I’m an idiot, and I say that with love. I’d heard that drinking alcohol while on a keto diet was a bad idea but after 31 days sober, I allowed myself to have gin and tonic.
I know, tonic is not low-carb as it’s very high in sugar, but I was allowing the “treat”. Big mistake.
It’s no longer a treat when you go off the rails and put four, yes four, G&Ts in a carb-deprived body. It then becomes a violent HELL of a night and next day.
I truly feel like I must choose between keto and alcohol. Not only did the booze destroy my stomach and self-respect, but the hangover forced me to eat unhealthy carbs. I just felt like I would never recover without a hot cross bun loaded with butter (okay, two) and a few small chocolate Easter eggs. And best believe, it helped.
After spending most of the day in bed (or hovering over the toilet), I was able to get up and stomach a decaf coffee at 4pm.
Now what?
If you are indeed focussed on great health, alcohol may not fit into your life - my life, I am talking to myself but take it any way you need. I am admittedly an “all or nothing” type so saying I will drink in moderation or only have “one drink” is total bullshit. It’s completely unrealistic and challenging for me to do that. But, I’ve only been a (mostly) daily drinker for the past 10 years so maybe there is hope. Before that, I rarely drank except for when I was in my partying days and then, I was drinking on a mission: to socialise and get messy.
So far, the keto lifestyle has proven to be more beneficial to my health than booze ever has or will be.
The lows of keto (hungry and losing weight) are far better than the lows of over- drinking (a savage hangover).
Do you think it’s possible to be super healthy and consume alcohol regularly?