Have you ever wondered Can you drink and stay fit?

After visiting a vineyard yesterday it got me thinking about drinking and staying fit. I remember when I first started out on my fitness journey, I quit drinking completely. It helped a lot in focusing me in my final year of university but I found myself craving a social life, I had no balance and when I finally decided to have my first night out in 6 months, I just wanted to go out over and over again, because I had been lacking this aspect of my life for such a long time. I now have a great balance and I believe it’s what helps me to stay focused in all aspects of my life.

I know people who think you shouldn’t touch alcohol if you’re trying to get fit but really at the foundation of fitness is good health. Health has 3 components, it’s physical, mental and social wellbeing. I also like to include spiritual wellbeing, so for me it’s 4, having 3 or 4 is dependent on who you are and your beliefs. A healthy lifestyle means balancing these 3/4 aspects. If you neglect one, it will have an impact on the rest of them and it will be easier to slip off track.

so, back to my question; Can you drink and stay fit? YES. You can, but there is a fine line, here’s some tips to make sure you don’t cross it.

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MODERATION IS KEY

Excessive amounts of alcohol will damage your progress. So try to plan when you’ll be drinking and stick to a maximum of 2 drinks 1-2 days per week. Socialising with your friends is important, so don’t decline invites out just because you’re on your health and fitness journey. I only really go out to clubs for birthdays, they are not my scene al all! For me, I prefer enjoy a glass of wine with a lovely meal, or even just now and again in the house to let loose after a long stressful day. If you’re going to drink on your fitness journey if you want to make progress, you have to maintain some self-discipline, it’s easy to slip into a habit of drinking most nights and this will hinder progress, making it easier to slip off track.

DON’T OVERDO IT

Let’s just say you have a night out planned and you know you’ll be having more than 2 drinks, it’s so important to know your own limits, getting black out drunk is not cute and it’s certainly not smart. Anything can happen to you! Knowing when to call it quits on the drink and move onto water is in a smart thing to do. Not only will you remember your night but you’ll also get home safe! Also remember; When taking shots and downing drinks quickly – they take time to enter your system. So it’ll hit you all at once. Try and sip your drinks slowly. I find when I go out, 4 drinks spread over 4 hours is a perfect amount for me, I have a great time and wake up hangover free.

STAY HYDRATED

Make sure in between every drink you are having a glass of water. This is easy to do at home, but when you’re out, not so easy – I agree! Once those drinks get flowing the last thing you want to do is start asking for water so here’s a great tip I do which really helps. When you get your drink from the bar ask for a round of water, make sure you get enough for all your friends too. After you’ve finished your drink, move onto the water as if it is also a drink. Don’t go back to the bar until you have finished the water.

DON’T DRINK ON AN EMPTY STOMACH

Make sure you eat a full solid meal before you start drinking. Good nutrition is important anyway but if you drink on an empty stomach, you’ll feel the effects of the alcohol faster and could end up drinking more than you need because of this. Your meal should be wholesome and contain lots of different vegetables to make sure you’re getting lots of different vitamins and minerals.