This weekend I celebrated my 28th birthday!   I’m not gonna lie, I brought in my new year of life with great friends, family AND a few cocktails.   But now, at the start of my 28th year, I’m making a personal commitment to significantly reduce my alcohol consumption.  The time has come to face to the music: when striving to maintain a healthy lifestyle, body weight and overall wellness,  it’s in our best interest to cut down to 1 drink per day for ladies, 2 per day for gents. (This does NOT mean we can save up our daily budget to consume 7 drinks in 1 day). In fact, when looking to drop quick pounds, it’s best to ELIMINATE ALCOHOL ALTOGETHER!

Not only is booze high in calories (most carries 100-300 calories per drink), the real damage happens from the chemical effects that alcohol has on our mind and body. These are the FACTS:

• Alcohol dehydrates us and consequently slows down our metabolism
• Alcohol is “empty carbs” – no nutritional value so our bodies are forced to store it as fat
• Alcohol has a negative impact on athletic performance so we get less out of our workouts
• Alcohol increases our appetite making us more likely to binge eat

That said, I brainstormed some ways to help me consume less alcohol this year.  Hopefully these tips work for me – see if they work for you.  Enjoy!