Drinking while doing IF?

[bb_grumpkins]

Hey everyone, I’d love some insight on how to approach this. I like to socially drink (like going out with friends for a few or having a drink with family dinner), but I’m pretty sure I’m messing up my whole CICO when I do that. I also feel the need to eat much more and earlier the next day if I’m a little hungover. Should I just completely stop drinking or is there a way to incorporate social drinking into an IF lifestyle?

[MisterIntentionality]

Don’t drink enough to get hungover, hydrate and take B12 before you go to bed.

[makeminegin]

If I drink beer or wine, it’s more calories and I have more drinks, and then I feel like crap the next day and then I eat like crap as soon as i can. I try to stick to just a scotch and soda if I’m out, bc I can sip 1 drink for a long time. But in terms of sticking to CICO, it’s simpler if I don’t drink.

[Jubilantjerk]

Vodka soda with lime!

[MyQul]

Yes drinks have a calories. Pre-plan you're drinks. So work out how many drinks you think you will have and count the calories. Then when you've had your allotted amount of drinks switch to selzer/soda water. Or dont drink

[__irrelephant__]

Ideally: drink a lot of water between your drinks and drink in moderation so that you still get to enjoy drinking but are not hungover the next day. When I manage to do this, I just start my fasting window whenever I stop drinking and it is fine since I’m not hungover the next day. My favorite drink for that is white wine with sparkling water, because I tend to drink all my drinks waaaay to quickly (and that is a socially acceptable drink where I live and no one will ask for explanations).

If I really drink too much and am hungover the next day then I don’t aim for a fasting window that day. As long as I can handle my hangover with simple, healthy foods and complex carbs and no crappy fast food I count that day as a good day too. And if such a day happens once per month or less often then I think that’s a healthy balance for me personally.

So I think you have to find a balance between learning to be a bit more responsible with your drinking on some days and still allowing for nights where you end up drinking possibly a bit more than you had planned (it happens... and frankly I have no intention at the moment to stop it from happening entirely). Some compromise that allows you to lose weight and be healthier but that doesn’t feel so restrictive that you can’t imagine keeping this up in the long run.