I didn't find adding wine to my diet a problem with weight loss - but you have to count the carbs into your daily allowance. Yes too much booze will lower your resistance to snacks but then pork scratchings come to my rescue in most UK pubs...as the others say. it's up to you

Booze
 

Hello people. So, I was really stressed out tonight and really needed a drink so I've ended up having a whiskey and 2 vodka rocks. I know you're not supposed to have alcohol on Atkins but I'm just wondering how strict that rule is? I know it's not healthy to drink when you're upset/angry/stressed so please please please please no lectures on that subject matter. I haven't had a drink other than 1 small glass of wine in weeks so I DON'T have a drinking problem.* The other thing is, being able to have a few drinks would be really handy as I've just moved back home after living away for 4 years and I'm trying to get back in touch with some old friends and, knowing my friends, I feel like it would be a lot easier to reconnect afer a few drinks since some of them can be a bit uptight! Especially around people they don't know or are estranged from.




*I know that sounds a bit "the lady doth protest too much" but I just know how people can be overly analytical/judgemental online.

There's a lot of info here about alcohol and a low carb/Atkins diet. In a nutshell, it's your choice. Just know that when you're drinking, you've put your weight loss on hold. Your body will metabolize the alcohol before any other energy source. So you won't be metabolizing fat (or carbs and protein) as long as you still have alcohol in your system. Another thing... alcohol can reduce your resolve... and open you up to indulging in high carb foods (bar food is never low carb!). Hangovers are seldom treated with meat and veggies, either. LOL

So... it's your choice. Now you know the risks, it's up to you.

Alcohol is technically not a carb. It is a hydrocarbon. It contains about the same number of calories (7Kcal/gram) as fat. Actually, ethanol is 1/3 of a sugar molecule. Here is a simple description in wikipedia Human ethanol metabolism The toxicity of alcohol (actually the acetaldehyde, an intermediate in metabolism) is the reason for high priority processing. In spite of the discussion comments, the science is quite nice. For the less scientific, this might be a bit much/confusing. The ability to process alcohol is dependent on your genetic background.


Several observations about drinking are:

• alcohol has a lot of calories
• alcohol is often consumed with high carb food stuffs
• mixed drinks are still higher in calories given the addition of sweet mixer

Mike

thanks for the advice guys. i know i can stick to low calorie/carb drinks by having neat spirits or diet sodas... i do worry about if i get a hang over i might want to stuff my face with junk food but i've had quite a lot of self control so far... i can always have a good old british greasy fry up instead!