Morning, ladies! Happy Friday. Today we’re chatting alcohol on the blog. Its seems like I haven’t mentioned more than two-words about alcohol on HHS before (though, my clients and I do talk about it), and it’s something that I get questions about pretty often.
You’ve asked:
“Is alcohol bad for you?”
“How often should I drink it?”
“Does alcohol make you gain weight?” (This is the number one question that I get, which is why it’s the title of this post – you’ve Googled it before, haven’t you?)
“How do I eat healthy while drinking? Somehow once I drink all of my ‘good habits’ go out the window and all I want are nacho’s.”
“How do I continue to honor my body and listen to my hunger cues while having a drink or two?”
So, let’s get to talking, and at the end of this post today I’m going to leave you with my new favorite drink recipe. Sound good? 
A simple disclaimer: this post is coming from my personal opinion and experience, and is for the person who does not have a problem with drinking. If you struggle with alcohol, you should talk to someone more qualified to give you advice in this area, such as a doctor. Take this post lightly.
Also, this post is not sponsored by New Amsterdam alcohol – it just happens to be in the photos. If we’re being really honest today, I bought this alcohol for $9.97 at Walmart, and hey – it’s great! Hah! 
MODERATION
Like most things in life… moderation is key. There really can be too much of a good thing.
After a drink or two, things feel a little light, fun, a little silly, and everything is tasting yummy, right?
How about about after three, four, five, and beyond? I’m going to assume that this is when things get a little “out of control,” you feel a little less like yourself (which, is what you could be going for)… this is also where your choices can become other than your own (not what you would normally choose), and your perception feels skewed. This may be what you went for in college…
Drinking in moderation can look like: a drink or two on occasion when you’re out with friends and family. It may look like a drink with dinner, or a glass of wine at the end of the day. This is pretty normal, right? Having a drink or two doesn’t (usually) cause us to make decisions that are different than we normally would.
Allow me to share something… You’ve heard me say it before, but remember: “the way you do one thing is the way you do everything.” So, if you’ve got an all or nothing relationship to food, you may have the same relationship to drinking. You also may feel that drinking is your time to let loose – and you may LOVE this because if you’re dieting, nothing feels better than letting loose.
Personal share: when I was dieting in college, I quite liked to drink on the weekends. Not because it made me have more fun (or maybe it did at that time!) or because I needed to, but it allowed me to LET LOOSE. All week long I would be super “good” with my food, my exercise routine, my habits, etc… drinking allowed to “blame it on the alcohol” (I just said that…) and do whatever I wanted —> Jack n’ the Box, Nacho’s, forgetting exercise the next day… sounds irresponsible, and it was… but it also felt liberating in the moment after being so strict all week!
When you’re eating intuitively (which I do now), you can have ANY food that you want at ANY time. You’re easier on yourself, and you don’t feel the need to wildly LET LOOSE through things like drinking. When you eat, sure, you may crave a little more salt and a little less sugar (that can be expected with drinking – so know that), but you’re not trying to “just go for it” and “get all the good stuff in” before the night is over (and you have to be better again once Monday hits). You’re neutral about your routine, you don’t have strict rules, and if you sense that you need some fun, you give it to yourself once you recognize that. You don’t hoard fun for the weekends and overwork yourself to boredom during the week.
Is this making sense? Can you see how moderation & remaining neutral is key?
RECREATIONAL DRINKING, RE-DEFINED
A little bit of alcohol here and there is probably not going to make you gain weight, or alter your decision making process.. Again, this is my personal opinion and experience and it does depend on the person..
If you want to go out and have fun with your friends, great! Do it. If you want to order a drink with dinner, awesome, go for it. But remember, moderation. You probably don’t need a drink every single time you go out to dinner, right? Can water with ice cubes and lemon be okay sometimes?
Also, we need to get to know ourselves. Our fun sides, our awesome sides, and our totally dorky sides – and we need to be okay with all parts of ourselves.
