How do I say this…
I screwed up.
There. Gosh, that was a lot easier than I expected it to be, lol. 😛 Yes – I screwed up (royally). Let me explain…
I don’t have any regrets, by the way. Well, maybe on one part (lol). But this should help you decide what to do instead, or what to do if you decide to make the same choices I did.
It just so happens that on Day Four of the year-end low carb challenge, I was invited to a holiday cookout. I knew there would be drinks there, but to play it safe I brought my own beer (Michelob Ultra, 2.6 carbs per 12oz bottle). Budweiser makes a low carb beer too (Select 55, I believe?), but I prefer Mich Ultra.
It was Thursday night (Day 4), so I ate super clean that day before I went to the cookout. I had two choices: eat a low carb dinner before I went, or take my chances. Being an adult, I decided to go with the latter. That’s not the part I regret… It was the 5 or 6 beers I drank. 😛
I’m still 152.8 pounds, so I didn’t gain any weight back – thank goodness! But I paid for it nonetheless. 😐 In case you haven’t figured it out on your own yet, alcohol will hit you faster and harder on a ketogenic low carb diet than it would otherwise. So you should take that into consideration, as well as what they call “the alcohol stall” – which means it takes longer for your body to burn off alcohol and may stall your scales from moving for a few days.
I’ll be totally honest with you about what I ate, how I felt, and what I did to “recover” – as a means of helping you easily get back on track when you decide to eat off plan for some reason, like I did.
I did HOPE there would be some lower carb options there, but it’s never safe to make assumptions… so I went knowing full well it would likely be a single off-plan meal.
Anyway, we’ll start with what I ate on Thursday (Day 4)…
Challenge Days 4 & 5: Low Carb Food Diary
Like I said, I ate super clean (real food) and low carb before heading to the cookout on Thursday evening. For breakfast, I had to eat while I was working so I just grabbed 1/2 cup of Daisy Brand cottage cheese and a block of colby jack cheese.
For lunch I finished off the last three Low Carb Tuna/Veggie Fritters.
Dinner was a total wash. Plus I had 5 or 6 beers (which is more than twice my “limit”, but it was over the course of about 7 or 8 hours).
Before going to dinner I only consumed about 600 calories for breakfast & lunch (including my coffees at work), and 13 net carbs (14 total carbs).
I also got almost 8,000 steps on my FitBit ChargeHR that day.
It was important to me that I get in plenty of exercise and also “eat clean” knowing I was going to the party that night.
Here’s how my MyFitnessPal Food Diary worked out for Thursday:
My typical goals are to stay under 20 net carbs, and get at least 70% of my calories in healthy fats. See: Understanding Macronutrients for more on that. Obviously you don’t eat “high fat” on days when you’re going to eat more carbs.
I’m not entirely sure how accurate the “dinner” entry is in my MFP above, but it was probably pretty close. We can safely say my day was still under 100 carbs, which isn’t bad by normal standards.
Friday’s Low Carb (Hangover) Meals
Ugh. Friday. LOL. Ack 😛 ~ I woke up… SICK. I didn’t sleep well, because I simply “pulled up a couch” – which I highly recommend anytime you are drinking. 😉 Between the “carb overload” and the way-too-many-beers the night before, I was NOT well on Friday. THAT is the part I regret, lol. UGH.
On my way home that morning I decided I was going to NEED some bread on my stomach, so I grabbed an Egg McMuffin along with a very large coffee. 😛 Neither went down. I did manage to suck down 24 ounces of water to hydrate the relentless pounding headache – and just went back to bed.
I still felt ill when I woke up so I hate half of that McMuffin (13 net carbs), drank some more water, had a coffee, and got myself together for lunch with my cousins.
We met for lunch at Applebee’s, and I knew exactly what I needed to eat: something “Lean & Green”. I ordered the Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad (no croutons).
For dinner, I just had one of my Low Carb Peanut Butter Pecan Bars. Just something to snack on so I didn’t go to bed hungry – at a very early 8pm, lol. Outside of the half an english muffin, I aimed to eat lean / clean / real food.
Here’s how my MyFitnessPal Food Diary worked out for Friday:
23 net carbs, less than 1000 calories – not bad.
And lots of sleep. Very good. lol.
I feel better today (finally!) but I am still eating as clean and as low carb as I can – which is ideal. If you know you are going to eat an off-plan meal, here’s my advice:
– Eat clean & lean before and after.
– Stick to “real food” as much as possible.
– Get plenty of exercise.
– Drink plenty of water.
– Don’t eat “high fat” AND high carb.
* And don’t forget that alcohol affects you faster & harder when you are eating low carb! 😉 😛
Ideally you’ll avoid situations like the cookout, and just eat before you go. That would be smart. But if you choose to go to a holiday party and enjoy it, I’ll be the last to judge you. We’re all adults here. Just don’t let it totally derail you! Simply eat a normal meal (no binging!), and then go right back to eating healthy – immediately.
I know we’re right in the middle of a serious year-end Low Carb Challenge, but life happens. I thought it was best to be totally honest with you so you know how to handle situations (or choices) like these.
Was it worth it? Sure! I had a great time. 🙂 I paid for it in a BIG way on Friday, lol – but that was mainly because of the amount of (low carb) beer I drank. Lots of rest, tons of water, and a healthy “Lean & Green” meal plus an early bedtime made a big difference. That and getting RIGHT back on track… because I am on a SERIOUS mission to move my scales as we close out this year. 🙂 *cheers*
Best,
Lynn Terry,
aka @LowCarbTraveler
Love the real you! I tend to be the real me also! lol One thing that I have tried to do in the past when I am socially drinking is to drink a glass of water in between each drink. Doesn’t always happen like that but it sure does help the next day with a hang over if I can drink that water. Glad you had fun. Your numbers still don’t look bad even while off plan for that bit. Merry Christmas!
