Showing posts with label alcohol. Show all posts
Showing posts with label alcohol. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

What to eat and drink when you're hung over


The summer is approaching fast, and I don’t know about you, but for me that means no school and lots of alcohol. And while being drunk is fun, freeing and festive, hangovers are not. Here I have collected some of the things you should eat or drink when you’re hung over and cuddles up under a mountain of blankets – enjoy!

GOOD DRINKS:

Water: You already knew that one, didn’t you. If you’re not too drunk, drink a glass of water before bed, that will balance out your body’s fluid balance. If you’re too pissed to do that, drink a large glass of water when you wake up. Water helps your body hydrate. So extra thumbs up to water!


Fruit juice: When having hangovers your blood sugar levels will be quite low and that might contribute to your headache. Fruit juice contains natural sugar (if you buy the right kind, that is!) and will give your body the kick it needs and it may even help to boost the metabolism so your body can get rid of the nasty chemicals faster. It also hydrates your body and contains vitamins.



Tea: Tea, what the hell can’t it do?! Tea is a wonderdrink, so of course it’s good for hangovers. Especially ginger or peppermint tea will work wonders for your pounding head.


Pickle juice
: Nasty? Yes. Have I ever tried it? No. Does it work? Probably? But if you look upon this advice scientifically, it actually makes sense. Pickle juice contains vinegar, salt and water, which can all help rehydrate and replenish sodium levels. You can drink some before you hit the city and some the morning after. BONUS: You can actually get it as an ice pop ... 


GOOD FOOD:
I know, you think your body is craving a big, fat slice of greasy pizza or a burger. But actually, what your body needs is healthy stuff – all the things you don’t feel like eating but should.


Bananas: Bananas are loaded with potassium, which gets flushed out with the water when the alcohol dehydrates your body. Not enough potassium can make you feel nauseous and tired – sounds familiar? Other potassium-loaded foods are spinach and kiwi.


Eggs: Eggs are super good for you, hung over or not. They contain a butt load of protein that will stabilize the blood sugar levels, and also distribute to the lever functions. Go egg!


Crackers and honey: Sounds odd? It actually isn’t. Honey is full of antioxidants and fructose in a concentrated form, which will flush out the remaining toxic chemicals faster. The cracker doesn’t really have a function on its own – it’s just there to guide the honey down.


Noodles: It’s not exactly healthy, but noodles contain a lot of sodium, something your body is lacking after a wild night out. Also, water.



Vegetables: Most vegetables contain cysteine, which gives the lever a boost – much needed I may add.



Ginger: Ginger is a well-known cure for nausea and settling an upset stomach – AKA great for hangovers. I’m not saying you should begin eating raw ginger slices – that’s just not pleasant -but a slice of in your tea or some in a smoothie will do wonders. Ginger biscuits will also do the job!


Watermelon: Tons of water and vitamins – just what your body needs. Watermelon is also high in fructose.

I hope you will find this useful and that you’ll all have a fantastic summer!
Courage,
Laura

Saturday, May 4, 2013

The life of a rower

Apart from a huge amount of training (just agreed with my trainer to start row five times a week now - wuhuu!) and a painful lack of sleep (Seriously. I. Need. Sleep) there are two things that have changed quite a bit since I started rowing: 1) I don't drink alcohol anymore, and 2) I eat a horribly amount of food. I know, it sounds a bit sad (mostly the alcohol thing, because food is never sad) so please let me elaborate.

It wasn't really a hard decision to cut alcohol. Over the summer I started to get tired of drinking and partying (God knows why because it used to be my favorite thing to do) so when I decided to do competition rowing it sort of just came as a natural thing, not to drink any more. Our trainers don't want us to drink and in general there is an attitude against alcohol among us competition rowers (Even though I am pretty sure some of the boys drink more than once in a while). And honestly I would much rather be one hell of a rower than having a fun night out once in a while. I have been told that one beer ruins a whole week of training, which I am not quite sure I believe, but alcohol definitely has a bad effect on your training. And it's not like I don't go the the parties, I am just that lonely sober person sitting in the corner... No seriously, I have lot's of fun. And zero hangover, which is a very big plus. So all in all, no big sacrifice.

As far as the food is concerned I have to admit it is not at all a sacrifice. The quite opposite actually. I love food and being able to eat more is just like being in heaven (Okay perhaps I am exaggerating a bit here, I just like eating okay) And there is no need for me to get a bad conscience because I actually need the extra energy. So no harm done right? Actually I must admit that I have gained a bit of weight these past two month. But I just keep telling myself it's all muscles - and as my friend says, muscles weight more than fat. So all good, and I can keep eating. So I eat, and I eat a lot, and I don't really plan on changing that. I have actually reached a point where every time I start eating something my friends look at me and say something like this: "Are you seriously eating AGAIN? you just ate 30 minutes ago?!" Okay, maybe not every half hour, but often. A girl from my class once said to me, that "It is not often I see you without a piece of food in your hand, Christine"

With that lovely comment I will leave you guys and go drown my sorrows in lots of food, and no alcohol.

See you
Christine