Read Between the Wines
Let’s be real. One of the things people frequently ask me when they hear about my lifestyle isn't about the protein or the fasting. It’s about the booze.
"Chris, can you ever have a drink again?"
The short answer is yes. You don't have to live the life of a teetotaler to be metabolically healthy. But the long answer is that drinking on a strict, clean ketogenic diet requires a completely different rulebook than what you’re used to.
If you go into a bar thinking you can drink like a "sugar-burner," you will derail your progress, wreck your sleep, and wake up with a hangover that feels like strong regret.
Here is the unfiltered truth about alcohol, your liver, and how to navigate a drink menu without torching your hard work.
Part 1: The "Pause Button" (What Alcohol Actually Does)
Before we talk about what to drink, you need to understand why it matters.
When you are fat-adapted (like I am), your liver is a busy factory. It’s constantly breaking down body fat into ketones to fuel your brain and body.
When you take a drink, you are throwing a wrench into that factory.
The Science: Your body views alcohol as a poison. It has no storage tank for alcohol like it does for fat or sugar. So, the moment alcohol hits your bloodstream, your liver screams, "Emergency! Clear this toxin immediately!"
It stops everything else.
Ketogenesis (making fuel from fat): PAUSED.
Gluconeogenesis (making essential sugar): PAUSED.
Fat Burning: PAUSED.
Your liver dedicates 100% of its resources to oxidizing the alcohol into acetate and clearing it out.
The Takeaway: Alcohol doesn't necessarily "kick you out" of ketosis (unless it's full of sugar), but it hits the pause button on fat burning. If you drink frequently, you are spending your life in "pause" mode, never actually burning your own fat.
Part 2: The "Safe List" (What I Drink)
If I’m going to hit that pause button, it better be worth it. I stick to the drinks that have zero sugar and zero carbs, minimizing the damage so my liver can get back to work as fast as possible.
1. Clear Spirits (The Gold Standard)
These are the cleanest options. They are distilled, meaning they have 0g of carbs and 0g of sugar.
Vodka: The cleanest of the clean.
Gin: A good quality gin is my personal favorite for flavor complexity without the sugar.
Tequila (Blanco/Silver): Ensure it’s 100% agave.
Whiskey / Bourbon / Scotch: Technically zero carb, but watch out for flavored versions (like Honey or Apple) which are sugar bombs. I'm partial to a smoky single malt.
Rum (White/Silver): Avoid spiced or dark rums, which often have added sugar back-sweetened into them.
2. Dry Wines (The "Acceptable" List)
Wines are trickier. They all have some residual sugar. You want "Dry" or "Brut."
Dry Reds: Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot (~3-4g carbs per glass).
Dry Whites: Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio (~3g carbs per glass).
Sparkling: Brut Champagne or Cava (~1-2g carbs).
Part 3: The "Hard No" List (The Dirty Keto Traps)
These are the drinks that will not just pause your fat burning but will slam you out of ketosis, spike your insulin, and cause inflammation.
Beer: Liquid bread. Even a "light" beer has carbs, and a regular IPA or Stout can have 15-20g+ of carbs per pint. It’s not worth it.
Sweet Wines: Riesling, Moscato, Port, Sherry, and Ice Wine. These are sugar syrups.
Sugary Mixers: This is where most people fail.
Tonic Water: This is a trap! It has just as much sugar as Coca-Cola (30g+ per can).
Juice: Orange, Cranberry, Pineapple. Pure sugar.
Soda: Coke, Ginger Ale, Sprite (but what about diet soda, I hear you say? Low carb, perhaps, but terrible for your gut health with a few exceptions. See my blog post on artificial sweeteners).
Cocktails: Margaritas, Daiquiris, Piña Coladas. These are desserts masquerading as drinks.
Part 4: My "Clean Keto" Cocktail Rules
When I order a drink, I follow a strict script. I don't leave it up to the bartender's interpretation.
"No Simple Syrup." Some bartenders are trained to add sugar syrup to everything. You have to explicitly say "no sugar, no syrup."
Soda, not Tonic. I order a "Vodka Soda" or "Gin Soda," never a "Gin and Tonic." Soda water is just carbonated water (0g carbs). Tonic is sugar water.
The "Clean" Mixer: My go-to mixer is Soda Water with a squeeze of Fresh Lime or Lemon. That’s it. It’s crisp, clean, and has zero impact on my insulin.
My Go-To Order: "I'll have a Vodka and Soda in a tall glass, lots of ice, with two wedges of fresh lime. No syrup, please."
The "Lightweight" Warning
One final, unfiltered warning, from personal experience: Your alchohol tolerance is gone.
When you are carb-adapted, you have a buffer of glycogen and water in your system that slows down alcohol absorption. When you are in ketosis, you don't. Alcohol hits your bloodstream like a freight train.
Two drinks now feel like six used to. Drink slowly, hydrate aggressively (one glass of water for every drink), and don't try to keep up with your "carb-eating" friends. You will lose, and your hangover will be legendary.
Cheers.
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