ok so my little brain has been ticking away lately and i have a question re: the physiology around off plan eating...

OK so i've decided i love LCE now. My body responds very well and i look better than i have in ages. I have been trying to get 10kg (20 odd lbs i think) off for about a year, and i have been training hard and counting calories and nothing worked. I saw doctors about PCOS and things like that, and had full blood work done etc etc - and a naturopath put me on low carbing and it works like a charm.

I have my head around it mostly (and i'm reading the book don't worry!!!) - and am doing 20 grams a day at the moment and feel better than ever.

BUT my downfall is socialising. I'm completely struggling when it comes to alcohol, and social eating.

what i actually want to know is - when i'm in ketosis and then have something with sugar in it on the weekend - i obviously have to start all over again on monday and deplete the glycogen stores... but how bad is that for my body????
I have done this a few weekends in a row - is this going to cause me to store fat excessively??
What actually happens when you're in ketosis and then have something high sugar? does it turn to fat any faster than my previous WOE?? or does it get used as fuel?
is this a very damaging thing to do??

I like my body again for the first time in aaages - and i really do wish that i could be dedicated to this 100% of the time - but being a 25 year old who does a lot a socialising... well it's so hard to stay focused 24/7.
My friends and i get together every sunday night for takeaway and desert, which is a tradition that has been going on all year.
It started when i was doing Body For Life (a body sculpting 12 week challenge) and one of the principals of the program was permission to have an off day once a week to eat whatever you like. Thus 'Fat Day' was born as it was the day i could enjoy takeaway with my friends. and now it's just tradition.
I try to persuade everyone to get fish and chips and i order two pieces of grilled fish and try and fill up on that. but sometimes i don't do so well, and i will indulge in whatever home baked desert they have come up with that week.
It's just really hard to have to start saying 'no thank you'

and this weekend just past i had two birthday parties in a row, and i tried to just stick to cheese and kabana etc while snacking - but then after a few drinks i think it's fine to have some birthday cake too.

ah - this post has turned in to complete rambling so i'll wind up now.

i just wanted to know if having an off-eating disaster is going to be incredibly detrimental and make me gain like crazy - or it will just stall weight loss?

thanks for reading!
newbie who is still making the mental switch!!

Howdy, Erin. Glad to hear LC is a good fit for you and you've been feeling good with you're new way of eating.

In regards to your question, I don't think there is an easy, direct answer.

On the alcohol, that is the most accessible fuel for your body to burn so it will also use that up first. Also, be aware that low-carbing dramatically reduces most people's tolerance to alcohol, so what was just a little before is going to have much more impact. and, of course, it alters your judgement of what's acceptable.

Is alcohol permitted in low carb eating programs? | LowCarbEating

It's also true that to make LC a way of life, you have to find ways to fit it into your lifestyle. I have talked about planned "illegal" eating before - Eating Illegal? | LowCarbEating - and some people choose to plan ahead for special occassions. I don't know that I would consider every "Sunday night" a special occassion, though.

The problem with doing this systemmatically is that if you go significantly off-plan every single weekend, it may take anywhere from 2-4 days to get back into Ketosis. You're essentially cutting the effectiveness of your LC plan, perhaps even by half. Many people also find that eating sugar ups their appeitite and starts the craving monster for the next few days. And then the "just a little won't hurt" mentality kicks in, and it's that much easier to find yourself grabbing a donut or something through the week as well. I can't tell you the number of people I've seen slip away from their LC plans with the phrase "just a little won't hurt."

I can't tell you exactly how it effects you biologically, though. Everybody's different, and I'm not a science whiz. I will say that I'm totally NOT a fan of the "day off" concept. I think it makes your work a lot harder to see your everyday menu as "restriction" and your time off as "treat." A lot of work can be undone in a day off.

On the other hand, if this is to work for you, it has to fit into your life. And the socializing is something you enjoy.

If it were me, I'd probably make sure any drinking I did was as carb-friendly as possible. Limited amounts of dry red wines, low carb beers, Mike's Light or whatever. Alternate a drink with a glass of water. Slow it down and you may find you don't need nearly as much as you thought you did before.

And I'd make sure I always provided something to eat that I felt good about and skip the sugar entirely. This takes planning, but is doable. You may have to look at doing some recipes or go to some extra trouble to make sure you have food choices available that will be as appealing to you as the stuff the other people want to eat. (You'll probably also find that some of your friends like what you're bringing, too and are happy to have something different to munch on.)

I realize this is a change from how the parties work now, but I suspect your friends are more interested in sharing your company than what you have for dinner.

Good luck in finding your own balance, Erin.

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Erin - I can't answer the science question either. I'm not sure someone with a phd in biochemistry could either. One thing i know from experience is that alcohol lowers your willpower and your blood glucose levels. Here's a link to a quiz that gives some good info on drinking and diabetes. LOts to glean even if you are not diabetic.

dLife Quizzes

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Hi Erin, I related to so much of what you said. I am 33 and really have been having a hard time when it comes to socializing, especially now with holiday parties and such. I found for while that I continued to lose really well when I had a one day a week off plan eating day. However, very recently, one day became two and then three and before I knew it I was up to a week of off plan eating...and yes, that is a plan for disaster. So I am back on now and feeling much better. I would like to get to a point where I can have one meal a week off plan, I think that will work for me. I have also read in a number of books on boosting metabolism that a cheat day now and then can raise your metabolism and actually help you lose better. Good luck!

