The secret to celebrating St. Patrick’s day without gaining weight, even if you’re drinking!
Whenever a holiday approaches, I know that my inbox is going to be flooded with people asking me if they can drink alcohol and still lose weight. I love being able to tell people that with flexible dieting, it’s absolutely possible to enjoy a drink on a holiday and still lose weight!
I have been macro tracking for over seven years now, and I can tell you the only reason I’ve been able to make this my lifestyle is because I don’t have to completely cut out food! While I’ve chosen not to drink, I never tell my clients that they can’t! The secret to losing weight while still enjoying a drink is that you have to plan for it! This applies to holidays too!
If you want to drink this St. Patrick’s Day, then follow these steps to make sure you make smart choices that will keep you on the path towards weight loss.
Make a St. Patrick’s Day plan
Just like I teach my clients to plan their food ahead of time if you want to drink you need to make that plan ahead of time.
If you’re macro tracking or calorie counting, you should include any drinks you plan to have in your daily tracking. Alcohol has calories; therefore it must be counted!
Although alcohol isn’t a sugar, it breaks down in the same way, so I always tell my clients to treat it like sugar. And we know that sugar is a carbohydrate, so it will go towards your carb goals for the day. When you macro track it, you’ll divide the total calories in the drink by 4 to get the total grams of carbohydrates.
Don’t forget to plan the rest of your food for the day! The traditional St. Patrick’s Day food can be higher in sodium and you want to make sure you’re aware of what you’re eating so if you do see the scale go up the next day, you know why. Sodium and alcohol will both cause bloating, so maybe you avoid the corned beef if you want to have a drink!
Protect your plan!
Now that you have your St. Patrick’s Day plan, you have to protect it! While excessive drinking can lead to weight gain, an occasional beer or glass of wine shouldn’t mess up your weight too much, especially if you’ve planned for it.
What really throws us off of our goals is when our inhibitions are lowered and we can’t make logical decisions anymore. When we get intoxicated, we have a harder time saying no to the cravings that creep in, so you grab Taco Bell on your way home, and then eat ice cream and Oreos once you’re home. That all adds up and is what causes us to gain weight.
To help you avoid that path, I have a few suggestions. Once you’ve planned for your one drink, make a plan of what you’ll drink after that! If you’re out with a group, and don’t want people to notice that you’ve stopped drinking, you can always have a mocktail! When I’m out, I’ll bring diet cranberry juice with me and put it in a wine glass, no one knows that I’m not drinking and I have just as much fun!
The second suggestion is to tell someone about your plan. If you’re going out with your spouse, then let him or her know you’re planning on having one beer, but that’s it. Then if you start talking about grabbing another one, they can help remind you of your plan. An accountability partner who supports you is so helpful, especially when inhibitions are lowered and the temptation is high!
Enjoy a non-alcoholic St. Patrick’s Day
If you are steadfast in the pursuit of your goals, then maybe it’s not worth it to drink this St. Patrick’s Day. You can enjoy holidays - even big drinking holidays - without a drink!
Maybe you change your focus from going out and drinking to a fun family celebration instead. You could cook corned beef and cabbage, or shepherd’s pie with your kids and then have a pot o’ gold treasure hunt!
If you don’t want to miss out on fun drinks, then create some fun St. Patrick’s Day mocktails! There are so many recipes available for alcohol-free drinks. The great thing about mocktails is that it’s another thing you can do as a family.
If you struggle to stick to your goals during holidays, then it might be time to get a weight loss coach. I can help you stick to your goals even when you have a holiday or special occasion! Schedule a free discovery call today and we will get you on the healthy living path!
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