Tomorrow is another day as they say ... yesterday can’t be changed ... easy to wipe the slate clean and start the day afresh

1 hour ago, blybo said:

Thread revival.

 

Had a few too many last night hosting a dinner party. Felt ordinary this morning and then broke my fast and my diet with junk food. Now feeling pretty crappy with myself over the whole issue and fed up with it all.

 

I've always been a regular drinker but since Christmas the consumption has got a little heavier once more, so need to do something. I've switched from beer/wine to spirits and diet mixers as part of my ketogenic diet. The problem is the stuff is so easy to drink, and because I drink (any liquid) quickly, I've had too many before the full effect kicks in. And who am I kidding? Still drinking regularly is the only reason my weigh loss has plateau'ed, as it also makes me tired and less likely to exercise.

 

 

So I'm off off it till Easter school holidays. Will re-evaluate then.

 

I'm going to install the big ass fan I've been procrastinating over doing and get back into my cardio sessions on the indoor bike trainer and treadmill of a night time when I'd otherwise be drinking.

 

Mate, your doing twice as good as me so dont beat yourself up over a nights indulgence.  Im also annoyed as ive been 3 weeks on more or less Keto and only lost a measly 1kg. Christ I reckon I could do better than that with 5mins on the bog (but I digress!)

4 minutes ago, Tubularbells said:

 

Mate, your doing twice as good as me so dont beat yourself up over a nights indulgence.  Im also annoyed as ive been 3 weeks on more or less Keto and only lost a measly 1kg. Christ I reckon I could do better than that with 5mins on the bog (but I digress!)

If you are not losing weigh on keto, you are doing 1 or more of the following;

• missing some hidden carbs or sugar in food you are eating
• not eating enough fat (zero sugar/carbs, moderate protein, high fat)
• simply eating too many calories- easy to do if getting stuck into nuts/avocado/fatty meats/soft cheeses etc etc

 

You are either in ketosis or you are not. The weight loss will not happen with "more or less keto" as the fat burning "switch" is simply turned off. Due to the nature of yesterdays dinner party I had beer/wine and some bundy so I was not in ketosis, and probably won't be back there till tomorrow. It was amazing how much more hungry I was this morning as my body was looking for sugar. The result of the hunger and mild hangover was me eating a pack of twisties and stuffing up another day.

10 minutes ago, blybo said:

If you are not losing weigh on keto, you are doing 1 or more of the following;

• missing some hidden carbs or sugar in food you are eating
• not eating enough fat (zero sugar/carbs, moderate protein, high fat)
• simply eating too many calories- easy to do if getting stuck into nuts/avocado/fatty meats/soft cheeses etc etc

 

You are either in ketosis or you are not. The weight loss will not happen with "more or less keto" as the fat burning "switch" is simply turned off. Due to the nature of yesterdays dinner party I had beer/wine and some bundy so I was not in ketosis, and probably won't be back there till tomorrow. It was amazing how much more hungry I was this morning as my body was looking for sugar. The result of the hunger and mild hangover was me eating a pack of twisties and stuffing up another day.

Thanks. When I said more or less keto that meant basically Optifast for breakfast and lunch with a normalish dinner but consisting of less carbs (rice, potato's etc.) Alcohol has been reduced with a few exceptions as well.

 

Easy to put on but a b**h to loose!  Overall im doing ok though and am now down to 103kg so whilst feeling slightly better I still have a long way to go.\

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 12, 20197 yr by Tubularbells

Just now, Tubularbells said:

Thanks. When I said more or less keto that meant basically Optifast for breakfast and lunch with a normalish dinner but consisting of less carbs (rice, potato's etc.) Alcohol has been reduced with a few exceptions as well.

 

Esay to put on but a b**h to loose!  Overall though im doing ok though and am now down to 103kg so whilst feeling slightly better I still have a long way to go.

I tried those horrible shakes a few years ago and felt they did nothing to curb hunger or cravings. YMMV. I've found fasting much easier, as long as I stay in keto helps a lot too.

