WINE OR WHINE?

Summer in the Okanagan is almost upon us and with that comes fresh, local fruits and veggies, beaches, bikinis, barbeques, picnics, camping and of course wine tours. So, for those of you who are thinking about booking a wine tour, or just heading out to do a little tasting on your own, here are a few tips to keep in mind to prevent that carb spike and fat storage that is paired ever so well with alcohol.

Hydrate. While consuming extra water is never a bad idea, it is especially good advice to follow when consuming alcohol. Bringing a water bottle with you and making sure to drink about a glass worth before heading into a tasting and then again afterwards will help flush the alcohol from your system and lessen the unpleasant side effects that occur after a sip or two too many.

Think protein. As you've heard me mention many times before, balancing your PFCs (protein, fat, carbs) is the only way to keep blood sugar from spiking and storing fat. Now, in case you didn't know, alcohol is a carb and enjoyed on it's own, or in excessive quantities will cause the blood sugar to spike and the body to store it as fat. By adding a protein and fat to your wine carb you will keep your blood sugar stable and avoid storing fat. This can be accomplished simply by enjoying lunch before the tasting. Having something like grilled salmon on mixed greens (yes veggies are carbs, but leafy greens are free!) is a great choice to balance out the wine. If you are out for the day, making several stops and a proper meal is not on the schedule, carrying unsalted nuts in your purse and having a small handful with your water before sampling works well too. Just remember, our body needs to be fuelled every 3-4 hours so packing a protein bar and/or some turkey pepperoni to keep you balanced throughout the day may also be a necessity.

Plan ahead. There are two ways to plan ahead. One is to plan according to the recommendations I have already listed so that you can keep your body from storing fat. The other is to treat the wine tasting tour as your off-plan meal. Mark the day on your calendar and look forward to it and enjoy it. When an off-plan meal becomes part of the plan, people tend to be extra diligent leading up to the event, eating their PFCs in 3s in an effort to minimize any carnage that may occur on tasting day. Remember to get back on plan with your PFC meal about three hours afterwards to get your body's metabolism fired up and burning the fat once again.

No scale. After indulging in a full on, off-plan meal, or even just having a few samples here and there of things that can cause bloat (alcohol being one) do not stand on the scale the next day. Let me just tell you right now you WILL weigh more, there's just no way around it. It can be as few as one or two pounds, or it can be as high as 6 or 7lbs, but it's important to remember that it's inflated weight, not actual weight and will be gone in about 3 days. So save yourself the anxiety and check the scale then.

Hopefully you will follow these tips on your wine tasting tour this summer and not end up in September whining about any extra weight you may have stored along the way.