I've got a special occasion next Sunday and was wondering if as a bit of damage limitation I drank gin & tonic I would be ok? I'm only a week into atkins induction so I must sound like an alcoholic but I really miss a drink with friends!

I'm on Induction for the second time in 4 months. The first time I really screwed it up and I do believe that it was I didn't follow the Induction rules to the letter. I enjoy a glass of wine now and then, so I thought I could have one or two even on Induction. Trouble with me, if I drink, I eat! Made for way too many carbs. Plus the extra calories in alcohol delay ketosis. Although I did loose a few pounds back in Feb, I haven't lost anything since. I'm now on Day 7 of my New Improved Induction and for me that means follow all the rules! NO BOOZE! (can't wait till I can have a glass of wine and some macademia nuts)
Good luck
Diane

I was only wondering because gin doesn't have any carbs in it. I've lost 6 pounds in the first week of induction. I did Atkins a couple of years ago and gained weight! Dunno how I did it but there you go
I know I will drink on Sunday so I want to choose the least damaging. It's my last day of induction anyway.

I've been having absolutely minimal carbs and I entered my food intake on fitday.com and it came out at 3% carbs yet my ketostix never go the darkest purple. They hover around moderate to large. Any ideas?

If you must drink leave out the tonic! Tonic water is made with sugar. Ask for a diet tonic water or drink gin and diet 7up.

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Maybe I should read the title of the thread first before posting I now see you know it MUST be diet tonic. It isn't recomended but I had alcohol toward the end of induction as well.

Any alcohol will probably knock you out of ketosis because the body uses it as fuel before glucose or ketones. If you really want to drink, stick to clear alcohol (like gin or vodka which don't have sugar - I think dark rum does have carbs) and diet soda. I think that's the least diet-damaging option.
Oh, and remember that lemon/lime wedges do have about a carb each (from the juice), not sure about just a "twist" of peel though.

Remember to drink a glass of water between each alcoholic drink (it should help limit how many you have and also prevent a hangover). Also I don't know if you'll be affected by this as you're only a few weeks in, but some people have said their alcohol tolerance really decreases with low-carbing.

Just a quick note about the ketostix - there are lots of reasons why you shouldn't worry about the results you get with them. To try and sum up: they're very sensitive to storage conditions and do expire, they only measure the ketones you're spilling right then, they don't differentiate between ketones coming from dietary fat or body fat, they're just generally inaccurate for our purposes. whew! As long as you're losing weight/inches and feel good, don't worry about it.

Hope you have a great time at your event Madzone

I'm on my second tour of the Atkins induction phase. I lost approximately 18 pounds in 3 months and then stalled out. Couldn't figure out what it was, but I'm getting a clue and am eliminating alcohol and low-carb candies with maltitol from my diet for the next two weeks.

I completely agree with an earlier post in that, for me, it wasn't the carbs in the alcohol that made it so dangerous, but the reduced ability to make good decisions about what I was eating. Can you say, "A few chips won't hurt me!" (haha) When I can keep my food choices in line, a glass of wine simply slows my weight loss, but doesn't reverse it.

About the ketostix, I think it matters how many carbs you're eating for the day. When I go over 50 carbs for the day, I don't get much of a color change. Also, I get a darker color when I test 2-3 hours after dinner rather than right after dinner. Not sure why, but there you have it.

Have a great time at the party!

Hey MZ - Next Sunday (Easter,right?) is my last day of Induction also. Maybe I'll join you in a drink! (Either that or a piece of my mother's Bunny cake) On second thought, the beverage sounds better. Cheers!
Di

Yes - be careful when drinking again while L/C'ing. I keep finding out the hard way that I can no longer drink the way I did before L/C. I would guess part of it is b/c you no longer have carbs in your tummy to absorb the alcohol.
Also, I have found carb cravings are extremely intense after just a few beers & the next morning.

Good luck

I might be wrong, but I noticed several people in this thread saying that the calories from alcohol will "knock you out of ketosis." I don't think this is true- as long as you don't have many carbs, you should stay in ketosis. It's just that you won't be using those ketones for fuel- you'll use the alcohol instead, leading to reduced weight loss. Basically its just an increased caloric intake thing...
As far as keto-sticks go, don't shoot for dark purple- that just means that you are not well hydrated, so your urine is too concentrated. Any color change is good, darkness just has to do with how much water you've had!
And, finally, regarding the one person who said that her sticks are darker 2-3 hours after dinner: that's because you are just measuring the ketones that came from the fat that you've just finished digesting!! I've heard that you should always measure in the MORNING, so that you are measuring BODY FAT that is being turned into ketones and burned up (isn't that what we all want???). Otherwise, you are just measuring the ketones from what you eat...
Jess

Jess, you're right - my point was just that while you're burning alcohol you're not burning body fat.

Hi

After Induction I too was adding alcohol and found that although it didn't make me gain weight I was in a 4 week stall going into 5 weeks with no weight loss. Everyday I would weigh and I would stay the same which was very frustrating.

Since then I went back on Induction and didn't have any alcohol for two weeks and lost 6 more pounds. On this past Sunday my sister and my brother-in-law came to visit unexpectedly and my brother-in-law insisted I have a drink with him and I caved and had a little vodka. (didn't finish it) but all day yesterday I felt terrible like I was in a fog. I was up a couple of pounds yesterday also but back down again today. Much as I enjoy having a drink with my friends for right now I am leaving it alone. I am more interested in losing weight than drinking with my friends...I can do that later on when I am closer to goal.

Rose

It's always nice to have a bit of support.
Rose - right now I'm more interested in drinking than losing weight! It's only a day and I won't weigh myself for the rest of the week anyway so it may well be absorbed by then.
Thanks for all your input.
Madz xx

Just have the one or 2 drinks of gin and tonic...and yup diet tonic would be better....make sure that you still just eat the eggs, meat, cheese though....then I dont think you will be too far away from ketosis. I have had wine...but I still eat the right food...I have always stayed in ketosis.

Well, I'd go for the gin and a "club soda "(no carbs) twist of lime or lemon, and maybe .5- 1. carb. Useing club soda is much better than diet tonic, unless you happen to be lucky and have it that is made with splenda.

Kathy