Some people can't handle even one cheat meal a month without going overboard. We are so addicted to carbs that eating just one meal could throw us back into our old eating habits. So, in order to avoid that, those of us with this problem try not to eat off plan unless we have no other choice.

As for alcohol, my personal opinion is that, if your friends are true friends, they won't care whether you are drinking alcohol or a diet soda, your company is what counts. And they also shouldn't care what you eat, either.

Erin, it might be worth your while to learn some good low carb dessert recipes, and be the one to take that absolutely decadent cheesecake to your friends, a dessert that you can eat, and that they will love. Best of both worlds!

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Nita

thank you so much for your replies everyone - sorry for such a delayed response but i didn't get any email notifications about the relpies so i didn't check in!

so xmas break was an absolute write off for me :( i did a terrible terrible job. So many work lunches and dinners with friends and xmas parties and well... i'm sure you all get the picture.
I repent and have started induction again from Monday, felt pretty flat yesterday but today is not so bad... and i deserve it! grrrrrr!

anyway - sunday night tradition is still a problem for me... we don't drink at these nights which is a plus - it's just the freakin desert! i usually could say no but my friend makes something so incredible every single week. Home made tiramisu...lemon meringue pie... chocolate pie... ugh the list goes on! if they just had something lame like icecream i could say no... but the things that he comes up with are 5 star restaurant worthy, he's the best cook ever!! and it's not a job we share - he just likes baking and makes the desert every week.
so... sitting in the corner with my little lo-carb cake would be wierd... BUT what choice do i have??? i need to do something about it - this is pretty much the reason i haven't achieved my goal so something has gotta give.
and you're right - my friends want me there for company... not to eat their food.

I CAN DO THIS!! i will just bring some sugar free chocolate to munch on or something.

thanks again for your answers xox

Erin, give your friend some low carb recipes and ask him if he can make one once in awhile. George Stella's cheesecake is a favorite around here. It's not hard to adapt some regular recipes to low carb, either. Give him a challenge!

One thing that does help, too, is to be sure you have eaten before you socialize, so you aren't so hungry that you cave in to the sweets. It's a lot easier to forego them if you aren't ravenous. Take it from a sugar addict, you can pass up the sweets if you aren't dying of hunger! I've done it many, many times, and I have a whole mouth full of sweet tooths (teeth?). LOL!

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Nita

i'm with nita. i'd buy my friend a LC cookbook and ask for his help with sometimes doing some LC options at least. LC baking is different from traditional baking, but the skills are the same. You just have to learn to work with different ingredients and make adjustments. A talented chef may enjoy the challenge.

Good luck!

p.s. On the notifications, if you need help making sure you are set to receive them, let me know and I'll make sure you are. And make sure the email address forums [at] lowcarbeating.com is on your allowed list for any spam filters you have.

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yeah maybe i could try that - but i don't know how it would go down. ALL my friends are healthy = bleh get it away from me hahahahha.

i went out for a bday dinner with friends on wed and passed up the cake which wasn't hard at all - so i'm sure i can start just saying no thanks - and munch on some sugar free chocolate.

One of my major downfalls is that i'm an all or nothing type - i'm either full steam ahead or 'meh i can eat whatever i want and it's fine'
I have started fresh from this Monday, and i'm back in ketosis now (yaaaaaaaay) and i don't want anything to wreck that and have no inclination toward self sabotage now.
Let Naughty December die!!!

And re: the eating first option - the thing is -I've had a few eating disorders, the most recent being binge eating disorder in 2007 - and as much as i've overcome the binging, it still rears it's ugly head every now and then... and if i eat first, and then cave in to the food on offer - i end up eating twice as much as i otherwise would have, it's like i have no 'full' receptor unless i'm stuffed - so it's quite easy for me to overeat which is scary.
so i know that most of the time i will eat twice as much if i eat first... so i don't.

It's a very tricky situation huh!! But i have re-written my goals and I'm reading them every day and achieving them is more important to me right now than a slice of tiramisu - i'm going to bring my own dessert - tell everyone to shove off - and they will be so jealous when i'm back in my skinny jeans hahahhaa

thank you all for the support and advice - this site is so valuable to me oxox

ir's great that you're examining these questions in the context of what you know works for you vs. what doesn't. to me, that's one of the big tricks to making this really work long term- knowing yourself and your situation, and understanding how to best motivate and support yourself. my answer to an issue may not work for you, and your answer may not work for me. but as long as you continue to adjust until you find what does work for you, you're set.

glad to hear you're on course and feeling good at the moment. that IS always a gift.

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Nice to meet you btw!

That's right brush yourself off, get back up and move on.
Good Thread!

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I just keep rowing toward shore....