Getting a beach bod while boozing- is it possible?

Happy Memorial Day! We spend this national holiday honoring those who have come and gone, and we do it by taking the day off work, eating City Market potato salad, and drinking way too many beers. Makes perfect sense to me.

As I was completing my 6 mile jog through the city park this morning, I marveled at the number of fellow runners (way to be motivated on your day off!) out and about, and I also marveled at the fact that the park was packed at 9 a.m. with groups of people firing up the community grills and cracking open 40 ounce cans of beer. At 9 a.m.
This, my fellow patriots, is truly the American way.

The juxtaposition really struck me: I was running, they were drinking. I was burning calories, they were consuming. But wait! I drink alcohol, so far be it from me to judge or throw stones. The true debate that arose in my head was not "to drink or not to drink", but rather "can you still have a rockin bod while throwin back the booze?". Alcohol consumption really has the potential to derail a diet. After all, that enormous piece of chocolate cake seems like a REALLY good idea after two martinis. Right? And sleeping in the morning after a night of boozing instead of going to the gym seems like an even better idea. You can see where this is going...it's a self-perpetuating cycle of consuming too many empty calories from booze, making poor food choices as a result, and then feeling like crap the next day and not working off the extra calories you just consumed.

So what's a wine-loving, cosmo-appreciating fitness fanatic to do? The answer is simple: count your booze calories, and stop after one drink. How do I know this works? Because I do it on a regular basis. I love wine, and I'm not talking about a school girl crush here. Red wine and I have a long-standing, devoted relationship based on mutual respect and a sharp awareness of each others weaknesses. We co-exist, and each party remains happy in the end.

My best advice for how to enjoy a tasty beverage without paying for it in pounds can be summarized as follows:

1. Avoid fruity, complicated drinks. Anything that has 1 shot of liquor and 5 other mixers is an absolutely no-no. This includes margs.
2. Drink at least 20 ounces of water before your first glass of alcohol. Often times people make the mistake of trying to hydrate with wine. This never works.
3. Eat a handful of nuts or a few slices of avocado before you start drinking. The fats will help stabilize your blood sugar, which usually spikes sharply with alcohol intake.
4. Stop drinking early. Set a cut-off time for yourself and stick to it. If your last glass of beer is at 9 p.m., you're much more likely to actually make that 7 a.m. workout the next morning.

And finally....count your calories!!! Here is a link to a great article called "The Skinny on Alcohol" and it includes a detailed chart of how many calories are in drinks.

http://www.lifescript.com/Body/Diet/Lose-weight/The_Skinny_on_Alcohol.aspx

Cheers!
Allison