Nicky Park: The ripple to quitting the tipple
Pre-wagon days any healthy habits were thrown out the window on the weekend. Photo / Supplied
What you drink affects the food you eat. This makes sense. A slice of banana cake tastes lovely with a cuppa. Wine selections elevate the flavour of food, and beer with nuts is a match made in heaven.
These aren't the healthiest combos. But, on the flip side, I read some recent research on Medical Daily that suggests drinking water prompts people to pick healthier foods.
A US study of 60 adults aged between 19 and 26 found those who sipped soft drink tended to eat salty, calorie-packed food. A separate study on 75 children aged three to five found when the kiddies were drinking water they were more likely to reach for veggies than if they were drinking juice.
Last week of life on the wagon, I wrote about my association with over-indulgence on the weekend. I like to treat myself and had swapped my usual Friday wine time for carbs and candy.
However, after nearly a month being alcohol free, I feel like my body is bouncing back. The weekends have more hours than ever before, and I've got the energy to suck every last drop from them. And my lifestyle is so much more wholesome. It feels like completely cutting out one vice has had a ripple effect.
Pre-wagon it wasn't uncommon to forget Friday dinner as wine time with the girls carried on in to the evening. Saturday would be spent grazing plates laden with foods that I know my body doesn't respond well to. Sunday I'd be craving bad things to mop up the boozy weekend and there would be no energy to spare for exercise. This isn't a cycle that I'm proud of, and my honesty has prompted a mixed response from readers. However, I'm sure this is a familiar story for some.
For the first time in what feels like a decade, I didn't let my usual attempt at holistic health slip come happy hour Friday. I managed to get physical on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and I ate foods that made my insides sing. I'm feeling full of beans, not bloated with beer.
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Do you tend to break a healthy routine when the weekend rolls around? (Surely I'm not alone!) Do you think there are ripple effects when it comes to living well?
It's a lack of will-power and self-control, not the booze. I was binge-drinking for 8 hours on Saturday night and then ran a half-marathon on Sunday night. Do you think I felt like it? Especially in the rain? No, but you get out there and you do it anyway. And beer is packed full of carbs, so that surely gives you more energy to burn at the gym?
I find I exercise far better if I have pizza and beer the night before. Which makes sense to me. I'm hydrating myself (beer is mostly water) and carb-loading. Plus your sodium levels will be right up, so less risk of cramp.
Seriously, the best diet ever is eating and drinking whatever you want (within reason, I'm not advocating KFC) and then exercising hard out.