The FastDay Forum

Now I know that alchol is empty calories and bad for me etc. etc.

But actually apart from the calories factor, am I 'allowed' a small beer on my fast day if I will still be within my 500 calories allowance?

why not. but why? imho it's better to use those calories wisely.

I had two vodka and diet cokes on a fast day once. I was so wasted. And it made me really hungry.

You are allowed what ever you want as long as it's in the 500 calorie allowance. You could eat a packet of biscuits too, or as many as make up 500 calories.

I used to have a sneaky wine at the start but I soon got fed up with it going into my food allowance!
Calories soon add up.. even fruit teas, bouillon, miso soup, chewing gum, splash of milk etc. By the time I've accounted for these during the day I want to use what calories are left on food for my dinner!! If I was going to the pub on a fast day (unlikely as I don't fast at weekends) I would maybe have a gin and slimline tonic but that is extremely rare. Plus once you've had one you will probably want another one, and because that drink has made you relax you're probably more likely to start thinking 'oh I'll do it tomorrow' and you'll also start getting peckish.
Lil

Thanks for the advice.
I have agreed to see a friend for a drink tonight, and I have been very good all day and only had a miso soup and black tea. I hope given all the effort I have put in I will not give in. I will also be driving to the pub which will help with the resolve of one having one.

I used to get in a tizz if I was going out to the pub and not 'drinking'. The first time is hard but it does get easier after that
I hope you manage it but don't beat yourself up if you don't.

Thanks for the advice.
I have agreed to see a friend for a drink tonight, and I have been very good all day and only had a miso soup and black tea. I hope given all the effort I have put in I will not give in. I will also be driving to the pub which will help with the resolve of one having one.

this is more or less what happened to me when I had the vodka. I did survive, and I did stick to my 500 calories.

I invariably have a very small glass of wine at about 9pm on a fast day, it's part of my calorie allowance & I make it last the rest of the evening (it's quite easy really). I reckon I deserve it and it's another way of having control (a bit like eating 400 cals in a day, but no more)

I would just like to update everyone on last night's pub trip.

I had one gin and slimline tonic - 57 calories. My friend then wanted to go and get dinner (which I suspected they might- so had already checked the nutritional values of where we would go). It was a burger place, so I had a chicken burger with no bun and no mayo.
Total calories for yesterday - 454
YES!!!!!Feeling a bit pleased that I survived and can navigate the social situations. Next test will be a work trip away next week.

Well done Al that's really impressive!!

well done. I hope you don't often find yourself in these situations where you need SO much willpower I hope you had a great night!

Wow, super impressive!

Wow. I really admire your self control. That gin and tonic would have meant that I NEEDED the bun and mayo. Well done.

I don't drink alcohol on fast days. I'd rather have my calories as food. But I also know that if I have *one* drink,I'll want another and then maybe another... And then I'll get peckish, as LilSmiler says. Easier to avoid, although the date I went on on a fast day was hard - I stuck to fizzy water but really wanted a glass of wine!

You should do what works for you, though. I'm impressed that AnnieD can make a small glass of wine last all evening. My willpower would never be that good.

Oh yes, alcohol and fast days. Quite a challenge for me. I grew up in Wisconsin in the US. This You Tube sums up the atmosphere very well - alert - don't listen if you are offended by the F word or the ilk. But, if you aren't offended, it is very funny. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9m-cQin1qKE

In Wisconsin you can buy alcohol pretty much everywhere and any time. You can buy it in bars and take it out with you. Then I moved to Minnesota the state adjacent to Wisconsin. Way different. Up until recently you couldn't buy alcohol after 8 pm M-S and nothing on Sunday and only in liquor stores (in Wisconsin you can buy it in grocery stores). Now we can buy it until 10 pm. Still only in designated stores and nothing on Sunday. Some states have even more draconian laws. County to county might not allow liquor sales at all.

I used to say that in Wisconsin drinking is not only tolerated, it's encouraged.

So, what does this have to do with the topic? Probably nothing but presenting the hilarious link.

Ok, the other part is that when I lived where I could have alcohol freely and without judgement, I think I had a better "relationship" with alcohol. And maybe that is how I see it now. If it seems prohibited, it is more desirable. I seem to want a drink more on fast days maybe because I feel I can't. And, as others have stated, you can as long as it fits your calorie allotment. But we all know what it leads to. So, maybe acknowledging it removes the power it has on us.