 

Apparently you need to keep carbs to under 50grams a day to stay in keto, and you have to think probably 1/2 of that will come from leafy green vegies.

 

My day usually consists of

• no breakfast but I have a apple cider vinegar drink followed by 2 glasses of water to wash the taste away and then a shot of coffee with no sugar.
• lunch will be a salad with the previous nights left over meat or a can of tuna with avo, grated cheese and olive or avo oil as a dressing. Sometimes followed by a small container of mixed nuts or a couple of twiggy sticks.
• Dinner is whatever the rest of the family is having but I'll substitute rice or pasta with steamed veggies.
• Sugar free chocolate for a treat after dinner which is actually very nice

6 minutes ago, blybo said:

I tried those horrible shakes a few years ago and felt they did nothing to curb hunger or cravings. YMMV. I've found fasting much easier, as long as I stay in keto helps a lot too.

 

Apparently you need to keep carbs to under 50grams a day to stay in keto, and you have to think probably 1/2 of that will come from leafy green vegies.

 

My day usually consists of

• no breakfast but I have a apple cider vinegar drink followed by 2 glasses of water to wash the taste away and then a shot of coffee with no sugar.
• lunch will be a salad with the previous nights left over meat or a can of tuna with avo, grated cheese and olive or avo oil as a dressing. Sometimes followed by a small container of mixed nuts or a couple of twiggy sticks.
• Dinner is whatever the rest of the family is having but I'll substitute rice or pasta with steamed veggies.
• Sugar free chocolate for a treat after dinner which is actually very nice

Man you need to become my diet coach ? ?

14 hours ago, Tubularbells said:

Man you need to become my diet coach ? ?

I’m happy to share what has and hasn’t worked for me. 

You tube is a great source of dietary info, although I tend to only take info from those with medical or scientific backgrounds 

Thought would bump this dormant thread.  Have been thinking for a while about getting off the grog for good.  I love a good glass of red, and am also quite partial to a nice scotch however:

 

1) Whilst I'm quite able to refrain from drinking, I struggle with moderation once I start, particularly if life stress levels are high.

2) I have noticed in my 40s that even moderate amounts of alcohol impacts my sleep quality quite dramatically

3) I just have to admit that I simply feel better, happier, more at ease when I'm not drinking at all.

 

Knowing the above 3 points, on top of the clear and obvious health benefits it kinds of seems elementary that I give it up, but there is also part of me that just doesn't want to!?  Interestingly I have quite a few friends and colleagues  that have quite drinking completely post covid lockdowns, mainly out of concern about the habits that had snuck in whilst locked down.  I don't think I fit that mix, and can't really see that Covid has changed either my drinking habits or me feelings towards it.

 

Interested in advice from anyone that may have had similar experiences.

I need to at least reduce my input to reduce my blood pressure as I am at high risk of stroke, Got my LDLs down to 1.5, just need to get on top of the BP.

I do not drink during the week but drink way too much scotch over the weekends.

1 hour ago, Batty said:

I need to at least reduce my input to reduce my blood pressure as I am at high risk of stroke, Got my LDLs down to 1.5, just need to get on top of the BP.

I do not drink during the week but drink way too much scotch over the weekends.

 

Yes interesting link between blood pressure and alcohol.   Have seen some graphs that indicate the relationship between mmHg and Alcohol units is almost linear.    A few times in recent history I have gone through phases of drinking too much too regularly and certainly some signs of hypertension have emerged.

 

Scotch is a bugger, it's so easy to drink with such a high alcohol concentration that I try to avoid it as much as I love it.

I monitor my blood pressure periodically.  I log my results on my iphone Health app.

It rose in recent months when I have been 'busy' which can also involve more than 2 drinks a day occasionally.

If I am 'good' I have less than 10 drinks a week. Two drinks in a day is okay.

At age 62, I know that my sleep and hydration levels will be affected if I exceed those limits.

 

I am also starting to appreciate the impacts on blood pressure and on my liver.