Thank you, Stacey – and happy holidays to you as well! π That’s really smart to drink water with your alcohol, to help with the hangover. I know I had to “fuel up” on water the day after and again today just to get leveled back out. π Ack!
That’s the second time that drinking beer has made me seriously ILL (more than I’ll describe here, lol) in the last few months. Very odd. I will think twice before drinking more than two beers for awhile. haha
Going to a holiday party tonight, I decided to eat a low carb low fat light meal before I left. Leaving the wine alone will be by bigger problem than the high carb food. I will try drinking lots of water and maybe one glass of wine. I have been doing great down 3lbs. Don’t want to screw up. Thanks for this challenge keeping me on track during the holidays. Happy Holidays!
That’s smart, Mary! I think it’s good to find balance, but also have discipline – to a point where you can ENJOY life but also be your happiest, healthiest self. π
After having a drink (wine, beer, etc) your scales may not move for a few days, but that’s totally normal. My scales dropped this morning finally, by 1.2 pounds, after 3 days of just “sitting still”. It’s because alcohol takes longer to metabolize than food, and your body metabolizes it first – putting everything “on hold”. So don’t worry – or even weigh yourself for a few days.
I hope you enjoyed the party! No matter how it went or what you decided, just drink a lot of water and eat super clean today – very low carb, real food, plenty of water. *cheers*
Thank you for being honest!!
I enjoy following your blog, all the food ideas and your experience with this diet.
Did it kick you out of keto?
Thanks again for being real.
Interestingly, it did not kick me out of ketosis. A single meal often won’t, especially if your total day still says well below normal carb limits. A binge meal, or a whole DAY of offf-plan eating certainly will — but I have found a single meal like that typical does not.
I woke up 1.2 pounds lighter this morning. π It did take the scales a few days to move again, but at least they didn’t go up!
I didn’t detail the meal I ate at the cookout, but it was: 1 bbq chicken quarter (thigh & leg, with bbq sauce), a serving of baked potato salad and baked beans. I did not go back for seconds (which was tempting lol) and otherwise ate super clean before & after.
It’s very easy for me to “binge eat” or to let one meal like that totally derail me for up to 10 days (ack! lol) so I’m really proud of myself for setting limits and sticking to my personal challenge!
I didn’t know that a single meal wouldn’t kick you out of ketosis! Good to know! My friends birthday is coming up and the plan is to go to sushi π
We’ve all been there, just the word rum makes me queasy lol
My scale stalls for 3-4 weeks at a time as it is. I cut out all alcohol, didn’t cheat at thanksgiving or at work holiday party. Scale hasn’t budged since December 5th. I have lost 20lbs since September but it’s slow going.
Happy holidays!
Hi Tabitha,
It really depends on the meal – and how “clean” you eat before and after. And your body too, of course. We are all different.
Anyway, I often stall for weeks on end too. But 20 pounds lost since September is GREAT! How are you tracking? I’m happy to help you tweak to lose faster…
I use my fitness pal and installed the browser macro.
Most days look like this:
Breakfast: 2 eggs, 4 slices of bacon (or 2 sausage patties) 4 tblspns of half n half with sugar free coffee syrup to go in coffee. Or the cottage cheese “cereal
Lunch: Jimmy Johns unwich or cheeseburger wrapped in lettuce with mayo.
Dinner: cheeseburger steak with mayo and broccoli or Brussel sprouts.
Snack: pecans dipped in Chipotle laughing cow cheese wedge.
Some days I get behind on meals and end up not eating because I’m not hungry and or preoccupied. Some night I make keto cake in a mug to get my macros up when I’m really behind.
I go to the barn 4 nights a week to do chores and ride horses. Those nights I’m over 10k steps easy.
I just started adding candida and digestive enzymes (when I remember to take them with meals lol)
Any help and guidance is very welcome and appreciated!
With your tracking, are you getting at least 70% of your calories from fats? It sounds higher in protein, but I can’t be sure without you checking your graphs. And typically less than 20 net carbs, yes?
My advice would be to test this for two weeks: Go up to 25 net carbs (in nuts, green veggies, etc) and increase your fat to 80% consistently. Try to stick to “real food” but add in avocado, pecans, block cheese, real butter/cheese on your veggies, salmon, chicken thighs (instead of breasts), etc.
I’m losing much faster lately, and that’s the only real difference I’ve made – a slight macro change!
Thank u for sharing I ate off plan yesterday I went to a tamale festival in Az and had one or 2 but I went to the gym 1.5 hr to the gym that morning before the festival so I’m hoping that helped. After I had to drive 10hrs back to California and since we didn’t stop much I grabbed a piece of muffin and that’s all had yesterday. I didn’t weight myself this morning but I’m definitely getting getting back on track today. Once again thank you!!!!
Hi Lupe,
I’m so glad you got right back on track! That’s smart. π Just ignore the scales and eat super clean with plenty of water like I mentioned in the original post. You should be just fine!
All too often we stress over it – and stress is just as bad for weight loss as some meal you might have eaten. π Or worse, you end up stress eating, lol.
I have to be cautious about eating off plan, because I gained weight for a reason – I tend to binge, and to be an emotional eater. I didn’t gain my weight from a single off plan meal! lol. Anyway, it’s all too easy for me to spiral downward, so I have to force myself to stay consistent – and to really control any “off plan” decisions. π
Hi Lynn
How many oz. of tuna and do you mean 1 cup each couliflower AND broccoli ?
On the Fritters recipe at http://www.travelinglowcarb.com/8766/low-carb-fritters-recipe/ I used a small can of tuna (4 ounce) and 2 cups total of veggies – so one cup of each, yes. π