GNO at the club

[ciria]

Just got a text from a friend about a girl's night out this sat. First dinner then dancing and of course lots of drinks. I love my girls and want to go, but let's be honest, avoiding the cocktails will be hard. Any suggestions? I already offered up my services as DD, hoping that will keep me in line and we all don't end up in a cab! Help!

[Sally Kingston]

I did one of these recently, during a whole 30, and it went WAY better than I thought it would. First, I ate a big, clean meal before I went out, so I wasn't tempted by crap food at the bar. I also told my friends that I wasn't drinking, which they were thankfully really understanding about. I kept a glass of seltzer with lemon or lime in my hand the whole night and, honestly, had tons of fun without thinking too much about it. I spent NO money the whole night and wasn't faced with the end of evening "do I need to call a cab?" moment that I'm so used to. No hangover the next day felt pretty great, too.

I think the main keys are to be up front about it and keep your hands full of seltzer, so you don't miss out on the rituals of ordering and consuming a drink.

[gatork]

I agree with Sally, and also, so much of it is mindset. If you go thinking things like, i feel left out, I just really want a drink, I wish I could be having fun like everyone else, etc....it's kind of a doomed not fun night. But if you go thinking, I just really want to have fun with my friends, and I feel so awesome on Whole30 that I don't even want to drink anyway, it could be amazing

[ciria]

Decided not to go. I have a pretty intense job and at times and it can be very emotionally draining especially when I'm dealing with crisis situations. Today we had a crisis situation and I'm so on the verge of popping open a bottle of wine. Put me in a bar and I think I'll either pout the whole time or start drinking...not up for faking it until I make it with some club soda.