Feel Your Best After Holiday Celebrations
Alcohol is a diuretic, making it difficult for your body to retain water, vitamins and nutrients while drinking. That’s why, after a night out on the town, you tend to feel like there are tiny men with pickaxes mining fragments of your skull. To help you avoid the headaches and unsettled stomachs in the morning, we’ve put together a guide to get you through!
Preventative Measures
- Hydrate: Like we said, alcohol dehydrates the body of fluids — something you have no time for. Liz’s tried-and-true party ProTip is chasing every cocktail or glass of wine with another of water. If you’re having too much fun at the party and forget this little trick, down at least two glasses of good old H2O before bed (waking up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night will be worth it — promise)!
- Fat: We’re serious. “Fatty foods in particular stick to the stomach lining longer, slowing down the absorption of alcohol into the bloodstream,” says Tammy Lakatos Shames, R.D., co-author of The Secret to Skinny. Instead of eating a low-fat pre-party snack, try salmon and sautéed veggies or an avocado!
- Stay away from sugary drinks: While there’s not much science behind it, many people believe the sugar in sweeter cocktails contributes to nasty hangovers. Even if this isn’t true, sugar masks the intensity of the alcohol and causes our taste buds to crave more sugar at the same time, making us want another drink… and another… and another. Check out our HSM Cocktail Guide for smarter alcohol alternatives.
- Get your vitamins: Because alcohol affects your body’s ability to retain vitamins (most importantly vitamins B and C), your pre-party cocktail should be a vitamin one. Party veterans swear by packing in B and C vitamins before leaving the house to stave off the dreaded hangover. We love a cup of plain greek yogurt, rich in probiotics, protein and B-family vitamins, topped with blueberries, pistachios and freshly-squeezed lime juice for vitamin C and sunflower seeds for another added boost of B-6.
In the Morning
- HYDRATE: If you didn’t use water preventatively, we told you so rehydrating the day after a night out is key! You may not feel like consuming anything but a paper bag full of greasy food, but resist the temptation to pass on the H2O. Water is your best friend!
- Don’t drink the gatorade: Speaking of rehydration, because of alcohol’s diuretic qualities, it can also cause your electrolyte supply to take a hit. You may have been told to replenish those electrolytes with sugary sports drinks, but we’ll do you one better: coconut water. This superdrink is made from young, green coconuts and is low in calories, but high in electrolytes, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and amino acids! Stock your fridge with one of these Food Babe-approved coconut water brands before the party — your body will thank you.
- Sweat it out: As long as you’re not literally dead, you should get up and moving. A 35-minute HSM Express Class should do the trick in boosting your mood and helping your body rid itself of the toxins you consumed the night before!