I recently did a post on my post drinking munchies.  Luckily, I am not a big drinker so it does not happen that often. But I notice after I have as little as 1-2 drinks, my appetite greatly increases later in the evening - even if I had a good sized restaurant meal. Alcohol especially seems to stimulate my  craving for chocolate.

Confession - I bought a pack of Funny Bones Saturday night on my way home from meeting a friend for dinner and drinks (I used to love these as a kid …chocolate and peanut butter). Normally, it would never occur to me to buy Funny Bones but somehow after I have had a few drinks, I develop cravings for Funny Bones or chocolate and “give myself permission” to make this purchase.

The reason why I writing about this post drinking activity (or after another activity that involves inhaling…) is because it happens quite frequently. I know this from experience because I listen to what people eat/drink 8 hours a day! I have had 2 clients so far this week that are experiencing this eating/drinking syndrome.  Both of these clients (of course, I never give names!!) are trying to lose weight and their late night eating post drinking/smoking is preventing them from meeting their goals. Both of these clients eat quite healthy and low calorie during the day. Even their dinner choices are healthy for the most part. Things take a turn for the worse later in the evening.

1. Client A:  Great breakfast and lunch. She has a very active social life which includes dinner parties, cocktail parties, meeting friends and boyfriend for dinner and drinks. Many nights of the week, she will have 1-2 drinks before dinner. This can lead to overindulging in appetizers or  hors d’oeuvres (which she would not normally do) and then bread and perhaps a dessert or other snack later on.

2. Client B: Same as above -healthy breakfast and lunch. He could not understand why he was not losing weight as he thought he was following my diet plan at least 80%. Finally, he agreed to keep a food log. The problem became obvious. Several nights a week, he would have 3-4 beers (along with another substance…). This led to the munchies where he consumed at least 600 calories of snacks late at night (cereal, soy chips, leftovers, candy bars, etc.). He did not realize the extent of this late night eating until he put it down on paper.

Morale of the story…  Not only is drinking alcohol in excess unhealthy for many reasons, it can contribute towards empty calories and an increase in appetite or stimulate cravings later on. For those people who enjoy a few drinks, it is probably unrealistic to say you will stop drinking totally.

Here are my practical recommendations to help you deal with the drinking/eating syndrome*:

1. Keep a food record of what you eat and drink
2. If you see a pattern occurring on the nights you drink, you will need to come up with a plan.
3. The best plan would be to limit your alcohol (as I have stated in previous posts). Allow yourself a set number of drinks a week. I often recommend 7 drinks a week for men and 5 for women.
4. Keep problem foods out of your house so you will not get into them when you get home. Foods that can be particularly problematic are those that come in large containers such as cereal, chips, pints of ice cream. Of course, avoid pizza shops and diners late at night!
5. Limit your drinks before dinner. Having cocktails before dinner will only stimulate your appetite for dinner. Instead, enjoy your drink with dinner.
6. Have an afternoon snack so you will not be drinking on an empty stomach.
7. Drink plenty of fluid during the day. Alcohol will effect you more quickly if you are dehydrated. Drink water in between alcoholic drinks.
8. If you know you will be hungry when you get home later at night, have a light snack waiting for you. Suggestions: individual pack of oatmeal, a yogurt, 100 calorie snack pack of whatever you choose, etc. Make sure it is portion controlled.

*the eating/drinking is not a medical sydrome… so do not ask your doctor about it. I made up the name!

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