Need advice for my friend wanting to start on keto but drinks a lot

(Rose) #1

Hey guys, so a work friend of mine who wants to start on a keto diet because of the results she’s seen in me in such a short period of time. My only concern is that she drinks a lot, i.e every night after work. How dangerous would this be on a keto diet, in terms of impact on the liver? Would anyone have any links to studies or articles I can show her to emphasise the need to reduce alcohol intake while in ketosis?

(Allie) #2

The liver would process it as a priority to rid the toxin from the body so she will likely feel drunk more easily, as well as much more hungover. Also, while the liver is busily ridding the body of the alcohol, it cannot be doing what we want it to do so weight loss will be interrupted. Also most alcoholic drinks are loaded with carbs which would defeat the object tbh…

(Alec) #3

I think this is the most important point. If you want to be keto, drinking lots ain’t gonna help!

(Ron) #4

She could still drink but would have to use hard alcohol and diet or no carb mixers and as @Shortstuff said, the liver is going to process the alcohol first to get rid of the toxins. This is going to make her progression to fat adaption longer and more difficult. Keto flu could be more extreme as well.
As far as Keto hurting the liver, alcohol is hurting the liver and Keto won’t add to that and in the long run will probably help. Fatty liver disease is a symptom of alcohol and Keto has been known to reduce FLD.

(Rose) #5

Thank you so much everyone for the info so far!! Does anyone have any articles for me to show her on the topic?

(Ron) #6


(Allie) #7

I’d be more inclined to try and get her help to deal with the reason behind the heavy drinking tbh. What is she trying to avoid / numb / escape?

(Annette) #8

It sounds like the drink problem is more important to tackle than keto. No-one should be drinking every night and not giving their liver a rest. It’s against government health guidelines and as we know they’re not that high.
Anyway alcohol is a carbohydrate energy which the body will burn before all else. Whilst this is happening the body does not burn fat. Also whilst the liver is eliminating the alcohol it can’t support making ketones.

(icky) #9

Sounds like the topic of “self-care” would be helpful here, in a general way.

Self-care re drinking less
Self-care re healthy diet
Self-care re stress reduction/ stress management

Maybe just start some conversations/ thinking around that theme and see where it goes from there?

You can’t fix anyone else’s life for them.

(LeeAnn Brooks) #10

I would think that drinking EVERY night would slow down the fat adaptation process to the point of never being able to get there.
I may be wrong and this is just speculation on my part, but interrupting the process every single day seems like a complete road block to becoming fat adapted.

Not to mention the poor food choices one tends to make when they over consume alcohol.

(Michelle) #11

I used to have a glass of wine while cooking and another after dinner. Water with dinner. Pretty much every night. More on weekends. My husband makes wine so we have hundreds of bottles. That was pre-keto. Once I started keto I switched to bourbon. I quickly learned that not only does alcohol hit me harder and faster than it did pre-keto, I feel horrible the next day. Now I only drink on the weekends, and much less. My drinking was for pleasure - I didn’t feel addicted or that I couldn’t function without it. It just took a few rough mornings to nip my drinking and reach for water instead!

(Nathalie) #12

Hello,
I have no links to studies but wanted to share my story which may be relevant for your friend and maybe give hope.
I started keto over 1 1/2 years ago, but didn’t stick with it because I used to be a very heavy and frequent drinker. So I was basically went low carb and stuck with hard liquor with no carb mixers for the better part of a year. I still managed to lose quite a bit of weight.
7 months ago I decided to go stricter keto (so no alcohol either) and the most amazing thing happened : the alcohol cravings disappeared altogether within a few days (I was already fat adapted at that point).
Before keto I could not go 48hours without a drink and today I haven’t had a craving in 7 months. I can still have a drink every now and again and not want more the next day.
For me, keto stopped me down a very slippery slope. That’s my biggest NSV. Hope the same happens for your friend.

(Michelle) #13

This is a wonderful story. I wonder if that is the reason I was able to stop so easily after being in the habit for years.

(Davy) #14

Wonderful story Nathalie. Also I’ll add mine. I drank about 10 drinks a week. Going full blown Keto for 6 weeks, and kicked the alcohol completely. Don’t miss it a bit and according to research, my fatty liver will heal itself and regenerate in 2 to 3 years. Already I feel none of the pain in my right upper side, so I think the excess fat in my liver is almost gone.
Get your friend to try only drinking 1 drink of the hard stuff, like whiskey, vodka or brandy, which contain ZERO carbs. Let it be a treat for them at the end of a good Keto day. That may get them on the right road, altho yes, like several said, it’ll slow down the process. Plus like someone said, the one drink will pack a much more wallop while on Keto.
Who knows, in 2 months, they may stop drinking altogether; or at least cut way down.

(karen) #15

Just to play devil’s advocate here, I’ve found that since being keto, drinking just isn’t very pleasant any more. I don’t get buzzed the same way I used to, it’s not that relaxing, and I still have to deal with the post-drink lethargy, red wine headache and bad mood I always had. So punishment without reward = very little incentive to have a drink; my habit is being changed from the inside out.

Thinkin’ maybe you can flip it: let the side effects of keto+alcohol encourage her to stop drinking as she gets fat adapted, rather than starting with the alcohol issue so she can go keto??

(Doug) #16

My opinion - as one who still drinks, sometimes a lot - she needs to cut down. Really need to be able to put several days together with no drinking at all, and this needs to repeat, over and over and over again. Hey - if it’s just one hard liquor drink with no carbohydrates to speak of - that ain’t bad, either, but is that really going to happen?

(Rose) #17

Thank you all SO so much for your input! Very good points raised about the binge drinking being more of an issue here. Having been through alcohol detox and rehab several times myself, I understand first-hand that tackling a drinking problem is a very personal thing. People are gonna do what they do, quite often regardless of what anyone says. I was just wanting to make sure that keto + heavy drinking isn’t going to do her any MORE damage to her liver than just the drinking alone. I will see if I can broach the topic of her drinking with her and perhaps bring up some of the points you guys have raised here.
Thanks again for everyone’s replys <3

#18

Ketolife has a way of reducing addictive issues, so I would say in conclusion it will not harm her. And normally you feel worse after drinking on keto so that might help also.

(Vijay Bhakta) #19

@Nathalie and @DavyKOTWF Interesting and thanks for sharing. I am like you were, doing Low Carb but with alcohol, inc beer as well as spirits - though I use sugar free mixers. I am around 5 months in and still losing weight so am not too bothered about it at this stage, but I am finding my “desire” for beer in particular is waning in terms of I am getting bored with the taste.

@n3ophy7e I am certainly drinking less than I used to, get “happier” quicker but it is a fine line between stopping when you reach that happy stage or having one more at which point the booze monster takes over and you have more and a risk of starting to eat junk. The day after however is a sharp reminder not to do it again so your friend will soon figure it out after a few sessions. A good tip I find which helps me is to always have water when drinking, especially when out and about. It really does make a difference.

#20

Just my laymen take on the topic. If you cut out beer, wine and cocktails and stick to spritis only with water mix it isn’t ideal but won’t be the end of the world as spirits don’t contain sugars or carbs. I have one or two every night to relax but i also have naturally high metabolism.