Red wine......do we dare??

[keh216]

So, who drinks it? How do you do on it? I think I am going to give it a whirl tonight. Just 2 glasses (admittedly large glasses). If you have had it does it throw you out of ketosis?? I hate hard liquor and I especially don't want to drink diet soda. Any experiences I would love to hear.

[Ntombi]

I can't do red (migraine), but I drink white wine sometimes. Mostly not at all when I'm in serious weight loss more, but a glass here or there doesn't affect my overall loss. You won't be burning fat while your body is getting rid of the alcohol, but you'll get right back to it, as long as what you're drinking doesn't have a bunch of carbs (of lower your resistance to off plan foods!). A dry red or white, or hard liquor, is much better than the sweeter versions.

[SweetSugaree]

I love red wine, and I drink it on occasion. I only drink it one night a week. So basically no more than one night a week do I consume alcohol. My weight loss does not stall when I drink a couple of glasses, however, My mom stalls. I have friends who can go out and have more than a couple of drinks, not even low carb, and they wont stall. Basically, everyone's body is different. You have to see what works best for you and your body.

[momov2boys]

I drank wine all while losing, last time.
I continue to drink both whites & reds now, without consequence.
I think it might be a YMMV thing!

[keh216]

I will know the effects tomorrow.....I have missed wine the last month!!

[Spanilingo]

The only problem I have with alcohol and LC is that I get SLOSHED from one glass of wine. LOL. I use to be able to handle a couple glasses of wine or beer (which I love) but now my husband is TOO HAPPY to call me a "cheap date."

[Aleina]

I stalled and so far I have no idea if it was the wine. So now I am doing a general detox and a separation of carbs fats and proteins, no carbs at night when I would drink wine normally..Then wine will make a comeback because forever it cannot disappear.
And yes !

[lanita]

I only drink reds. Whites give me a headache, and I don't like any sweet tastes. I also get hammered pretty quickly on LC but I have always been a lightweight. My sister always says, "It's not a party till Lanita pukes!". So, I limit it to about 4 oz, maybe twice a month..it hasn't affected my losing. I'm a verrrry slow loser anyway.

[JMacB]

My mom and dad did some low carb diet a few years ago that allowed dark chocolate and red wine, so I allow it some now. But I am a lightweight for sure. I was at a party a few weeks ago and realized I was da-runk. When I got home, I was embarrassed to face the babysitter!

[Blue Skies]

The fact is that ALL wines have more carbs than these hard liquors---which have NO carbs: Vodka, gin, scotch. I had to quit wine for the better part, at a point, as red or white caused me immediate and severe hot flashes. So I learned to enjoy a vodka tonic, or scotch and water, or the occasional gin martini.

However, even if it's the hard alcohols I have listed, the truth is that regardless of their no carb rating, the body WILL use alcohol as fuel first. So whether you're drinking wine, or harder alcohol, we just need to know that what we drink will take precedence over burning our fat for fuel.

I am NO purist. And I enjoy a cocktail, and even a glass of wine now and then, as the menopause symptoms have diminished. IMO, you just need to figure in that whether it's wine or hard alcohol, the body is going to use it to fuel, as opposed to fat.

I have been able to lose weight AND enjoy a cocktail. YMMV. But one thing's for sure for me, as a poster above stated, the alcohol, whichever alcohol, hits me faster and harder on a LC woe.

[Julie1972]

I worry less about the carb impact of the wine and more about my decision making ability after the wine!

[Elgar]

I drink both red and white wine several times a week with no ill effects. I lose much better when I don't imbibe, so during a concerted weight loss effort (like right now) I completely abstain. There used to be a LC diet called "the Drinking Man's Diet" back in the '60s. I think it was under 60 gram whole carbs and allowed an alcoholic drink at every meal. It pre-dated Atkins. That's what got me started with LC lo those many years ago.
Hmm. I just looked it up to make sure I had the name right and it's apparently making a comeback. Interesting how things cycle around.

Here's a sample menu from the Forbes website, where I found the article:

Drinking Man's Diet: Sample Menu
(With grams of carbohydrate)

Menu planning, the Dean Martin way!

