Cocktails and Dieting

How many times have we been going about our new lifestyle of clean eating and our new workout regimen mostly without a hitch, until our girlfriend's invite us out or we get invited out on a double date and now the stress of what can I drink starts to erupt in our minds? We do things like, well Friday is date night so it's my "cheat day". Setting ourselves up for failure and being sour in our disappointment when we get on the scale or take our monthly measurements. Being informed about is part of the battle so I hope this information can help you out as it did me. If you are select few who can skip the cocktail's altogether good for you! For me, that just wasn't the case so I needed to know the in's and out's of my choices. (I found this information from health.com)

First thing first, drinking basically presses 'pause' on your metabolism, shoving away the other calories ordering the break down of the cocktail you just drank, first. The result is that whatever you recently ate, gets stored as fat. This is why all of us coaches push so hard to try and eliminate alcohol from your diet during your fitness journey because it truly does hinder your result and at the very least it slows down the speed at which you reach them. Another thing is when drinking most people's inhibitions lower and become hungry and though they normally wouldn't order those mozzarella sticks with a side of ranch, after a few drinks they sure as hell are thinking about it now. 

Tips

#1 Always eat when you drink

Yes you should factor in the calories of your drinks but it is more important to eat right than to eat less. At least that's what the experts say. "Before you go out, have dinner or a snack with protein, fiber and a healthy fat," says Karlene Karst, RD author of The Full-Fat Solution. Like Greek yogurt with berries, almond butter with an apple or a protein shake. 

#2 Know some drinks will make you more hungry than others

Waist friendly drinks = simpler the drink the better. What I mean by simple; straight up, wine or beer. The more items you add into a drink the more calories you're adding and likely the more sugar and carbs. Any wine or beer works but to trim 10 calories per glass pick a rose or white wine instead of a heavier red. A whole pint of dark beer is around 170 calories compared to 195 for the same amount of regular beer. Vodka, gin, bourbon with club soda and a twist are a good choice too. Club soda is calorie and sugar free, dilutes the alcohol and its effects on your cravings. You should avoid juices, liqueurs that are sweet and syrupy, tonics, sweet bottle mixes (like sweet and sour mix, margarita mix, daiquiri mix, etc) and cola's.

#3 Stick to a drink or two, max 

According to Dr. Pamela Peeke, MD, author The Hunger Fix, going all week without alcohol and saving your seven drinks for the weekend is the worst you can possibly do for your weight. It has a much bigger effect than having one drink a day. Don't forget your body stop breaking down the calories you've previous eaten to breakdown your cocktails calories. All those drinks throw your blood sugar out of whack and make you feel hungry and you won't think twice about ordering greasy fries smothered in things that defeat what you've been working so hard to achieve. The extra calories alone are enough to pile on the pounds but have four or five cocktails every Friday night you'll be up ten pounds in a year. 

#4 Beware the starving feeing the next day

The next morning has a new set of diet challenges. Hangovers suck all on their own but now you're craving greasy fast food. Part of the issue is you are dehydrated. The body wants energy and the richest source is fat and greasy food does tend to settle the stomach. To avoid this disaster, well first don't go past the two drink max, obviously. Drink a glass of water for every cocktail you have. You can drink it in-between or alternate sips. Also drink a glass before you go to bed and one when you wake up as well. Also have a snack before going to bed that is high in fiber and protein such as a high fiber cereal or oatmeal. 

Hopefully these tips help you out! Remember be safe out there and never drink and drive!

Thank you to Health.com by Sunny Sea Gold article How to drink without gaining weight