Personal share: I used to drink excessively when I knew there was going to be dancing involved. I would get super shy beforehand, and knew drinking would help me let go of anxiety and just have fun. What I didn’t realize, and now know, is that I didn’t actually have to drink in order to dance and have fun. In fact, I could have and still can embrace my goofy side, dance like crazy, and not give two you-know-what’s about what everyone else thinks. The reality is, I’m probably not the only person in the place who feels a little out of my comfort zone. I can realize it’s not the end of the world, and HAVE FUN on my own.
Check-in with yourself right now. Do you drink more than you would like to in any specific situation(s)? Think about those situations… what’s going on there? Why does it seem like a good idea to “just go for it” during those times?
What parts of you can you EMBRACE, instead?
Let’s be okay with having a drink or two, and getting to know ourselves a little bit more. Let’s recognize that there really is too much of a good thing, and also trust that we don’t need to drink a lot in order to have fun (don’t get me wrong – I’ve definitely had my fair share of drinking too much, as I’ve mentioned! I’m still not perfect, nor do I aim to be).
TIPS & TRICKS
You might be wondering things like:
“When all of my friends are drinking, and we stay out for HOURS… How do I just have one or two drinks?”
“I live in San Francisco [haha – this is true, right?!] and people here drink ALL the time. What do I do when people ask me out for drinks, literally, Monday through Sunday?”
“I love having a drink at the end of the day, is this okay?”
Here are my “tips & tricks”:
- Save it of when you want it (but also don’t go all or nothing on me – remain neutral). Get used to not drinking every single day after work, or every time you go out to eat. Instead, have it on that fun weekend night when you’re going out with friends. This will crowd out excessive drinking throughout the week.
- When you’re out with friends, drink water in between cocktails. I swear by this! Order your drink, “babysit” it (sip it slow, even when people make fun of you!), and have a glass of ice water with lime in between.
- EAT before you drink, or while you’re drinking. Do not, I repeat, do not drink on an empty stomach. It’s just never a good idea and you’re not going to feel well. It’s good to eat when you’re drinking.
- Drink non-sugary drinks whenever you can. Sugar and alcohol don’t mix well. Yuck. Which is why we typically crave things like chips & salsa after a night out, not cookies and ice cream (or, maybe you do!). I’m thankful for this, because can you imagine the hangover after going out drinking and then downing Ben & Jerry’s? Oh God… my stomach hurts just thinking about it…
- Having a drink at the end of the day is not excessive by any means, but check in with yourself. Is there anything else you’d LIKE to do? Is this serving you well (maybe so! Maybe not. No judgement – just curiosity)? What is it (what feeling) that you want to be experiencing at the end of the day?
- Lastly, recommend other things to your friends. Especially if you live in a place like San Fran, where EVERYONE recommends that you “grab a drink and an appetizer” after work. I’m sure you’re not the only person who is sick of drinking. Come up with something else to do! I swear – the city has more than just bars and alcohol ;).
RECIPE
I love this drink! It’s super light, refreshing, and doesn’t leave you with a headache. It’s not packed with sugar, like a margarita or lemon drop would be (I love my occasional lemon drop, too – no fooling you here!). Start ordering things like this, and you’ll see that those other sugary drinks are just too much to have regularly.
To order out, say: I’ll have a “Peach Vodka Soda with Lime.” <– Get extra lime if you’d like!
To make at home:
- 4 large ice cubes
- 1 oz peach vodka
- the juice of half a lime
- a slice or two of lime (it’s just pretty!)
- the rest, fill with club soda (not tonic water, which is loaded with sugar)
Enjoy!
Let’s start some convo below. I’d love to answer questions and/or hear from you:
What are your drinking tips & tricks? Can you relate to anything in this post? How do you practice moderation with alcohol? Leave a comment!
I hope this was helpful – if it was, please share it with a girl friend &/or on social media. As you leave here today, please remember that I’m not the expert in this area: I’m just sharing personal experience, girl to girl. Thanks!
xo,
P.S. We’re still letting people in to Self-Love Summer. If you join today we’ll send you the first email, the full recording to the first call, and you’ll get email #2 this Sunday: Summer Joy! Join.