Posted by Gillius | Posted in Paleo Diet | Posted on 28-04-2012
It’s that time of the week again….you know, the weekend. If drinking heavily is on your schedule, you may fear what will happen the next day. The good news is there is a proven method that I’ve discovered by putting together all of the random bits of information and suggestions I’ve heard into one, easy, natural protocol that might keep you more functional the next day. You must follow all of the steps to be successful!
STEP 1: The Day Before and of
Hydration
- Make sure you are fully hydrated the entire day before you start drinking. For most people this is roughly 1/2 your body-weight in ounces. So if someone is 180 pounds, they should consume 90 ounces of water. More if you are active or drinking diuretics (caffeine, soda, alcohol). Less if you are having to force it down. What does that look like? It may be more than you think.

Sleep
Coming into the party already sleep deprived isn’t going to help your recovery since you’ll likely be up late again that night. Make sure you are getting 8+ hours of sleep (as you should already be) the night before you are drinking.
Food
It is very important to avoid excess fructose consumption surrounding drinking times (and just in general) as it is metabolized through the liver just like alcohol is. We want the liver to be able to focus 100% on the liquid poison you are consuming rather than the sugar poison you eat all day.

Also, have a large meal around 2 hours before you start drinking. If you have to think back to when your last meal was, you are in for one hell of a night. You don’t want it to be too long before that you are already getting hungry again, but also not too close as to allow for adequate digestion before you start jumping around and getting into trouble.
STEP 2: That Night
Drink Choice
The drink you choose will have a huge effect on your night and follow day.
- Avoid sugary alcohol (wine, mixed drinks with coke, redbull, tonic water, Mike’s Hard, etc) as they always leave the hardest hit. Again, fructose is metabolized through the liver and if it is at the same time as the liquor, it won’t end good.
- Avoid gluten containing alcohol such as beer and grain-based distilled liquors. By avoiding gluten you help your gut lining stay healthy and make it easier on yourself to recover.
- Choose potato vodka and blue agave tequila as they are low sugar and plant (not grain) based.
- Mix with unsweetened soda water and fresh lime or lemon juice. By using soda water you are partially rehydrating yourself. Carbonation also makes you feel it faster so you can drink less. Finally, lemon and lime juice are full of vitamins and minerals that may help something.
- Choosing high quality liquor that has been filtered many times will help tremendously. Cheap liquor makes you sicker.
Rehydration
For every cup of alcohol you had, you need a cup of water to replace it. This may be impossible but it is something to try for. Have you noticed if after having a few drinks and you have to go to the bathroom that your urine is often clear? This does not mean you are hydrated, it means you are losing all the water you hydrated with earlier in the day. Give it a few hours and I guarantee it will change color.
When the night is nearing the end, stop drinking alcohol and start drinking water. If you chug it, it will go to waste. Your cells can only absorb so much water at a time. Drink a lot of water over as long of a period as you can before passing out. Replenishing electrolytes is equally important as explained in the next section.
Late Night Munchies
These are good, and should not be ignored. The last thing you want when you go to bed is for the last thing you consumed to be more of your drink. Eat fatty and salty food. Ideally these would be fatty grassfed meat to get an anti-inflammatory effect and mineral rich sea salt to replace mineral loss. When you become dehydrated you lose 2 things; water and electrolytes. Eating mineral rich sea-salt rich foods will help.
Exercise & Air
Walking is a great way to sober up fast. Fresh air will help you feel better too.
Stay Up
It’s 2am, you are drunk, and do not want to be hungover the next day. What do you do? Don’t go to sleep yet. Even if it means you go to bed at 4am and will get less sleep than you would by going to bed now, your sleep will be much more efficient if you go to bed sober. These extra 2 hours give a perfect time to start eating and drinking water and get some walking in so by the time you do go to bed, you are in better shape.
Sleep
So you are finally sobering up and ready to go to bed. Sleep as long as you can, even if you have to throw off your clock by sleeping in until noon. Just like always, you want 8+ hours here. With the sun going up not long after you go to bed, it is important to sleep in a 100% blacked out room so the light doesn’t wake you up and interfere with your recovery. Black out rooms are a worthy time investment.
Also a little note – if you feel like you are going to throw-up get into bed slowly. As soon as you lie down you lose the effect of gravity keeping your stomach contents down and you might just lose it as soon as you plop down on your mattress.
STEP 3: The Next Day
You may wake up a little dizzy or queezy at first, but hope is not all lost.
Rehydration
This continues. Keep drinking water and get your electrolytes restored. Do not use Gataorade as it is full of fructose. Instead, go for Coconut Water or put Nuun Elecrolyte Tablets in your water.
Breakfast
Eat the normal healthful foods that are recommended all over this blog. Meat, vegetables, some fruit, a few nuts and seeds, and healthy fats and oils. Avoid grains, legumes, dairy, sugar, refined vegetable oils, and processed foods.
Exercise & Air
Walking is still a great way to feel better. Sunlight combined with the fresh air will again help you the day after too.
STEP 4: Repeat
Congradulations! You’ve survived Friday. You are feeling so good that you just can’t wait for tonight…It is Saturday afterall!
All of these suggestions are partially based on documented fact and partially based on what I have found works for me. Your mileage may very. If you drink way too much, none of this will save you. Drinking responsibly is the best prevention. If you still feel awful the next day, don’t blame me…blame whatever you did to get you there. Remember also that alcohol is not good for you even if you follow these steps, but it is about as good as you can get if you are going to drink.


