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Drinking Over The Festive Season
Day 12 - Alcohol
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It has been reported that on average we drink 41% more alcohol in December than during other calendar months. As we move into the Christmas period most of us know that our social calendar will start to fill up, and with this our food and alcohol consumption is bound to increase, along with our waistlines. Nobody wants to be be sitting in the corner of the bar nursing a mineral water while everyone else is having fun. if you over-indulge at Christmas you’ll more than likely put on weight and if this is something you want to avoid then you need to have a plan.
Why does alcohol cause weight gain?
Firstly you need to understand why alcohol causes weight gain. As I’m sure you know drinking alcohol usually means taking in more calories. However, it isn't just the calories, when we have alcohol in our system fat-burning is inhibited and fat storage increases. Alcohol can also remove rational thinking, which usually means poor food choices, and to put the icing on the Christmas cake, drinking messes with our blood sugar so we end up craving sugary, carbohydrate rich foods.
Calories in alcohol.
One area you can control is how many calories you are taking in when drinking alcohol.
- Spirits can be a better option as they contain fewer calories, however be careful when choosing a mixer as these can add extra calories and sugar to your drink. As spirit measures are short be wary of how easily these can mount up throughout the evening.
- Beer, lager and Guinness may hold around the same amount of calories as a large glass of wine but they also have the highest level of carbohydrate than other drinks. Opting for lighter beers could be a better option.
- Red wine and sweeter white wines have a higher sugar content so a dry white wine is a good choice; a spritzer is even better.
- Try to avoid cocktails as they contain lots of sugar, keep these for very special occasions. When drinking cocktails, steer clear of those with a larger combination of ingredients, particularly creamy or sweet liqueurs as these can really bump up the calories.
How can you enjoy Xmas drinking without piling on the pounds?
As with everything that requires self-control, giving a bit of thought and planning ahead is one of the keys to success.
Here are 5 simple steps to follow to control alcohol and inevitable weight gain it brings!
- Before the evening starts, decide how many drinks you are going to allow yourself and keep to this. Keep tabs on yourself throughout the evening or ask someone else to, and be aware how many alcoholic drinks you have had.
- One of the worst things you can do is go out hungry or thirsty - you'll end up eating bar snacks and at the end of the evening you're more likely to stop off and get a take away! Eat something that fills you up before you start drinking, even if it is just a snack. This will stop the tendency to mindlessly pick on high carb bar snacks. Food in your stomach will also help the rate at which alcohol hits the system, which affects all sensible thinking.
- Find other reasons not to drink; not wanting to do something you might regret or saving money, remembering how hungover you felt last time you drank too much, even think about your liver!
- I won't be the first person to have told you this but drink water alongside your alcoholic beverage, it really does make a difference.
- If you are in the habit of getting home and raiding the fridge, make sure you have something moderately healthy prepared to stop you devouring endless slices of toast before hitting the ice cream tub!
Don't forget my 80:20 rule over the festive season. It's fine to let your hair down and enjoy a few drinks over xmas with friends and family. If you are conscious about you weight and keen not to gain too many pounds over the festive season then I hope you have found my 12 days to a healthier xmas beneficial.
MERRY XMAS
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