Hi Jaddles

My boyfriend loses weight about twice as fast as me (most annoying). It's interesting to see the difference between your hubby and your own weight loss. Maybe I should cut back a bit? Hmm. I'd still have to have a drink on a Saturday night though ... I can't go out and drink soda water all night.

Congratulations on your fabulous weight loss. The most I've ever lost in one week was 1.5 kilos, and that was the first week. I've always been around the .8 kilo mark. Go girl!

Alison

Waynes the same, he has always lost weight at about twice the speed as me..... Thats why I think it is the alcohol holding him back. He's out of beer and bourbon at the moment and made a point of telling me not to buy anymore, I'll let you know how he goes minus the booze

My weight loss is mainly water methinks, wouldn't it be great though if I lost that amount every week!!! I expect it will slow down to maybe 1/2 a kilo a week, I'd be over the moon with 1kg a week, but not getting my hopes up!!

Good luck with your final couple of kilos!!

Cheers - jaddles

well i for one am glad to hear that drinking hasn't made you gain weight allhollowa - though i think a little indulgence stalled me last week, so for now its off the menu

I gave up alcohol for the first week, but over Christmas New Year decided it wasn't worth it.

I drink 1-2 glasses of wine/champagne about 4 times a week. I am sure it probably has made a difference, but I have lost 1 kilo a week since I started in December and have decided that I can live with the trade off.

I do try to drop a few carbs elsewhere through the day however, so I am still around 20 carbs a day.

The big difference I notice though is that I know get a hangover if I have more than two glasses. Has anyone else noticed this?

Jode

A kilo a week is fantastic - I'd keep doing what you are doing - it seems to be working just fine!!

Hi again Jode!

I'm happy with my weight loss, while still having a drink or two. I used to be really strict with drinking when I first started, but now I've decided that this is a lifestyle change, and I'm not going to give up drinking, so I might as well incorporate it into my new way of eating.

I also had the problem with hangovers when I started low-carbing, but I've got my 'drinking fitness' (little joke amongst my friends) up again and can drink a bottle of wine, still lose weight, and not have more than a slight hangover. I reserve that much drinking for a big night out of course.

Alison

This is from a faq on the atkins web site


Why can't I consume alcohol when I am doing Atkins?
You should not drink alcohol during Induction, but you can drink moderate amounts of alcohol during the Ongoing Weight Loss, Pre-Maintenance and Lifetime Maintenance phases of the Atkins Nutritional ApproachTM. When given the choice, your body will burn alcohol for energy before it burns fat. But alcohol does not act as a carbohydrate so it will not interfere with burning fat in the same way that sugars and other carbohydrates do.
Alcohol consumption may also increase yeast-related symptoms, such as bloating, gas and cravings for sweets, and can therefore interfere with weight loss. Beer, which contains yeast, probably has the most yeast-forming components of any alcohol. An occasional glass of wine or vodka is the best choice. Scotch and other grain-based spirits are more likely to promote yeast problems.

Note: Use only mixers that contain no sugar or fruit juices. Even tonic water contains carbs and regular soda is made with sugar. Seltzer, club soda, mineral water and non-aspartame diet sodas are better alternatives.


How many carbs does alcohol contain?
It varies by type of alcoholic drink. In the case of beer, read the label. For wine and spirits, refer to a carbohydrate gram counter. Wine usually contains about 2 grams of carbs per 3-ounce serving.

Can I drink alcohol now that I am in OWL?
The body burns alcohol for fuel when alcohol is available. So when it is burning alcohol, your body will not burn fat. This does not stop weight loss; it simply postpones it. Since the alcohol does not get stored as glycogen, you immediately get back into lipolysis after the alcohol is used up. But keep in mind that alcohol consumption may increase yeast-related symptoms in some people and interfere with weight loss. If it does not slow your weight loss, an occasional glass of wine is acceptable once you are out of Induction so long as you count the carbohydrates in your daily tally. (A 3 1/2-ounce glass of wine contains about 4.3 grams of carbohydrate.) Spirits such as Scotch, rye, vodka and gin are acceptable, but do not mix with juice, tonic water or non-diet soda, all of which contain sugar. Seltzer, diet tonic and non-aspartame diet soda mixers are permitted. If you have added alcohol to your regimen and suddenly stop losing weight, discontinue your alcohol intake.

Is it okay to drink light beer, which is lower in grams of carbohydrates?
If you have yeast-related problems, such as bloating, gas, a coated tongue or cravings for sugar, you should limit beer or eliminate it from your diet. Otherwise, after Induction, you can drink light beer as long as it does not make you gain weight or stall your weight-loss efforts.

After reading some of the posts around alcohol and ketosis I decided to undertake a very scientific study (other wise known as getting drunk for a reason).

I tested my urine at 4pm and was at second highest colour for ketosis. I then went to the pub and over the space of 6 hours has three glasses of wine, 1 beer and 3 vodka and sodas.

I staggered home and retested, only to find that I now had only trace levels of ketosis. What was most interesting was that by morning I was back to a high level of ketosis.

Food for thought anyway and enough to make me think twice about my sixth drink........

LOL - I like your style bennejo!!

Let us know if you need inspiration for any other 'scientific studies'!!

Interesting results though!

Hi Jaddles,

As you can see I found my way over, Thanks for inviting me. Isn't it funny how us aussie's are always talking alcohol! i posted a thread when I was still on induction (confessions) how I sooo wanted a wine. My DH is LC'ing with me and we use to have a drink every night. It was nice to sit down together after a hard days work and once the baby had gone to bed with a good bottle of wine or bailey's on the rocks

We have been off induction for a week and during induction I lost 7kg this week I lost 0, nothing, nil and in this week I drank two half bottles that Michael and I shared. We plan to drink again this Australia Day at a BBQ that we have been invited to (any excuse for a drink will do).

Bennejo loved your experiment WTG.

Sue

Hi Jaddles

There is alot of carbs in beer.. one of the reasons my husbands wouldn't LC was the fact that he had to give up the beer..

Glad I dropped by and had a read regarding alcohol. The first time I drank after induction I was seriously ill.. that night and was in bed hungover most of the next day.. I try not to drink as much now..

Karen

Look

I have to say that when I first started low carbing I didnt touch any alcholol.

After I lost my weight I started getting onto the beer and wine, and found that it did not affect my weight at all, I drank like a wild dog on heat!!!!.

In fact I find that it has a diruretic effect and can enhance weight loss.

Point is that as long as you are low carbing alchohol is fine.

Love

Mr Russ

Thank God I've finally found the Australian and New Zealand corner!

I've been on induction for about 8 weeks now - I've had no trouble staying to the 20 carbs so, as I've got a fair bit of weight to lose, have stuck with induction.

But to the issue at hand: alcohol. I gave it up 8 weeks ago. Can you believe it? I have a freezer drawer full of gin bottles for my extra dry martinis and my beloved Llagavulan whisky and I haven't touched a drop in 2 months. *Gulp*

But now I see that I may indulge! What relief! Even better, I've just scored a first class flight to London, and to think of all that free booze I would otherwise regretfully have shook my head at ... Praise the Lord, I say. Cabin Crew with trays of premium French champagne, here I come ...

What I really want to know, though, is ... can I head off to the Qantas checkin counter and argue the point that seeing as I've lost 12 kilo body weight I should be allowed to have that as extra baggage allowance?