How to Lose Weight Without Giving Up Booze
These genius diet and fitness hacks will keep your glass full and your waist teeny-weeny
So, you’ve decided to go on a diet. Welcome to the club. An estimated 45 million Americans are trying to drop lbs right now. The weight-loss industry is constantly booming, but I think we can all agree that dieting isn’t exactly fun. The main reason? Whether you’ve decided to go low-carb, gluten-free or Paleo the first thing to go when you start any diet is always the most fun: alcohol.
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Booze is 100 percent off the menu of most diet plans – and understandably so. There are myriad ways that drinking can derail your weight loss efforts. According to registered dietitian Christen Cooper, alcohol serves up the sort of hidden calories, dehydration and junk food binges that can put the kibosh on even the most strong-willed dieters.
That said, giving up the hard stuff altogether can be a serious bummer. Nobody’s looking to get slammed here. But going cold turkey? We’re too attached to our weekly happy hours and vino-accompanied dinners .
Fortunately we got to pick the brains of a few trusty dieticians and fitness experts to find out some unexpected hacks for drinking on a diet. If you’re looking to lose weight without surrendering your social life, you’re among friends. Just follow these eight pro tips.
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When you wake up with a fatal hangover, you’re more than willing to postpone that crack-of-dawn Crossfit class you’d planned. Not a great start to any dieter’s day. According to celebrity fitness trainer and author of “This Is Why You’re Sick and Tired” Jackie Warner, we have alcohol’s draining effect on our muscles and hormones to thank.
Warner says that a long night of drinking robs your body of a chemical called Human Growth Hormone (HGH), which plays an integral role in building and repairing muscle. HGH usually gets to work while you snooze, but the screwy sleep patterns caused by drinking bring that process to a screeching halt.
In addition, a night of cocktails also throws off your body’s water balance, inhibiting your muscles from producing ATP, or muscle energy, adds Warner. The result? You can’t lift a finger, much less a medicine ball.
The best thing you can do for your hangover and your weight loss plan is to get your heart pumping. You’re too energy-depleted for lifting weights. But Lori Kenyon Farley, certified nutritional consultant and co-founder of Project Juice, says light cardio gets your metabolism moving, which is not only good for your waistline, but helps your body process the alcohol faster.
“Sweating may also increase your thirst, which leads to more water consumption,” says Farley. This will ultimately combat dehydration – a major reason for your hangover. Try taking a brisk walk outside or, if you’re up for it, a spin class. You’ll cure your hangover and get in a workout all at once.
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It’s not just the calories in booze we have to worry about – the act of drinking itself slows down your body’s ability to burn fat.
“Your body treats alcohol like a toxin,” explains board-certified weight loss physician and founder of bistroMD Dr. Caroline Cederquist, MD. And our liver is responsible for getting rid of it.
So when we drink, our liver gets busy processing the toxin. That means our body postpones other important functions – like burning fat, explains Ethel Baumberg, co-founder of Flyaroo Fitness. The faster you drink, the more overwhelmed your liver gets, and the further its fat-burning responsibilities get pushed by the wayside.
“Your liver can process approximately one drink per hour,” explains Baumberg. So, to stay on track, wear a cute watch and monitor your pace. By putting booze into your body only as fast as your liver can get rid of it, you’ll continue burning fat efficiently.
One drink per hour sound a little slow for you? Keep reading.
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It’s easy to go overboard at happy hour, especially considering what we know about our overworked livers. One round turns into two turns into five, and before you know it, you’ve totally lost track and your diet goes out the window.
“Ice your drinks,” Cooper advises. “Most drinks, especially red wine, are served warmer than they were intended to be imbibed.” Icing your drink adds hydration, coolness and enlarges the volume of your drink without upping the calorie content, she explains, meaning it will take longer to finish. “As for ice cubes in red wine, some people turn up their noses, but I do it anyway,” she says. “I learned this on my honeymoon in Provence – even the French chill their reds in the summer.”
More of a cocktail gal? Another tip for slowing down your pace is to ditch the sugar. “Sugary drinks [like margaritas and daiquiris] are easier to down, and those can be a problem when you’re on a roll,” says Baumberg.
“Skip the mixers altogether,” recommends corporate dietitian at Medifast, Alexandra Miller, RDN, LDN. Order a spirit or flavored liquor on the rocks – one that you enjoy sipping. Not only will it curb your pace, you’ll earn cred for being badass enough to drink straight liquor.
As most of us know, alcohol dehydrates our bodies like crazy. And dehydration can wreck your weight loss plan in a number of ways. First, it’s the leading cause of killer hangovers, which are the leading cause of lazing in bed all day eating fries and doughnuts. (Or is that just me?)