Breakfast

1/4 cantaloupe or 4 ounces of tomato juice (5)
Ham or bacon, 2 slices (0)
Egg, fried, boiled or poached (trace)
Coffee or tea (0)

Lunch

Dry martini or whiskey and soda, if desired (trace)
Broiled fish or steak or roast chicken (0)
2 glasses dry wine, if you wish (trace)
Green beans or asparagus (1)
Lettuce and tomato salad with French or Roquefort dressing (4)
Coffee or tea (0)

Dinner

Martinis or highballs, if you desire (trace)
Hors d'oeuvres of 2 stalks of celery stuffed with pâté (5)
Shrimp cocktail (4)
Beef, pork, lamb, veal chicken or turkey (0)
Green beans, 1 cup, brussels sprouts, 1/2 cup, or cauliflower, 1 cup (6)
2 glasses dry wine (trace)
1/2 avocado with French dressing (8)
Cheese: Roquefort, Camembert, Swiss or cheddar (trace)
Coffee or tea (0)
Brandy (trace)

Total grams of carbohydrate: 33

[keh216]

Well, I drank half a bottle last night.....I lost more than a pound. I know it's dehydration. And, I don't care!! I will take it anyway!!

[avid]

I can't drink and lose weight. It's that simple.
I guess I'm pretty sensitive to alcohol because even a glass of beer will lower my resolve.
I start off really well, then I have a little alcohol and I'm chowin' down in the ziti.
Never fails.

[HellInYourEyes]

I love wine, but my favorite "adult beverage" is Sake. I can drink that cold or hot and just..mmmm I just looked it up and my favorite store bought brand is 5 carbs PER SHOT! I am sad now.

[Patience]

Elgar, that is pretty funny!
I am wondering why Deano didn't turn that tomato juice at breakfast into a bloodly mary?!

[margame]

Originally Posted by Bella

Elgar, that is pretty funny!
I am wondering why Deano didn't turn that tomato juice at breakfast into a bloodly mary?!

lol! i was thinking the same thing! great minds think alike, eh?
i've always wondered if they named the drink "martini" after dean martin.

eta: that diet is pretty low carb, 5 carbs each for breakfast and lunch and tweek the dinner to include either the pate or the shrimp cocktail and lose the french dressing and the carb count will be about 10 and add in all those traces of carbs from the drinks, so the total is 20ish carbs for the day...hmmm...i think it's doable!

[Blue Skies]

Originally Posted by margame

eta: that diet is pretty low carb, 5 carbs each for breakfast and lunch and tweek the dinner to include either the pate or the shrimp cocktail and lose the french dressing and the carb count will be about 10 and add in all those traces of carbs from the drinks, so the total is 20ish carbs for the day...hmmm...i think it's doable!

I was thinking that too! This is basically how a "diet" looked before the low fat crew moved in. When I was growing up my mom dieted off and on, and in those days it was common knowledge that you didn't touch bread, potatoes, rice or pasta if you wanted to lose weight. A dinner on a diet for her was a minute steak and a salad.

[CTIgrad]

Originally Posted by Julie1972

I worry less about the carb impact of the wine and more about my decision making ability after the wine!

I hear ya. Due to this I try to limit my intake to one or two pints a sitting......

[DressageLover]

I had wine 3 days in a row over the holiday weekend and my weight is up 7 pounds. Ack! And it's really there. My thighs are bigger, pants tight, I feel it all over. Whenever I drink this happens and it takes well over a week, maybe even two, to get my weight back down with very strict LC. I'm envious of people who can have wine without consequences.

[micheleredit]

Vodka tonics here!!! Red wine is a big no no for me until I hit maintenance.

[Ntombi]

I hope you use diet tonic. Regular tonic has as much sugar as a soda.


I can have one or two shots of hard liquor, or a glass of medium to dry white wine without a problem, but I still don't indulge too often when I'm on a weight loss roll.

[Arctic_Mama]

I don't drink except once every year or so, max, but I do cook with alcohol. Sherry and white wine, primarily, occasionally mirin, always measured out and accounted for the the recipes. Most of the alcohol burns off as the sauces cook down, and it hasn't noticeably affected my weight loss to use an ounce of wine in a mushroom sauce

[evas]

I drink alcohol an average of 1 to 2 nights a week and I will usually have anywhere from 3 to 6 drinks (what can I say, I like to party, haha!). I love craft beers so that is usually what I drink. I also really like red wine and have that sometimes. In all honesty I didn't lose any faster when I cut out alcohol completely. It just doesnt make a difference for me (unless, in my drunken state I dive into a plate of nachos, which can easily happen when the part of your brain that makes smart decisions is on hiatus). But for some people it definitely does make a difference so you are just going to have to try it out and see. But take note, alcohol in any form is dehydrating so you will almost always see a drop on the scale the next morning that will likely go back up the next day or two when you rehydrate.