Trying to watch your waistline by limiting the amount of booze you imbibe? Easier said than done when it’s happy hour and you’re out with your favorite lushy friends or coworkers. Darya Pino Rose, Ph.D., feels your pain. Her new book, “Foodist: Using Real Food and Real Science to Lose Weight Without Dieting,” which hits book shelves today, is loaded with realistic, spot-on advice for making smarter food choices so you can slim down without starving or sacrificing fun. Check out her tips on how to keep yourself in check at cocktail hour without your friends or coworkers catching on—or waking up with a hangover the next day.MORE: 5 Ways Alcohol Sabotages Your Fitness Goals
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I have nothing against people who like to party. Partying is really fun and a lot of the time I’m right there leading the crusade. But we all know those people who really like to drink and like to do it often. Not only do these people take their own drinking a little too far, they’re experts at pressuring others to keep up with them drink for drink. And they’ll use mockery, guilt, generosity, logic, peer pressure and dozens of other tactics to get everyone around them to keep the party going. These friends are fun to have, until they aren’t.As fun as it is to party, sometimes you want to go out and have a good time without regretting it the next day. Rejecting drinks can be even more awkward if alcohol is a big part of your off-site work culture, where turning down a glass makes you look antisocial or not a team player. It is nice to have a way to hit it a little less hard, preferably without drawing attention to your secret plan.Feel free to mix and match these tricks, as different situations call for different lines of defense.MORE: The Downfall of Drinking Your Calories1. Alternate with waterAlternating with water is a tried-and-true way to both cut back on alcohol and stay hydrated, thereby preventing a hangover. Every drink or two, go to the bar and ask for some water. You don’t need to make excuses for this: You’re thirsty and will get another drink in a second. Just be sure to finish the water and feel free to take your time.2. Drink clear liquidsClear liquids like gin and vodka look like ice that has melted. So if you don’t want to finish every drink that comes your way, you can always leave a little in your old glass, and no one will notice you aren’t tossing back as much as everyone else.3. Order drinks that look like alcohol (but aren’t)Another advantage of clear liquids. Vodka soda with lime is my favorite go-to drink on late nights, and it’s awesome for several reasons. Besides being easily palatable and sugar free, it gives you the option of leaving out the vodka altogether. Just order a club soda with lime and ask the bartender to make it look like a cocktail—they are usually more than happy to comply.4. Be forgetfulYou don’t have to be limited to clear liquids to abandon the occasional half-full glass. Leave your drink on the bar, in the bathroom, on a random table or anywhere it won’t attract attention. That way when someone hands you another, you’re ready.MORE: Can You Mix Pregnancy and Alcohol After All?5. Drink light beerIf you’re a beer drinker and all this talk of clear liquid is making you squirm, never fear. There is a huge difference in the alcohol content of beers, with light beers coming in around 4 percent alcohol and some fancy Belgians topping out at over 10 percent. You do the math. If you know you’ll have to get through more than you’ve bargained for, opt for lighter beers. If you’re like me and think some domestic light beer tastes like donkey pee, go with a Mexican beer like Corona and add a lime. I can drink those all night and barely get a buzz going—and I’m little.6. Master the shot spitDrinking nights often don’t turn crazy until someone starts ordering shots, and then it’s all over. Bartenders have this problem too, since drunk people often think they’ve found a new best friend and gratefully buy their server shots throughout the night. To avoid getting hammered on the job, bartenders keep a half-empty pint of beer nearby and pretend to use it as a chaser when in reality they are spitting the shots back into it. If you know your friends are likely to “surprise” everyone with shots, be sure to have a nearby water glass or pint that you’re nursing. Use the old bartenders’ trick, and no one will suspect. I know it’s gross, but it works. Just remember to not actually drink the beer later.7. Show up lateSometimes special occasions are specifically set aside for excessive drinking. If you need to make an appearance, but would rather not sacrifice your liver, show up 45 minutes to an hour late. Everyone else will already be one drink ahead of you.8. Order half shotsIf you’re in charge of ordering your own drinks and vodka soda isn’t your thing, ask for your regular cocktail, but request a half shot instead of a normal one. You’ll still get the fun of drinking, but each drink will contribute less to tomorrow’s headache.MORE: Guilt-Free Versions of Your Favorite Hangover Munchies Excerpted from Foodist: Using Real Food and Real Science to Lose Weight Without Dieting by Darya Pino Rose. Copyright © 2013 by Darya Pino Rose. Used with permission of HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers.
