There’s no miracle cure to halt a hangover or avoid bad decisions, but here’s some advice to help you keep the good times good!
Preloading
Drinking with your mates before you go out might seem harmless but it can get messy. It’s easy to lose track of how much you’re drinking - pub measures of shots are 25ml. This doesn’t look like much in a glass so you’re likely to serve yourself much more at home. In the end, you might get to the party having had way too much, that’s if you even make it out, or worse you get refused a drink from the bartender for being too drunk leaving you cringing with embarrassment.
Next time you have your friends around on or before a night out, try to track of how much you drink. Make sure you can tell when you’re getting towards that point where a good night can easily take a turn for the worse and remember to pace yourself. Focus on catching up with friends rather than getting ahead on the drinks.
Drinking games can also encourage people to down drinks quickly - and though they might seem fun at the time, remember - you will be able to last longer and have more fun if you drink at your own pace! You don’t want to be left behind asleep on a sofa while everyone else is having fun!
Buying drinks
It’s much easier to be over-generous when you’ve had a few drinks and you might find yourself making a big hole in your bank account by buying drinks for all your mates! If you end up in rounds the drinks can quickly pile up. Try to pace yourself by doing rounds with only two or three of you who drink at the same pace, spacing out the amount of drinks you have or having a soft drink every so often. It’s important to stay hydrated as alcohol dehydrates you. Tap water is usually free at the bar. It’s a great way to avoid all the extra calories in alcohol too!
Calorie counting
Sadly, there’s no way of escaping the fact that alcohol is fattening. Just one beer has the same number of calories as a slice of pizza. If you’re watching your weight, it’s tempting to skip a meal and ‘use’ the calories on alcohol. Calories from alcohol are ‘empty’ meaning they have no nutritional value so they are not a replacement to food and will make you feel much worse later on.
Avoid the ‘Freshers’ 14’ – the notorious first year of uni 14 pound weight gain. If you’re planning a night out and want to keep the calories down, eat a healthy meal beforehand, opt for lower calorie options and make every third drink a soft one.
Eating isn’t cheating though…food slows the rate at which alcohol is absorbed into the blood stream as well as giving you the energy you need to last until the early hours. If possible include complex carbohydrates like potatoes or pasta. With a good meal inside you, any alcohol you drink will enter your blood stream more slowly, helping you to stay on your feet longer.
If you don’t have time to eat before you head out, you could have a meal with your drink – research suggests that drinking with food is less damaging to your digestive system than drinking on an empty stomach because food prevents alcohol being absorbed too quickly.
Look after your mates
Remember that while it’s important to look after yourself, keep an eye out for your friends too. Many of us have seen our mates looking worse for wear during a heavy night’s drinking. But sometimes the consequences are more serious than sore heads and drunken texts to the wrong people. Drinking alcohol can lead to people get into dangerous or risky situations. Make sure you all get home safely. Keep enough money on you for the cab on the way home, and take the card from your taxi driver on the way out to make sure you book a licensed cab at the end of the night.