Seems obvious enough – the clue is in the title – but make sure you’ve had a look at Part 1 and the prep covered there before reading this.
This is all about the aftermath…
You’ve really let fly and enjoyed a wild night out. You’ve had one or two (or four) too many caipirinhas, Craft beers, Proseccos, or perhaps all of the above, and you’ve got the footage of you dancing like a mentalist to prove it.
You awake the next morning bleary eyed, your brain is attempting to escape your skull and your mouth is as dry as Ghandi’s flip flop. Alternatively you might just feel a tiny bit squiffy because you followed my advice. Either way, you’re probably not feeling 100%.
So it’s time to implement phase two.
Strong black coffee
Coffee can reduce the swelling on blood vessels, including the ones in your head which you’ve suddenly become aware of. Oh and don’t worry about the diuretic effect, it gets overstated and shouldn’t be a problem as long as you’re not knocking back Nespresso like they’re going out of fashion.
Electrolytes
These need topping up – coconut water is a readily available source these days, but if not good old-fashioned water with a pinch of good quality sea salt and lemon will help you out. Remember we’re trying to repay the debt we created last night.
Fry up
Now we’re talking. Remember those delicious ingredients you left in the fridge? Time to crack them out. Don’t go overboard with the bacon and sausages, try and include plenty of eggs, tomatoes and mushrooms on your plate – we need nutrient dense foods here.
Can’t face it? Just hit the coffee and coconut water, wait a while and see how you feel.
If you’re really suffering and feel the need to medicate, go for aspirin rather than paracetamol. The latter places a lot of stress on your already overworked liver, but aspirin is simply anti-inflammatory so will help to relieve some of your symptoms.
Exercise
I hesitated to suggest this as I can imagine the expression on your face, but this honestly will speed things up. Normally the last thing you’ll feel like doing, but if you have a pressing engagement before midday then desperate times call for desperate measures.
Stick to a short bout of high intensity exercise, it increases blood flow and helps your body to ship the toxins out. Give it a try and you’ll make that 9:00am meeting, lunch date with the in-laws or Rugby Munchkins class (speaking from experience on that one).
Here’s one I prepared earlier
As our bodies recover we tend to crave high-sugar, processed convenient foods. And while that might make you feel better short term, you’re setting yourself up for a shocker of a day that can dent your insulin sensitivity and potentially knock you off course for a few days, maybe more.
Chances are you won’t feel up to cooking a full-on meal, and if you head to the pub for a salad we all know you’ll end up plumping for the burger, so if you’re lucky enough to have the day to yourself to recover then grab one of the batch-cooked meals waiting in the fridge freezer and you’ll be enjoying a hassle-free, healthy meal to get yourself back on track while you put your feet up and binge-watch some TV.
So there you have it, the conclusion of our ultimate hangover cure. It isn’t guaranteed to stop a hangover, but it will at least make it bearable.
We all need to let our hair down from time to time, so don’t beat yourself up about it, enjoy yourself, de-stress and have fun!
Ian “Liquid-Flu” Male
Personal Trainer
tel: 07966844057
e: [email protected]
www.greenwichtraining.com
Greenwich Training
Personal Training & Group Fitness in Greenwich, Blackheath and South East London.