Hi!

After 3 weeks completely teetotal, I was wondering what are the rules as far as alcohol is concerned.

I've never been a heavy drinker, but I do enjoy an occaisional drink when relaxing.

Does the alcohol itself cause problems? Or can I have a drink or two (as long as I count the carbs)

If the occaisional drink is OK, then does anyone know the carb levels for different drinks?

I realise beers and lagers are out of the question, but what about wine and spirits?

My own personal weaknesses are whisky and vodka
Does anyone know the carb levels of these, and is the occaisional glass OK if I use low carb mixer?

Please help - I'm getting withdrawal symptoms - LOL

Beer and wine both contain carbs. Beer about 1 carb per ounce, wine from .2-3.5 carbs per ounce.
Distilled spirits are OK in the carb department, BUT in the presence of alcohol - your body will burn that as fuel first. So, you will not be using your own fat for fuel when there is alcohol in your system.
Decisions, decisions.

Hi Carlos

The news is bad from me, I'm afraid. I just stall when I drink, whatever the carb content and even if I'm eating extremely low carbs. It's like Atriana says, the liver processes the alcohol before it processes the weight loss. It you want it to process weight loss, don't give it alcohol to deal with. The reason for drinking lots of water is related to the liver too. The liver helps the kidneys out if the kidneys are understrain. It has an order or priorities and processing weight loss/fat reduction is LAST!

So, if you want a smoother ride down the weight loss curve, drink lots of water so the kidneys don't need any help (say, 3-4 litres a day?) and steer clear of the booze.

Good luck

Last Chance
PS, I weigh in on Fridays, so treat myself to a glass of white wine Friday night - it's not something I'm prepared to give up altogether but I don't want it messing up my weight loss!

Alcohol is a touchy subject in most cultures and this low-carb community it is no exception.

Atriana and Lastchance are perfectly correct on the tech matters of booze/alcohol: the body does, at least in theory, treat it as a carbohydrate fuel source.

However, the net effect varies greatly amongst individuals. For some it sems to have little effect whereas for others it causes a complete stall in weight loss. Mileage may vary! Girls seem to be stalled more often than blokes.

If you wish to count the carbs correctly (ie as per the scientific method wherby 1g of alcholol equals 7Kcals of energy) I offer some examples:

Spirits, 100ml = Carbs 0.0g + Alcohol Carbs 40g
Dry Sherry 100ml = Carbs 1.4g + Alcohol Carbs 20g
Red Wine, Bottle = Carbs 2.3g + Alcohol Carbs 90g
Miller Lite, pint = Carbs 4.1g + Alcohol Carbs 23g
Beer, pint = Carbs 13g + Alcohol Carbs 24g
Cider, pint = Carbs 15g + Alcohol Carbs 36g
Guinness, pint = Carbs 22g + Alcohol Carbs 24g

At least on paper it seems that alcohol is pretty bad in "carb" terms! Exactly how "alcohol carbs" affect people, ketosis and the meaning of life is another matter!

Yours aye, Scotsman

Thanks for the advice.

I may try a single scotch as a treat, then check for ketosis the following day. I also weigh myself on friday so will try the drink friday night while winding down after work.

Fingers crossed!