When it comes to weight loss most wellness experts hold alcohol as the enemy. It adds extra calories to your diet, encourages you to eat more food, and alters the normal digestive process – not what you want when you are watching your waistline! Can you party smart without completely sabotaging your weight loss efforts and damaging your health? Here are some smart ways to go about it:
Tips for reducing your alcohol:
* Make your first drink non-alcoholic. Usually your first drink goes down way too quickly and dissolves any desire you had for moderation. Drinking a fresh lime soda, limewater or fresh fruit juice will help quench your thirst so you drink your second drink more slowly.
* After every alcoholic drink have a glass of water. Alcohol is a diuretic so dehydrates the body, bad for health as well as being one of the contributing factors to hangovers.
* Always order small over large beers and spirit measures this also helps to slow down the speed of drinking. Order wine by the glass rather than a whole bottle, it is easier to say no to a second glass and keep track of how much you are drinking if the bottle isn’t in front of you.
* Always eat first. Don’t think you can save calories by skipping meals, as alcohol is an appetite stimulant and will lower your inhibitions and willpower making those greasy fried snacks too tempting. If you know the meal will be served late, eat something before you go out and try to limit to 1 drink before you have eaten properly.
Make your drinks healthier
– Use only freshly-squeezed juice – Carton/canned fruit juice is extremely high in sugar and during processing and the pasteurization the nutrient content of the original ingredient is severely reduced. With fresh fruit juices or blended soft fruits like berries you get all the healthy boosting vitamins and minerals to help combat the negative effects of alcohol.
– Avoid sugary and artificially sweetened fizzy drinks – There is more and more research pointing to the destructive effects of fizzy drinks. Use a splash of juice like fresh lime or apple with sparkling mineral water to mix your drinks.
– Make healthier sugar syrup – Use raw honey or maple syrup mixed with water if you like to sweeten your mixer or to use in cocktails.
– Choose nutritious ingredients – Include ginger, lemon, fresh mint, cinnamon and basil that all have health-giving properties.