The liver also produces elements which help regulate blood pressure.  It relies on magnesium to assist (I think) and those magnesium levels can be depleted in the liver by too much alcohol.  I take magnesium to help with muscle recovery (from running) but haven't been as diligent of late.  I wonder if this was a further impact on my blood pressure.

 

Since I have been 'better' with alcohol in the last few weeks, and have recommenced magnesium (by chance), I am seeing my blood pressure come back down.

Just in time too, as I see my cardiologist for my annual check-up in a few weeks time.

 

Benje

My BP was 126/67 at 8 pm yesterday. My doc wants it to stay below 130.

1 hour ago, POV said:

Thought would bump this dormant thread.  Have been thinking for a while about getting off the grog for good.  I love a good glass of red, and am also quite partial to a nice scotch however:

 

1) Whilst I'm quite able to refrain from drinking, I struggle with moderation once I start, particularly if life stress levels are high.

2) I have noticed in my 40s that even moderate amounts of alcohol impacts my sleep quality quite dramatically

3) I just have to admit that I simply feel better, happier, more at ease when I'm not drinking at all.

 

Knowing the above 3 points, on top of the clear and obvious health benefits it kinds of seems elementary that I give it up, but there is also part of me that just doesn't want to!?  Interestingly I have quite a few friends and colleagues  that have quite drinking completely post covid lockdowns, mainly out of concern about the habits that had snuck in whilst locked down.  I don't think I fit that mix, and can't really see that Covid has changed either my drinking habits or me feelings towards it.

 

Interested in advice from anyone that may have had similar experiences.

 

I agree emphatically with all 3 points. I stopped drinking at home around the start of the first Melbourne lockdown and then only drank a few times for the rest of the year, social occasions being rare as they were. The last time I had alcohol was December 5 last year (not that I’m counting, it was just at a mate’s birthday so I remember).

 

It has been much easier than I expected, although the continuing lack of social opportunities have surely helped somewhat. My mental health this year has been sh*t anyway but I shudder to think what it might’ve been if I had been drinking too and I guess I’ve saved a bunch of money. 

 

I’ve not made a decision to never drink again but I don’t miss it at all and it’s not like I’m planning to get off the wagon after a year or anything. I don’t ever see myself drinking to the extent that I used to (see your first point).

 

My advice is just to try it. Don’t make it a grand proclamation or swear an oath on a dead relative or anything, just decline the next opportunity to have a drink and then the next and so on. If it helps, when I quit smoking (much harder for me than stopping drinking), I had a little mantra that was something like “in this moment, rather than do X I choose to accept my desire for X, and focus instead on the benefits of not doing X, such as etc” or something like that. What ever works for you. The important thing is not to tell yourself “I’ll never do X again” because that’s too much pressure and your pressure valve is probably X, which is why it mostly leads to failure 🙂 

 

Good luck 🍀

 

PS you’re welcome to PM me if you want to chat at any point

I had a serious bicycle accident around 6 years ago - it took 4 years until I finally had a proper diagnosis on my brain injury - once I’d had that it took about 6 months for me to decide alcohol was probably not a great thing for my brain (nor was a stressful

job) so I quit both 😂 it will be 2 years in December since I gave up the grog - best thing I’ve done for my health 

1 hour ago, Andythiing said:

I had a serious bicycle accident around 6 years ago - it took 4 years until I finally had a proper diagnosis on my brain injury - once I’d had that it took about 6 months for me to decide alcohol was probably not a great thing for my brain (nor was a stressful

job) so I quit both 😂 it will be 2 years in December since I gave up the grog - best thing I’ve done for my health 

Hope you are doing ok Andythiing!

To me you will always be the person who breathed the first life into the 'Currently drinking' thread😀

The time to quit comes to us all sooner or later, for one reason or another😔

best wishes 🙏🙏

9 hours ago, RankStranger said:

My advice is just to try it. Don’t make it a grand proclamation or swear an oath on a dead relative or anything, just decline the next opportunity to have a drink and then the next and so on. If it helps, when I quit smoking (much harder for me than stopping drinking), I had a little mantra that was something like “in this moment, rather than do X I choose to accept my desire for X, and focus instead on the benefits of not doing X, such as etc” or something like that. What ever works for you. The important thing is not to tell yourself “I’ll never do X again” because that’s too much pressure and your pressure valve is probably X, which is why it mostly leads to failure

Thanks mate, this seems like super sensible advice.  Agree a grand proclamation seems like too much pressure.  I’m gonna try to start with an alcohol free weekend.

