Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Cutting Your Cocktails


We are now officially halfway through the summer. Crazy! Personally, I'm happy the summer's nearing its end this year. New York has been an oven since May and I'm over it. Because of the near 100 degree heat and awful humidity, I haven't been running outside as much, the subways feel like a sauna, and just walking outside my front door has been a feat. To cool off, I've been meeting with friends and indulging in summer-time, alcoholic kind of beverages. It was so hot a couple Sundays ago that two girlfriends and I decided to stay in an air-conditioned restaurant and drink Bloody Mary's all afternoon. We didn't want to venture back out in the heat so we just continued to enjoy each other's company and let's face it, far too many calories with each additional drink. This is not the way to keep trim and healthy for swim suit season.

Drinking socially can become a slippery slide if you want to keep your waistline from expanding. As you continue to drink, the more your inhibitions drop and the less likely you are to turn down another drink when offered, especially if that drink happens to be some delicious summer concoction. In New York, cutting down alcohol consumption is super tough because social drinking has become a big part of life for everyone here. A lot of my clients have to meet with co-workers or clients of their own after work hours, and generally those meetings will happen over drinks. They find that their weight loss efforts are being slowed because of the additional calories they consume with each drink. Because I've been running into this issue myself lately, I've decided to follow these guidelines for now:

  • Save cocktail indulgence for one day or perhaps two days a week.
  • Keep my drinks as clean as possible by ordering something like a vodka soda, maybe with a splash of cranberry (to keep things festive and summery looking with a touch of pink color ;-)).
  • Keep amount of drinks consumed to 2 drinks tops on nights I do indulge.
  • Drink a seltzer or a water between drinks to slow alcohol intake.

If you are trying to cut calories and lose weight, cut your alcohol intake significantly or completely. A glass of wine can contain as many as 200 calories per glass and a summery cocktail (i.e. a margarita) might add up to 500 calories to your daily intake! The sugar content in these fun indulgences can become insane as well. It all adds up and slows your progress. Be mindful and Be Well!

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