Across the board our experts recommend matching a glass of water for every alcoholic beverage. “This will help you pace yourself and keep count of how much you’re drinking, while staying more hydrated,” says Cederquist.
Go an extra step and make it a glass of sparkling water with lime. “It still looks like an alcoholic drink, but will allow you to hydrate and limit the amount you are really drinking,” says Cederquist.
Flavored sparkling water also makes the perfect zero-calorie mixer.
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More than one of us has awoken after a night of too many cocktails to find mysterious fast food remains and empty ice cream tubs littering our kitchens. According to Cooper, dehydration is to blame for this, too. “Excessive alcohol leaves some people craving more calories because they mistake thirst for hunger,” she says.
Another cause of the reviled drunk-binge is the same thing that makes you call all your exes and flash the bartender: lowered inhibitions. “When you’re intoxicated, you’re more likely to indulge in foods that you wouldn’t eat if you were sober,” says Baumberg. Before you know it, you’re Ubering through the Taco Bell drive-through, telling yourself, “Welp, diet starts tomorrow.”
It’s important to eat a full, balanced meal before or along with your alcohol to keep your blood sugar in check, says Miller. Skipping meals to “make room” for the calories in your booze will ultimately end up backfiring.
In fact, fatty foods do the best job of slowing down alcohol absorption and staving off binges. “This doesn’t mean that you should be stuffing your face with a burger and fries,” Baumberg clarifies. “Look for healthy fats like salmon, avocados and nuts.” With your stomach already full, you’ll be less likely to gorge on unhealthy food or more drinks.
If you do get snacky throughout the night, try ordering the veggie plate. Water-laden fruits and vegetables like berries, melons, cucumbers and celery can hydrate you just as much as your glass of Pellegrino.
You’d be horrified if you looked up the calorie counts of some cocktails. You might think there’s no harm in enjoying a single margarita with dinner, but blended beverages made with sugary pre-made mix can pack up to 700 calories in a single drink.
Similarly, kicking back with a few beers or half a bottle of wine with friends seems innocent enough, but depending on the color, sugar and alcohol content, you could easily tack on an extra thousand calories to your day, thanks to booze alone.
“Sip smart!” advises Cederquist. Try replacing sugary soda or juice with sparkling water or unsweetened iced tea as a mixer to avoid those hidden calories. Better yet, find a simple, low-calorie recipe you love, and stick to it whenever you drink. For example, consider making a wine spritzer or light mojito your signature drink. Courtesy of Cederquist, here are a few recipes to experiment with to find your go-to:
Wine Spritzer
¼ cup wine
¾ cup seltzer water
Vodka Soda
1 part vodka
2 parts soda water
Add fresh squeezed lime, lemon, grapefruit or orange for more flavor
Mojito Light
2 ounces white rum
Juice of half a lime
Mint leaves
4 ounces soda water
Drop of liquid Stevia
Let’s say you forgot to drink water, chugged strawberry daiquiris all night and then ate an entire bag of shredded cheese with your fingers. When you go off the rails, it can be really easy to say “screw it” and continue your unhealthy habits until you feel better. Though we can all relate, this is an excellent way to throw off your weight loss plan indefinitely.
At the end of your ill-advised evening – or the morning after – reach for a Vitamin C or activated charcoal supplement, a fresh green juice or smoothie.
Vitamin C works to block the conversion of alcohol into aldehyde, which is the most hangover-causing metabolite. Green juices and smoothies fuel your body with the minerals and vitamins it’s desperately craving. And activated charcoal speeds up the body’s removal of toxins – just as it filters your tap water. (Try Project Juice’s Black Magic lemonade.)
These surefire hangover cures not only make you feel better, they’re also ultra-healthful, putting you back on your weight loss plan like no greasy hangover breakfast ever could.
The Boozy Problem: Making the allowance for alcohol while you’re on a weight loss plan can be a slippery slope. You tell yourself you’ll be able to drink in moderation or that you can stick to the recommended serving sizes. For women, that adds up to five “standard” alcoholic drinks per week. A standard drink equals 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of liquor.
But being on a diet takes work, and even sticking to recommended limits can set you off course; so, just as you’ve put yourself on a strict workout regimen, you need to schedule your drinking, as well.
The Boozy Solution: “You really set yourself on a path for success or failure by how you start your day or your week,” says Farley. “If you start your week with cocktails on a Monday night, you are much more likely to drink more during the week than if you save your drinking for the weekend or special occasions.” Similarly, if you have a mimosa with brunch, there’s a higher chance you’ll keep drinking over the course of the day than if you hold off until dinner.
Instead, try making Friday and Saturday evenings between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. your designated drinking times (or whatever makes sense for your work schedule). You’ll be more likely to stick to such a definite plan.
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