By Cathryne Keller
Asking for a friend
Raise your hand if this has happened to you: You’ve got a big night out with the gals or a hot date who also enjoys a bottle (or three) of wine with dinner. In preparation, you stock up on ibuprofen, drink a gallon of water, and, um, only eat kale all day.
Gulp! More than half of women say they skip meals to save kilojoules for alcohol—not sometimes, not on special occasions, but “all the time,” says Dr Caroline Cederquist, weight management expert and cofounder of bistroMD. Okay so you’re not alone, but that doesn’t mean this calorie-slashing strategy is actually working for you.
READ MORE: 10 Low-Kilojoule Cocktails Worth Sipping On This Summer
Health hazards aside, “saving” your kilojoules for alcohol is not even smart for weight loss, since missing just one meal slows your metabolism, says Cederquist. Bonus bummer: You’re more likely to store any bar food you eat as fat since your bod is working to burn off the booze first, she says.
