To enable you to keep up with your social life while staying mindful about making health-conscious choices, Inspirations & Celebrations’ Health & Wellness Contributor, Kristine Don, shares 8 easy ways to stay healthy while socializing.
A busy social life means you’re always enjoying some type of social outing, from indulgent brunches and movies with soda and popcorn to parties heaping with wines and spirits.
How To Stay Healthy While Socializing
Eating (and drinking) well while having fun can be a major chore, but it isn’t impossible. Here are 8 healthy ways to reduce the toll your next party takes on your body:
Get your groove on! Dancing can burn up to 400 calories an hour if you get your entire body into it. Lots of high kicks and fist pumps will burn even more, as will good old-fashioned jumping around.
Eat your fats. Preparing for a party by eating at home might seem counter-intuitive, but being full of good fats from avocado, nuts, seeds, and dairy before you arrive will slow the slow the rate at which alcohol and sugar hit your bloodstream. It will also help you resist unhealthy party snacks.
Don’t drink. Alcohol and fun might seem to go hand in hand, but sometimes the most fun can be had at sober events. To avoid drinking at parties, especially when the pressure’s on, try filling your cup with whole milk with a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg — I do that and tell people I’m drinking Fireball and milk. They take one whiff and are none the wiser!
Be a picky drinker. Everyone always blames the tequila, but there is science behind the idea that cheap liquor causes worse hangovers. The more times a spirit is distilled, the more congeners removed, the less hangover-causing compounds it contains. Go with light-colored liquor with more distillations.
Prioritize potassium. Electrolytes such as potassium are vital to keep you hydrated. Too much alcohol or salt without potassium-rich foods will throw you off balance. Choose avocado, spinach, sweet potato, bananas, and coconut water whenever you can, and keep hydrated!
Eat your berries — cooked, not raw. As you probably know, berries are full of antioxidants, which help our body handle busy lifestyle factors like stress, smoking, and alcohol. Unlike some other foods, blueberries may increase in antioxidants when cooked, so don’t pass on the blueberry pie!
Stock up on protein. If you’re headed to an event you know will be heavy on alcohol and sugar, you can avoid the blood sugar fluctuations that combination creates by eating protein-rich foods like grass-fed beef earlier in the day.
Cut out the stress. The stress hormone cortisol causes us to store fat and increases our appetite. Don’t worry too much about what you’re eating or avoiding, and focus on having a blast! If you’re busy enjoying yourself, you might not even remember to go back for another plate at the buffet. It’s a win-win!
Keeping your health in mind while having a good time doesn’t mean ordering only oatmeal and fruit at brunch or skipping parties entirely. If you plan ahead, eat the right foods, and stay active while you’re out, you’ll be able to rock the night away with no regrets.
Health & Wellness Contributor: Kristine Don
Kristine Don is a big-time science nut who dabbles in the world of health and wellness from time to time as the editor and content manager at SmartyPants Vitamins, home of The Good Gummy and one of Inc.’s 500 Fastest-Growing Companies of 2015. As a Health & Wellness Contributor to Inspirations & Celebrations, Kristine shares easy-to-follow health tips that can be incorporated into your everyday life.
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