You may not even know why St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated, but you do know how its celebrated. College campuses across the nation are going to use the holiday as an excuse to binge drink and wear obnoxious amounts of green. With St. Patrick’s Day falling on a Sunday this year, the celebration is going to be a weekend long event. Here are tips to help you survive the weekend festivities:
1. Be festive. Wear Green.
Even if it may not be “your color,” green clothing and accessories are a must when celebrating St. Patty’s Day. Some party invites insist that no green clothes means no entry. If you do not have a great deal of green in your closet, stores like Forever 21, TJ Maxx, and Marshalls are a great place to look for inexpensive options. If you have some green clothes, but you are attached to them, you may also want to consider going shopping. The chance something may get spilled on over the course of the weekend is high.
Also, do not be afraid to visit a party store and buy all the tacky accessories. This is the one time of the year you can get away with plastic light up Shamrock earrings or green tights. Do not worry about looking foolish, the more shamrocks you rock, the better.
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2. Do not stop at your clothes. Try making these healthier green drinks.
Instead of downing all of the sugar in Green Apple Kool-Aid, here are some healthier ways to make your drinks festive:
1. The most simple way to add green color to drinks is adding green food coloring.
2. Mio, the liquid water enhancer, makes a “Green Thunder” flavor. The zero calorie water enhancer also has caffeine in it. Two squirts are approximately 120 milli-grams of caffeine which is about the same amount as a small coffee.
3. Gatorade’s lower calorie series, called G2, has a tropical blend flavor that is green and only has 50 calories in a 20 ounce bottle.
4. If you are interested in making Jell-o shots, Jell-o makes a sugar free / low calorie lime flavor!
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3. Day Long Drinking is not a 10 yard dash. It is a marathon.
One thing that makes St. Patrick’s Day different than other weekends (other than the green garments) is that it is not just a nighttime celebration. Usual St. Patty’s Day festivities start in the morning and end the next morning. So how do you survive the day of drinking and have enough energy to make it out in the evening?
During finals week, you cannot exert all your energy and studying time on your first final. By your last exam, you will have no more gas left in the tank, and with a lack of motivation and energy, you probably will not do too well. Drinking during the day is like finals week (believe it or not). You have to pace yourself if you want to successfully make it to the end.
In order to avoid passing out at 4:00 PM and not making it out at night, you have to keep the binge drinking to a minimum. Binge drinking is classified as four or more drinks within a two-hour period. Instead of playing drinking games during which you may end up shot gunning beers or taking shots, drink slowly and do not aim to become too intoxicated. Pace yourself, Ireland wasn’t built in a day.
Along with pacing yourself, remember to stay hydrated. Alcohol dehydrates you and all of the fizzy mixers you may be using will also contributing to dehydration. Naps during the day will also let your body recover before the night begins. But most importantly, listen to your body, when it feels like it has had enough, it has. Our bodies were not meant to be drunk for 48 hours straight.
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4. EAT!
Unfortunately, our bodies cannot utilize the calories in alcohol like they can use calories from food (buzz kill). So the logic associated with the theory of not eating to make up for all the calories you are drinking does not really work as well as some may hope. Instead, it is important to eat before you drink and also nibble while drinking. Alcohol is composed of simple carbs, so when you drink your blood sugar spikes, followed by a rapid decrease. When it suddenly drops, that is when you go into “drunchies” mode and cannot seem to stop eating junk. To combat this, eat foods that will help keep your blood sugar level stable. Foods packed with protein and fiber, like Greek yogurt, nuts, and peanut butter help to stabilize your blood sugar but also keep your metabolism going.