I usually do Dry July.

1 hour ago, Batty said:

I usually do Dry July.

Having a July birthday (along with 2 siblings, 4 of my cousins, my mother and fathers' anniversary, plus numerous others on my wife's side) it's not the right time. We sometimes do a dry February, or October, and (like now) we sometimes limit booze to weekends only (this time it's every second weekend).

 

That being said, boozing is almost always sharing a bottle over dinner -OR- a couple of G&T's for her and a couple of beers for me. And very occasionally, we'll have a digestive on dry nights (nip of spirit or two nips of liqueur).

 

I figure we're getting too old to wake up with hangovers, but I like the flavour, and we can manage it pretty well.

Edited November 4, 20214 yr by Cloth Ears

8 hours ago, Cloth Ears said:

<snip>I figure we're getting too old to wake up with hangovers, but I like the flavour, and we can manage it pretty well.

Same here, the hangovers started ruining all the pleasure, so I just cut down on quantities and frequency and kept the flavours—although with consuming less I am able to buy better stuff.

 

My GP wanted to know how much I drank and I said 2 or 3.  He looked up. "Daily?" me: "No, weekly." "Oh," he laughed "that's not an issue at all."

 

He didn't realise it was bottles Greg.

UPDATE: am 10 days in and it's going well.  Made it easier for myself over the weekend by laying low and not going to the pub with mates but certainly feeling quite good today after a weekend of decent sleep and starting the week yesterday in a good headspace.  My wife has been supportive and has not been drinking at home either and we moved our collection of scotch and wine into an out of sight storage location which also seems to have helped in the out of sight/out of mind sense.   See how things go for a while, have some xmas functions scheduled in over coming weeks so that will no doubt be minefield of temptation!

6 minutes ago, POV said:

UPDATE: am 10 days in and it's going well.  Made it easier for myself over the weekend by laying low and not going to the pub with mates but certainly feeling quite good today after a weekend of decent sleep and starting the week yesterday in a good headspace.  My wife has been supportive and has not been drinking at home either and we moved our collection of scotch and wine into an out of sight storage location which also seems to have helped in the out of sight/out of mind sense.   See how things go for a while, have some xmas functions scheduled in over coming weeks so that will no doubt be minefield of temptation!

The wine will benefit from the aging, just make sure it is protected from heat at least👍

46 minutes ago, POV said:

UPDATE: am 10 days in and it's going well.  Made it easier for myself over the weekend by laying low and not going to the pub with mates but certainly feeling quite good today after a weekend of decent sleep and starting the week yesterday in a good headspace.  My wife has been supportive and has not been drinking at home either and we moved our collection of scotch and wine into an out of sight storage location which also seems to have helped in the out of sight/out of mind sense.   See how things go for a while, have some xmas functions scheduled in over coming weeks so that will no doubt be minefield of temptation!

well done  

9 hours ago, POV said:

UPDATE: am 10 days in and it's going well.  Made it easier for myself over the weekend by laying low and not going to the pub with mates but certainly feeling quite good today after a weekend of decent sleep and starting the week yesterday in a good headspace.  My wife has been supportive and has not been drinking at home either and we moved our collection of scotch and wine into an out of sight storage location which also seems to have helped in the out of sight/out of mind sense.   See how things go for a while, have some xmas functions scheduled in over coming weeks so that will no doubt be minefield of temptation!

Good work, really good start. Don’t stress too much if you have some slip ups, just start again and try for a little longer the next time.

Im almost at 6.5years, still going along ok. I don’t think that I want to go the rest of my life without a drink but not sure I could control it again so will keep off it for the foreseeable future. 👍