How to drink less during the holidays

There are several reasons why you might want to dial back on your alcohol drinking during the holidays, including health, driving, weight management and budget constraints. In this article you’ll find 3 strategies to drink less during the holidays.

Why to drink less during the holidays

Many people tend to drink in excess during the holidays. While short-term excess drinking might not affect your health long-term, it might increase your chances of:

• Gaining weight. Each gram of alcohol contributes around 7 kilocalories (75% more than carbohydrate or protein, and almost 80% of what fat contributes).
• Getting in an accident, whether you drive or not. Accidents don’t only happen on the road, they can happen at home, in a venue, at the gym, etc.
• Negatively impacting your sleep, which is important for general health, performance and recovery.
• Negatively impacting your body composition and recovery by preventing muscle growth.
• Increasing gut permeability and gastrointestinal symptoms, and altering your gut microbiome.

How to drink less during the holidays

1. Alternate water and alcohol

Drink a glass of water for each alcoholic beverage. This will slow down your alcohol intake and keep you hydrated.

2. Drink less alcoholic drinks

For example, choose a light beer instead of a regular or a lower alcohol wine. If you are ordering spirits of cocktails, ask for a weak version (e.g. half ounce instead of a full ounce).

You can also water down your drink by adding water and/or ice. You might get concerned looks from other people, especially if you are drinking wine or beer, but you do you.

Another way of watering down a drink is adding soda/sparkling water to low alcohol drinks such as vermouth or amari (such as Campari and Aperol).

3. Drink non-alcoholic drinks

Non-alcoholic drinks have always been an option, for example: water, juice, cordial and soft drinks. However, during the holidays you might want to get a little fancier. Below are a few ideas:

• Soda water + a citrus wedge (lime, lemon, grapefruit, orange)
• Soda water + berries (e.g. strawberries, raspberries)
• Soda water + cucumber
• Soda water + mint
• Soda water + bitters + lemon/lime (bitters do contain a tiny bit of alcohol but it’s negligible)
• Flavoured soda/sparkling waters
• Kombucha (might contain a tiny bit of alcohol but it’s negligible)
• Non-alcoholic pre-mixed beverages (e.g. Naked Life non-alcoholic cocktails
• Non-alcoholic alternatives to spirits (e.g. Seedlip drinks)
• Electrolytes on ice, perhaps with a bit of soda water. This is the best way to rehydrate your body.
• Cold infusions, similar to flavoured herbal teas but can be brewed in cold water

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