Choose Your Booze
Drinking season is upon us, friends! Many of our new clients have been asking how we drink alcohol while minimizing the impact on our bodies. Well, you've come to the right place! First, here are some truth bombs about alcohol you may not know:
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When you drink alcohol, you don't burn body fat. Your body registers alcohol as a toxin and wants to get rid of it ASAP. So, your liver prioritizes the metabolism of alcohol over all other functions, like breaking down triglycerides and absorbing nutrients from your food.
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Alcohol causes excess estrogen in the body. Drinking alcohol (especially red wine) interferes with the healthy metabolism of estrogen in the body. Ladies, if you suffer from severe PMS, heavy periods, etc., drinking alcohol can make it worse, not better. Dudes, you probably don’t want an excess of estrogen in the bod either.
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Alcohol interferes with your sleep. We know… some of us like the ritual of a glass of wine or beer to end the day and get ready for bed. But this disrupts your quality of sleep, which can lead to a host of other issues the following day.
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Alcohol is a depressant. OK, this isn’t new information, but it’s one we tend to ignore! If you already get the blues, especially in the winter, there may be better ways to cope than drinking alcohol.
Sound like a deal-breaker? It doesn't have to be! Here are our tried and true strategies for drinking sensibly:
(photo by Andrea Orr: ^^us, drinking "sensibly" at a 10 a.m. photo shoot;)
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Eat before, drink after. Eat 45 minutes before drinking alcohol so your body actually absorbs the nutrients in your food. Plus, you’ll create more enzymes to break down your booze efficiently while getting less intoxicated.
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When drinking, go low carb with food. Even though alcohol is technically not a macronutrient, we track one serving as 30 grams of carbohydrates as it is most closely absorbed in the body as a toxin and a sugar. Keep all other carbs out of your meal to stay in balance.
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Choose the [HARD] booze. Not all alcohol is created equal. Your best bet is to go with a hard liquor (if your body can tolerate it!) with no mixer or a calorie-free mixer like soda water. Our favorite is Mescal and Tequila – both of which are less likely to act as a depressant in the body.
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Get your H2O! Duh. But seriously, drink your water friends! If you want to get really fancy, consume 24 oz of water with 1/4 of a cup of fruit juice prior to drinking. The glucose from the juice will pull the water through your system to hydrate more quickly than water alone.
We hope this helps!
As always, email us if you have any questions or want to learn more.
p.s. want to give a loved one the gift of health this season? Email us at [email protected], and we'll hook you up with a gift certificate, like this one below for our 8-week online introduction to Vinyasa Yoga course with optional coaching!
We also offer private coaching packages, online courses, body composition scans, a workout app, and more! It is truly our honor to support your endeavors in health and wellness. Please reach out to us anytime - we want to hear from you!
In love and health,
Shannon and Lisa
