We all (well, most of us) have them, no matter how good our intentions are. My main consolidation these days is that they’re a lot further apart than they used to be. I remember in college when like every weekend was spent in bed due to hangovers. Not very healthy and balanced, I know. The past couple of years they’ve gotten further and further apart, and less and less bad. It’s a combination of not partying as often, not partying as hard, and when I do I am usually good at not drinking after like midnight (makes a HUGE difference the day after guys!!). Also, I feel like having a more healthy lifestyle the rest of the time (especially eating more organic and less meat I feel) really helps those times I have a bit too much to drink. It’s like my body is not taking care of all those toxins all the time so it has more bandwidth to deal with the alcohol. Anyone else feel like this helps?
So anyway, as I said – despite my good intentions every once in a while I have a bit too much. And summer, well, let’s just say most of those times happen in summer… So what to do? Here’s my guide to easing the hangover along with my most-essential hangover products.
Before…
Eat! I know you’ve heard this before but it is really, really essential – girl you have to eat! If you’re going out partying the biggest problem for your health & fitness & skinniness is not going to be what you eat before you start drinking. If you’re going partying and you know you will have a lot to drink, give yourself a night off and have something really carby before you go out. I feel like the carbs really soak up the alcohol and this helps you stay soberer & get less hung over. But don’t go overboard – if you usually never eat a lot of carbs then just have a little, otherwise, you will feel worse tomorrow.
Prepare! Also, make sure you have everything you have some healthy food in your fridge for tomorrow… and something to eat when you get home tonight.
During…
Drink water! Not a new one either, but please please please drink a lot of water! I always try to go for something non-alcoholic in between alcoholic drinks. If I am good I have a non-alcoholic beer, non-alcoholic sparkly or a coconut water and sip it. If I am bad I have a quick (but preferably really big) glass of water and then move on to the next glass of wine or whatever. Do try to stay away from sugary cocktails, even non-alcoholic ones, not mainly for the calories (however, extra bonus) but as they will dehydrate you even more (even the diet ones in my experience) and all the sugar will make your hangover even worse.
Have a plan! For me, i’s giving myself a stopping time. I ususally do midnight or when we go out to a club or something like that. I feel like I have a better time when having a cut-off time than when trying to pace myself all night – find what works for you.
When you get home…
Get sober! If you stop drinking at midnight you are hopefully pretty sober by the time you get home. Good, that’s the goal! If you’re not, busy yourself with something until you sober up (like cleaning is a good task), don’t go to bed completely wasted.
Eat and rehydrate! Make sure you eat something (more carbs the more you’ve had to drink…), have a coconut water and as much water you can stomach.
Treat your skin! If you are up to it, have a shower. Then clean your face meticulously and apply the Origins Drink-Up Intensive Overnight Mask. This mask seriously changed my life!! I used to wake up the day after even a few drinks and feel like my skin had turned into a desert, now I just sleep with this mask and wake up with beautiful, rehydrated and glowing skin. Don’t forget the eye cream as well! I swear by this quite rich cream from Clinique, it has literally made my giant bags go away completely – even the day after a big party.
Finally – make sure you have a big bottle of water right by your bed, and every time you wake up during the night/morning have a few (or many) sips.
The morning after…
Now how to handle this day will depend a bit on how much you had to drink and how bad you feel today. But no matter how hungover you are, try to follow it as soon as you can and you will be back in business so much faster.
Don’t stay in bed! My all too vast experience has shown me that staying in bed never does any good. The faster you get up and back to your routine, the better! If you’re too hung over to not lie down, move to the couch at least.
Don’t treat yourself because you’ve been bad! I believe the most important thing is not to let one bad thing lead to another, and another… So you had a bit too much to drink last night. All the more reason to take good care of your body today! You will be craving shit, but try to make the shit a bit less shitty, you know? Like, have pasta or sushi instead of pizza, and splurge on berries and nuts to ease your cravings for sweet & salty.
Have a healthy breakfast! Start with a coconut water and a green smoothie. If you’re a coffee addict make sure you have coffee, even if you’re not feeling it (I usually go for a cold brew or just iced regular coffee when I am hung over, can’t stand anything hot). If you don’t, you will get a headache and even more tired and you will think you are so much worse off than you actually are.
Get moving! Sure, treat yourself to an episode of your favorite show, but please don’t stay on the couch all day. Make sure to get a workout in (if you are in shape for it) or at least a nice long walk or a yoga class (this is a good one to do at home when you feel like shit). And rehydrate, more important than usual of course.
Stay on track! I am lucky because when I’ve had too much to drink I always crave really healthy food the day after, like Sashimi or Gazpacho or a nice Shopska salad (recipe coming). Make sure to cook or go out for something really healthy but also really tasty, or at least not an XL pizza with extra cheese, OK?
Be nice to yourself! OK so you had too much to drink last night and you felt like shit today. No biggie, it happens to most people sometimes. Try to drink less next time and take care of yourself today. And if this happens all the tim,e then maybe take a break from drinking for a while to reset. You will feel great after a month without alcohol and probably not feel like drinking as much after.
How about you, do you have any other good tips for curing/surviving/preventing hangovers?