Mission: Recovery

  As I'm in the middle of recovering from the fun and eventful night last night, I will first say HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!!! How exciting! Every New Year is like a fresh start, each time. You have yet another chance to do better things than the year before. Rather it be doing charity work, dressing more sophisticated, focusing on academics harder, or more importantly, eating healthier. This is a fresh and clean slate to be a better you! This, of course, is where 'New Year's Resolutions' come in; and the hardest part is sticking to them, but you can do it if you put your mind to it! Don't give up because you slip up once, just get right back on track! I have faith in all of you!
     Now since it's a little after 3:30pm, I got up an hour ago, and I feel beyond exhausted; like, I'm struggling to keep my eyes open.. I decided to make something about recovering from these wild nights you may have in the future. You know, so you don't have to feel like death the morning after. Sound helpful? Okay, lets go.

     I'll give you a little background about me first. I'm 20 years old, my birthday is August 31st, and up until the July right before my birthday, I never drank at all (besides our family traditions, twice a year of a shot). I saw what alcohol did to people, the decisions they made, and the bad situations (usually) that they would get themselves in; so, I said I don't want to do that. I still hung out with people that drank, and went to parties still, I just didn't drink myself. Once more, I'm in a fraternity too, so that made people even more baffled. Nevertheless, I stood my ground, and said no to people that offered me any - and they respected that. 

Now, from June 18th - July 15th, I studied abroad in Italy. It was a beyond amazing time! I could go on and on about it! But more crucially to this, I went on a Tuscany Wine Tour. We went to various wineries in Tuscany, tasted different cheeses, meats, and, yup you guessed it, wine. You see, in Italia, drinking isn't like it is here. It's much more calm, people can control themselves, and more importantly, they don't drink just because. They're drinking with their culture - it represents family time, exchanging stories, and social gathering. This opened up my eyes to the whole concept, and has hanged my ways about drinking thus.

NOW FOR THE RECOVERY

• Through my first times of drinking, I've found that I know when to stop, and I can control my alcohol intake. I've also found that my Nutrition instincts kick in very quickly when I get near my point - A.K.A PSR (Point of Safe Return). When that point gets near, I start drinking lots of water. The morning after, I wake up fine, no headaches, no tiredness (from the alcohol) - it's amazing! I predict that drinking water before going to bed circulates the fluids in your body, so the junk isn't just sitting still overnight. The water starts refreshing your body through the night, so you wake up much better than you would otherwise.
• From this point on, you're going to want to AVOID  junk foods at all costs. You don't want to add to your already existing aches and problems. Eat whole grains, fruits, vegetables - the nutrients in them will do wonders, and you'll start feeling better exponentially. There are antioxidants (yup, those again) that will take care of all the toxins you've absorbed, along with the protein that will help your body recover as well. Stay AWAY  from the processed foods - pizza, chips, etc. Again, adding to the problem
• Lets say you get absolutely plastered, like many Americans did last night, and you're dying this morning. If you didn't drink water the night before, start being responsible now, and drink some before you consume anything else; it will flush out what's been sitting in your body.
• Something you can keep in mind while drinking, is to keep an eye on how much you drink in an hour. Typically, a shot or one beer per hour is ideal. However, I know much better than this, and I'm well aware that people won't abide by this rule perfectly; I'm not naive nor foolish. I'm just saying to realize how much you're drinking, and realize to slow down if you need to. That's part of self-control, and being mature about what you're partaking in.
• Something that you can do to make your body feel better is taking a hot bath. Baths are probably the 8th wonder of the world. They are so good for everything! They relax your muscles, calm your mind, and helps you focus, among other things. You can add essential oils or herbs to your bath to have even more enriching effects.
• I've talked about Vitamin Waters before for colds.. well, I don't know this from experience, but more than one person has told me that they also work for hangovers. I hear the same two (XXX and Recovery) work the best.
• A smart choice also might be to just lay low for the day, and not do anything too strenuous. Your body is working on processing the alcohol and any other toxins you consumed, don't make it's job even harder. Extra work isn't going to be extra help.
• Drinking tea is going to give your body various nutrients that will help you recover that much faster. It has antioxidants, calming effects, and it's warm as well.

  I hope these quick tips helped you guys. Follow them, and your recovery will be that much faster. I'm currently fighting myself to not go to the gym today, since it was closed yesterday. It's going to be tough. I hope you all had a great ending to your year & an amazing to start to your new one - I wish you all the best in your New Year!

 

Sincerely,

A Dreaming Dietitian