How to make alcohol work for you and not against you, spring break edition.

Oh alcohol. One of the biggest stressors when it comes to weight loss.
There are so many facets to this - so I am going to attempt to tackle one at a time.
First, and arguably most important, know this. When it comes to your body, it can only process one thing out at a time in terms of toxins vs. fat loss. It is ALWAYS going to choose “life” first and therefore, process out the toxins first - meaning it takes longer to process out fat loss. Therefore, when you do choose to drink you may notice that scale increase for a few days, pending how “hog wild” you went.
With that being said - there are ways to make “better choices” when it comes to drinking.
Rule 1 - Keep it simple. The mixed high sugar drinks are going to take WAY more carbs out of your day on top of the alcohol. Stick to the simple stuff…
Blanco tequila, Vodka, Rum, Whiskey/Bourbon, or Gin are all great options coming in around 24-26 carbs per standard size serving. Drink them straight, or add water/soda water/lime/lemon for a little added taste that does’t sacrifice more carbs.
Rule 2 - Calculating the macros. When in My Fitness Pal you’ll often find that it will log your alcoholic beverage strictly in calorie total but not account for any of your macros. WAG Nutritions recommendation is to use the following calculation to track correctly:
Drink total calories / 4 = Total Carbohydrates
Ex: 200 Calorie Drink / 4 = 25 Carbohydrates

• You can also log it as fat by dividing the total calories by 9, but NEVER log as protein. Protein is far too important of a Macro to hit and we do not want to take away from our daily Protein goal with alcohol.
  

Rule 3 - Stick to your plan! Make a plan in advance of what you plan to drink and stick to it. One of the main issues when we consume alcohol is we lose our will power - we say “screw it” and 1 drink turns in to 2, 3, 6, etc. Even worse, we then make really poor food choices and over consume fats and carbohydrates. All a bad combo. Eliminate the guilt and shame the next day and stick to your guns.
Rule 4 - It’s about the core memories - not the alcohol. Oof - that hits. But truly, we use alcohol as a crutch in so many ways. Follow rule 3 above and make the event/vacation/girls night out/date night about the people you are with and the memories you are making. Not about the beverage you are drinking. If you MUST have something in your hand to make you feel more comfortable - choose a seltzer water with some lemon or lime.
I’m no snub to alcohol - believe me. But if we drink on a consistent basis we are making it pretty difficult for our body to reach those goals we are after. Find a way to balance the two. You’ll be glad that you did.