Look, I'm not going avoid the reality that many of you drink, and drink often, and drink too much. That's one of the main reasons you are tired and overweight.
But enough of the lecture, let's look at a 5 step plan to get you out of the booze routine and into a more energetic, healthier, leaner lifestyle.
Over at Men'sHealth.com, I was recently asked by a young lawyer what he should do at social events that include boozing. And as you know, lawyers are around booze early, often, and repeatedly (mind you, if you have a flask in your desk, you're beyond this article).
The calories from alcohol (150 per shot) add up fast. Add in calories from mix (another 150) and you are looking at 300 calories per round (ie. from a jack and coke), compared to 150 calories from a regular beer (110 from lite beer), and about 150 from wine.
Throw into the mix the poor food choices we make when drinking, and you could be looking at a 5000 calorie night when all is said and done (10 drinks at 300 calories, plus 2000 calories from really poor food choices during the drinking and post-bar food on the way home).
Hey, I know how it goes. I see it every week, since I live steps away from the upscale club district in downtown Toronto frequented by the lawyers, brokers, and socialites. And every Friday through Sunday mornings, the street looks like an overnight free-for-all buffet occurred...covered in half eaten pizza slices, almost finished sausages, and vomit (all of which my dog greatly appreciates).
Listen, booze plus fast food is probably one of the biggest obstacles to your success. You can be on track from Monday to Thursday with your workout and eating and then ruin it all in a 6-hour bender. Some guys live like this for 20-30 years. And it literally kills some guys.
So here's a 5-step process to minimizing the damage from booze. Each time you go out, master one of these steps, and soon you'll have a good handle on how to "behave" at the work related boozefests without blowing your calorie limit or your cool.
1) Stick to your eating plans at the cocktail parties.
Have a protein shake and fiber-rich snack (an apple or almonds) before you go to the social event (provided the event you are going to does not include dinner). If it includes dinner, eat as you would any other meal (protein, fiber rich fruits and vegetables, no need for excess carbohydrate, no dessert)
2) If someone orders shots, pretend to drink it and throw it over your shoulder.
Worked on Rob Lowe in Youngblood, so it might just work when the party starts getting out of control.
Seriously, just stay away from the hardcore drinking. Binge drinking is pretty nasty on your body, and I won't get into the questionable life choices we make when we're blitzed - any episode of Family Guy can explain this far better than I can.
3) Eliminate mix from your drinks.
Jack and diet. Not jack and coke. It's a start. It's not ideal if you're still drinking 10 per nite, but hey, I'm a realist. We'll work on booze volume next.
4) Drink less, get less drunk.
Drinking less serves several purposes.
First, fewer booze calories (1 beer or 1oz of hard liquor generally equal 150 calories).
Second, you don't eat street meat after the bar, saving you more calories.
Third, you don't say anything inappropriate to your boss or co-workers.
Fourth, you don't sleep through your alarm.
And fifth, you get up, workout, get to work on time, and actually get something done.
But let's face it. This is the hard part. If you're out of control, you need professional help - and again, that's beyond the scope of this article. But if you're just sick of getting poor quality sleep and having too many calories each night, lets find some ways to cheat the system.
Aside from willpower, how can you drink less?
- Get your drinks in a tall glass, not a short one. Takes longer to drink.
- Don't use a straw for your vodka-diet redbulls.
- Drink beer from the bottle - it slows you down and fills you up faster (gives you the bloated feeling).
- Alternate between glasses of water and booze.
- Nurse it. Set a limit of 1 drink per hour.
- Do something else besides drink.
Spend less time drinking and more time talking to people and learning from them. Even if you do that one out of every 2 nights you go drinking, you'll cut back on calories and load up on experience.
I can't imagine you'd get any more valuable info than from hanging out with a half drunk senior partner while he starts spilling the beans...good times should ensue.
5) Don't drink.
You've reached step 5.
It might take you 3 years to get to this point, but eventually you should aim to get here. Respectfully decline the offer to drink. Get a water instead. You'll get razzed early, but eventually, provided you are a good guy, people wont' care.
And eventually we all need to be social without the need for the social lubricant.
Pull that off, and you'll be miles ahead of the rest,
CB
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