Week 4 on BSD started well but went downhill pretty quickly once I introduced alcohol back into the mix. I had 3 days staying with friends and whilst I ate well (kept off the carbs, ate proteins and salads) it was the social drinking that took it’s toll. Then on to a conference and time to catch up with people I had not seen for a long time. More booze and then ultimately poor food decisions. The final verdict – up 2kgs in 8 days. In the past that would be it for me. Back to the old ways but this time I’m feeling very different about the whole BSD, the science and the results. I’ve got a mental target in my head for this week – 3kgs…Then we can forget last week and put in another solid 4 weeks to the end of April.

I know now that I do have to be constantly aware of not just what I am eating but also about my food behaviours. It’s too easy for me to slip back into the old habits and the booze is clearly the catalyst. Clear lesson – alcohol is not my friend.

Hi PeteintheBayou,

Firstly, well done on getting back into the diet straight away. I did the exact same thing- had great weight loss week 1, then went on a weekend reunion with old friends. Like you, I ate healthily but the booze put 3lbs back on. I too have had a ‘mental shift’ with regards to this diet in that like you, I refocused straightaway. Ordinarily, this probably wouldn’t hAve happened if you didn’t have those 2 occasions to go to. For me, this was a one off occasion- of course I was going to celebrate. The main thing is, you are back on it and you’ve gained new knowledge about yourself. I’m sure more people have done this too and as MM says on the book, it’s ‘best not to drink’ during the 8 weeks. Further down the line when you have completed the 8 weeks, and achieved your goals a glass of red now and then is allowed on the med style diet. Good luck!

Hi Pete, well done for changing your state of mind. I think part of the reason why you don’t feel the need to abandon everything is that its actually quite easy to repair the damage. On other diets, we never had that. It was a slog to lose the weight in the first place and then a slog to do it all over again. Because, once you’ve accepted the principles of this program, it is incredibly easy, the idea of having to do that bit again isn’t nearly so daunting. That’s how I think of it anyway. All the best.

Pete, the most encouraging thing is that you recognise ‘the science’ of why you gained 2kg and know you can reverse it. Here’s to a positive week.

Well done Pete on recognising the problem and not dropping out of the BSD. Have a great week

Hey Guys,
I’ve been doing some research recently on how the body processed alcohol. It’s pretty interesting stuff – essentially as soon as we touch alcohol, our bodies stop using the food we’ve eaten/or are eating for energy – all of that gets automatically stored as fat. This is because of the toxicity of alcohol it’s put first to burn off and use as energy as quickly as possible so that it’s eliminated from the body. This obviously means that everything else you eat in or around the same time is stored as fat – there were a few sites that said one way to help maintain weight would be to eat low carb, low fat and high protein on the days that you are going to drink alcohol so that less of what you eat is stored by the body. This seems to have worked for me, although I wouldn’t recommend this as something to do more than once a week.
I also read that per gram of alcohol there are around 7 calories – and also found some alcohol calorie calculators – https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/understand-your-drinking/unit-calculator – these make scary reading! But is definitely an eye opener!
I’ve cut down the alcohol since understanding this, although I still enjoy a good night out! 🙂

Hi
Its the booze for me too
I have managed really well by rigorously policing what I drank – gin and slimline tonic – the equivalent of one pub measure over three long drinks for the last week.
But over the week end met up with friends and the wine came out….
Gained a kilo but now know that wine (as much as I love it) is not my friend either!

Hi all
of course it isn’t hard to see why people like alcohol so much.
Not only is the stuff addictive the sugar it’s made from is too, so you have a twin whammy of cravings.
Just try to remember, Alcohol = Sugar = Weight on

Pete
I was just about to post that I went off the rails in my fourth week too. Previously that would have been it for me too but I’m trying to regroup and get back on track .

My lesson related to stress – I was trying to finish some very stressful work and for the first time I just craved and craved to eat … Anything . It astounded me how hard I found it to resist food when I felt so stressed. How hungry I felt when previously no hunger. It was overwhelming .I withstood it for one days but on two and three I broke and then went to the other extreme. This coincided with social events ( alcohol) and Easter .
So. I’m heading on and trying to let go of this back step and like you , learn from it and move on.
OP

I can sympathise Pete – you’re not the only one who has fallen off the BSD wagon. I threw all caution to the winds and ate spectacularly badly over the Easter weekend with so many family get-togethers, chocolate, hot cross buns, and wine with every dinner. However, I noticed yesterday evening that I was quite looking forward to getting back to eating “normally” again as all the buns, chocolate and wine had made me feel quite unsettled. Not exactly ill, but – not quite right. So now I’m back at work sitting here happily with my peppermint tea and handful of almonds for my mid-afternoon snack, and looking forward to some leftover roast lamb with Swiss chard for my tea. Strange how the mind works, isn’t it!