2 Must-know tips about drinking alcohol on vacation without gaining weight
As a nutritionist, I get asked a lot about drinking alcohol and losing weight, especially during vacation season! Part of the vacation experience is having a glass of wine at dinner and something fruity with an umbrella when you’re sitting by the pool. I get it, Mama! I felt the same way when I went to Cabo this year. I’m here to show you how to enjoy your vacation and a few drinks without gaining weight!
When I went to Cabo in February, I did more drinking in four days than I have done in four years! For the most part, I’ve given up drinking because I don’t enjoy the hangover, but this trip was adults only and I wanted to have some fun! So I ordered my favorite drink to sip poolside, did shots with my friends and had a blast!
I came back from my vacation three pounds heavier and it was gone within a week because I knew what to do before, during and after drinking. That’s what I’m going to teach you today!
Alcohol isn’t the main reason you gain weight
Let’s start with a few facts. Alcohol is hard on your body. Your body considers alcohol a toxin, that’s why you get intoxicated when you drink. In order to flush out the toxins your body puts all other processes on hold and prioritizes flushing out the alcohol. Alcohol and fat are processed by the liver. To get rid of the alcohol, your body stops breaking down fat for a few hours.
A few hours of no or slow fat processing isn’t going to cause you to gain excess weight - especially if you only drink occasionally. What does cause a lot of weight gain is the decisions we make with food after we drink.
Drinking lowers your inhibitions. It’s like in college when you’d go out with your friends and there was that guy that kept hitting on you. At the beginning of the night, you were like no way - not interested. But after a few drinks you started to think hey, he’s ok looking and the next thing you knew, you were making out with him.
This guy did not get cuter. Your inhibitions lowered and you forgot what was important to you long-term! This is exactly what happens when you drink - you lose sight of your goals.
Instead of making choices that will get you to where you want to be, you make choices in the moment that sound good - like tacos and burgers and another drink or two!
Drinking leads to overeating, which is why you’re gaining more than you should when you drink.
Now, let's dive into how to avoid gaining weight when you do have a drink on vacation (or at a BBQ or on a random Wednesday night!)
Make sure you’re eating enough food (especially protein!) before you drink
The key to fighting cravings, especially when you’re drinking and your inhibitions are lowered, is not being hungry! During vacation, your body gets thrown off its normal schedule, which triggers more hunger cues. You’re also probably around more food or more fun foods than you normally are. All of these temptations build up and it feels impossible to stay on track.
If you want to avoid gaining weight on vacation, then you have to set yourself up for success by starting each day with a solid, healthy breakfast. When I was in Cabo, I started every day with a breakfast that was similar to what I would eat at home. I don’t normally start my day with a donut - so I didn’t do that on vacation.
I do usually start my day with protein (and coffee of course!) so that’s what I did on vacation. I would order a high-protein breakfast that would fill me up and start my body off with the fuel it needed.
After a hearty breakfast, you can choose to do intermittent fasting, where you don’t eat for a few hours so that you can consume more calories for dinner and drinks. Or you can choose to eat smaller meals throughout the day. Neither option is better than the other, but you just want to be aware of how much you’re eating.
You also want to think about how alcohol will play into your eating plans for the day. Alcohol labels are almost useless! They aren’t controlled by the FDA so they don’t have to account for nutrients like food labels do. Make sure you pay attention to the calorie count and the carbs! A Michelob Ultra that has 120 calories can be 6g carbs it's mathematically impossible when there are 4gs of carbs for 1 calorie.
Instead of using the label's information, take the total calories - because that’s the most correct information on the label - and divide it by 4 to understand how many carbs you’re having! For that 120-calorie Michelob Ultra, you’re actually having 30g of carbs! That’s a huge difference!
Creating awareness around your food and drinks doesn’t mean that you can or can’t have them. It shouldn’t create restrictions. Awareness allows you to make decisions that serve you and help to pinpoint what might have taken you away from your goals. If you do gain more weight than you wanted to, then you can review what you did and try something new next time!
Drink more water than alcohol
We all know that drinking water is important but it’s essential when you’re on vacation for several reasons! If you’re on a tropical vacation or basically anywhere during the summer you need to make sure you’re drinking more water.
Remember the baseline for water is half of your body weight in ounces. If you’re spending time outside, doing physical activity or it’s just hot you need to increase that y 8-12 oz minimum.
If you’re drinking alcohol, you need to drink even more water! For every alcoholic drink, you have you should have an extra 8-16 oz of water.
Alcohol is dehydrating by nature so it’s important to drink water before, during and after drinking to avoid dehydration. You can have a glass or two of water before you order a drink and then it’s a good idea to alternate between water and alcohol while you’re drinking for these two reasons:
You’re slowing down how much alcohol you’re consuming. Adding a glass or two of water in between drinks will fill you up so you’re naturally going to drink less alcohol.
Drinking water helps flush the alcohol out of your system faster. This will shorten your hangover time and help your body get back to processing fat faster!
It’s also a good idea to include electrolytes drinks as part of your hydration plan. Because alcohol is dehydrating it flushes electrolytes and sodium out of your body and replenishing them will help you rehydrate faster. Single serving electrolyte mix-ins like Liquid IV are great to pack in your bag to help you rehydrate!
These tips are great for helping you avoid gaining weight while enjoying a few drinks during your vacation. However, if you come back from vacation and weigh more than you’d like to, you will want to start creating healthy habits that will help you lose the weight and give you the knowledge to prevent it from happening again.
This is what I teach the women in my Macros Made Easy program. We talk about creating healthy habits that help you lose weight or maintain weight loss when you’re at home or on vacation! It’s all about creating your healthiest life without restrictions! Schedule a free discovery call today to get started on your healthy life.
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