DozenDiets.com

 Here is one that is near and dear to my heart. I have realized this one during a couple of “guy’s nights out” and definitely during The Super Bowl.

Diet Principle #8 - Avoid Alcohol - especially in the opening stages of your diet.

Now, let me qualify this statement. Do I mean never drink alcohol? As in abstain completely? Definitely, DEFINITELY NOT! Let me say that again…DEFINITELY NOT!

What I am saying is that you should avoid it in the opening stages of your diet. Maybe you can add it back in later stages of the diet. Many diets are ok with alcohol. Weight Watchers, Low Calorie Diets, Adkins and South Beach all allows some alcohol. So do their relatives like Sugar Busters and Protein Power. Some alcohol is low calorie, so is low carb so it fits into the plan.

So what’s the problem? Well, first while alcohol fits the plan, it takes up some pretty good “room” on your daily alottment. It’s like 100-200 calories, 3-18 carbs (on average), I think it is 3-8 points on Weight Watchers. So what you end upwith is less room for food and in the opening stages of the diet, you really need all the food you can get because you will be craving more than you are eating. If you take up that space with alcohol, then you are bound to either be bitterly disappointed and risk burnout (i.e. dropout) or you will cheat and sneak over your daily allowances.

That’s one reason to avoid alcohol in the opening stages (and it’s a pretty good reason), but it’s not even the major reason. The major reason has to do with willpower. When you first start the diet you will feel like it might not work. You will worry that your friends will laugh at you. You will be a bit resentful that you even have to watch what you eat while others do not. Then you drink a brew, or a glass of wine or whatever. Suddenly your inhibitions are a little lower and your willpower is effected and you fidn yourself thinking if one beer was good, then two might be better. Then after the second beer you are thinking, “Hey! Pizza would go great with this!” Or Chips or a burger or whatever. Trust me. I have been here. Your willpower is weak at the outset of a diet. The alcohol weakens that willpower further and pretty soon you find yourself on a diet-killing binge. The next day, the guilt sets in and you have set yourself back farther than you wanted.

But wait! There is hope! The hope comes in Diet Principle #9, so look for that one in the next few days!