Alcohol

[claireweenie]

Ok, so I've just come back from a 12 drinking bender with my friends except I'm stone cold sober... I drank water ALL night!!!
To be honest, the not drinking bit didn't bother me, I still had a laugh and I don't think my night would have been any different if I had been drinking (except much more expensive!).
The bit that did bother me was the post night-out munchies. Everyone was eating crisps and biscuits and I didn't have any but I REALLY wanted too!

It got me thinking, what do you guys do on a night out? Do you have the odd night off the diet and have a drink or a biscuit or two? And what do you do when your out and sticking to the diet?!?

Thoughts please!

 

[Yambabe]

I've had a couple of nights out now since I've been doing this, and just stuck to bottled or fizzy water with no problems.

Advantage is that I can then drive home, saving us the price of a taxi..........

Don't really miss it tbh, I can still have a good time without it. The food thing as well, again hasn't really bothered me even though the OH or my mates have wanted to stop for chips or a kebab on the way home!

Drinking (even the odd one) on a VLCD is a really bad idea, there's a post about the reasons why on the forum somewhere, hang on......

....here ya go....

http://www.minimins.com/lipotrim-forum/28768-drinking.html

I think at the end of the day it's down to you. If you want to have a drink you need to have food for a couple of days first to bring yourself out of ketosis. Maybe if your plan allows for an add-a-meal week like Exante you could schedule that round your social life? But then you need to be aware that you may have to go through that first-few-days thing to get back on plan properly.........

If you want to have food it's your own choice again as long as you are aware of and ready for any consequences, or are able to make sensible choices. So no biscuits lol, maybe a bit of salad?

Personally I think a few months of absinence will be worth it to get to where I want to be, but this may not apply for you. My friends and family are also aware of what i am doing and why, and are very suportive which makes things easier for me too.

 

[Miss Demeanour]

Just FWIW, it can take you substantially less than a couple of days to bring you out of ketosis, it can be simply achieved with one meal - as many VLCDers have found to their chagrin. I find that I'm fine as long as I'm running on carbs (rather than ketones) by the time I drink, which can be achieved by having breakfast (if lunching out) or lunch (if out in the evening). but then again this only extended to a nice glass or two of something with a special meal that was anticipated and planned-for, rather than a proper night out.

Then you need to consider whether 1) if even if you're not ketotic anymore, you have enough in your stomach to not make the alcohol straight to your head, because 2) after several weeks of abstaining, you may be a really cheap date. If you've not eaten for a while that day, you may need to eat again just before you go out, just to slow the absorption a bit.

So if you do plan to have a glass of wine (for example) with a meal out, it takes a bit of planning, and you will at least need to have the meal beforehand.

In terms of your diet, it's up to you as an individual as to whether you consider it worth it or not, as it means quite an extra food consumption just to tolerate alcohol properly for the sake of an evening. Unless it was a special event that you were going 'off plan' for anyway, it probably isn't

 

[claireweenie]

Cheers for the advice, much appreciated.

I'm gutted that, despite all the abstinence and a trip to the gym, I've only lost 2lbs this week!
Ah well, I'll take slowly but surely...!

 

[Miss Demeanour]

Keep going - weight loss for the most of us, is never consistent, even on a VLCD! We all have completely inexplicable weeks, but occasionally are made up for with good weeks, too. It all evens out in the longer term

 

[scottye87]

There has been the odd occasion when I've said stuff it for one night, gone out had a few pints and the compulsory kebab after lol.

but for the majority of my dieting time, its diet coke, and no munching on rubbish foods, now the first time I did that I thought this night is gonna be rubbish, but the fact that I was on diet cokes while all my friends were nice and tipsy, had no effect on my enjoyment, since they were all blotto anyway, the laughs and the fun was still there, so personally I get on just as well on diet cokes

 

[amelia23]

Had my first night out last week and managed well with fizzy water (treated myself to a diet coke too which didn't seem to affect my ketosis or weight loss). Actually had a better time than I usually do because I know for a fact I din't make a complete twat out of myself!!! Can also remember everything and really enjoyed watching all my friends act like complete fools...think I may become tee total even after the diet...