Part III– Alcohol
Alcohol is the danger zone this season, so here are my tips:
- Stick to the same drink all night. Cocktails to start, wine to follow and a liqueur to finish the night is the ideal recipe for a hangover.
- Drink water in between each alcoholic drink.
- Say no to refills until your glass is empty.
- Switch to a juice instead. Juices, if they’re fresh, are ok (although there’s nothing better than a fresh piece of fruit). Tomato juice is a great option here – Virgin Mary’s are delicious.
- Watch the time – have a plan to stop drinking at a certain time. Or make a plan to have two drinks max and stick to your promise. Two drinks might not seem much, but skipping the rest will do wonders. Why have a horrendous hangover when you can reduce it to just a small headache or even feel absolutely fine the next day?
Now if you do have a heavy night and you’re reading this with a hangover, this is the plan:
- Sweat it out. It won’t be a pleasant workout but it will accelerate the process of removing the alcohol in your blood.
- Drink lots of water but in small amounts. You’ll be thirsty and dehydrated so drinking water more often but in smaller amounts works better than drinking 2 of water pints all at once.
- Allow time to do the job, there is no quick fix.
- Eating sensibly helps – eggs are proven to be a fantastic pick-me-up food.
- Avoid heavy or fast food – you’ll only make things worse. Your liver is busy removing alcohol. You don’t want to add heavy and saturated fats to its workload.
- Go to bed early and catch up on your sleep.
Of course alcohol isn’t the only red flag this Christmas. There are fizzy drinks and cocktails loaded with sugar and calories to watch out for. It’s best to avoid them altogether – not only will they mess up your blood sugar levels but they’re highly calorific. Add to that the inevitable sugar crash and you’ll be craving more just to keep your energy up.
So… the best tool is prevention, but if you can’t say no to all the parties and the good food and drinks that come with them, I hope these blogs will come in handy. After all, we’re only human and you can always check back here in January for a post-Christmas blog on how to get back into shape!
Next week I will be talking about exercise during the Festive Season…not to be missed!
LM
Laura