Celebrate! (...with less "ate")

By Angie Arnold

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You're probably well aware—if not painfully aware—that the majority of our celebratory socialising revolves around our enjoyment of food and drink. Lots of food and drink. With the wedding season gearing up, many of us will be called repeatedly to festive gatherings in restaurants, bars, homes and halls where we'll face a whirlwind of epicurean temptations: the showers, the bachelor(ette) parties, the stag & does (or Jack & Jills), the rehearsal dinners, the wedding feasts, the morning-after brunches. Surrounded by enthusiastic revellers encouraging us to forget about watching our weight "just this once," it can be easy to let our resolutions slide over a summer of special occasions.

This is especially true when it comes to bachelor and bachelorette parties: these events are often all about indulging in excesses for the record books—the bride's and groom's last hurrahs before settling into married life. Who wants to be sipping seltzer and crunching crudités on the sidelines? Not to worry. Keep these tips in mind when you're filling your summer social calendar, and you'll be well prepared to party within your POINTS® budget.

The Food

• Make the call: Many parties start with dinner out. If you volunteer to make the reservation, you can lobby for a place that offers a variety of foods and preparation styles, guaranteeing that you'll be able to eat healthfully without having to opt (conspicuously) for the "chef salad"!
• Sneak in a snack: You've heard it before, but nothing makes it easier to pass on diet-unfriendly food than a lack of appetite! Eat a high protein snack before heading to the festivities: try a handful of almonds or tuna with low-fat mayonnaise wrapped in a whole-wheat pita.
• Selective reading: Skim quickly past the fat-laden menu options, considering only those choices that feature words like baked, broiled, roasted or grilled and which focus on the vegetable accompaniment rather than rice or potatoes.
• Regale the guests: If you're driving the dinner table conversation with fun stories about the future bride or groom, you'll eat more slowly and perhaps consume less (as all that talking will give your brain's satiety centre enough time to tell you you're full).
• Ask for twelve forks: If you can't resist the call of the chocolate lava cake, share your treat around the table. After all, a small taste of your favourite dessert is a perfect reward for having just dined on Poached Trout rather than Pasta Alfredo!
• Be the host: If it's to be a cocktail party, rather than a restaurant outing, offer to host it. You can prepare tasty grilled chicken on skewers with light satay sauce, veggies with hummus, pita and tzatziki, and the like, which beats facing an alarming array of cheeses, sausage rolls, and Swedish meatballs at a friend's house. If you are a guest, offer to bring along a healthy contribution for the table …then stick close by it!

The Drink

• Alcohol counts: Consuming alcohol adds calories without nutrition and relaxes inhibitions, including those connected to whether or not you should eat your host's entire pyramid of Ferraro Roche chocolate balls! Two good reasons to take it easy!
• Mix it up: A 5 oz glass of wine has about 100 calories, as does an ounce of alcohol. Order a wine spritzer or a shot of liquor mixed with diet soda for a large, low calorie drink. A tall rum & diet coke, vodka & diet cranberry juice, or gin & diet tonic rings up at less than half the calories of most sugary commercial coolers. If beer is your beverage, stick to the light varieties.
• Bubbly of a different variety: For a lot of reasons, it makes good sense to alternate alcoholic beverages with soda water and lime. You'll be spreading out your calorie intake; you'll have a glass to raise at impromptu toasts to the guest of honour; you'll have fewer fingers free for the finger foods; and you won't run the empty-handed risk of someone treating you to an über-caloric Bailey's on ice. Best of all, by sipping water throughout the night, you won't end up being the drunk one who tries to crawl up on the stage …

The Fun

If you're the party planner this summer, consider some new twists on old traditions and blend fun activities with the wining and dining.

• Now that's a fishing trip: Look for unique day trips, such as the one offered to stag and stagette groups in Victoria, BC by Fantasea Charters Fishing Expedition. And you know that the Catch of the Day is bound to be a healthy meal!
• Laugh it up: Check out the offerings at your local Comedy Club. The Comic Strip in Edmonton and the House of Comedy in Niagara Falls, for instance, offer special deals for stags and stagettes. Side splitting laughter is a great cure for the munchies.
• Treat your feet: An ever more popular option for bridal showers and bachelorettes is to include a trip to a spa. Go to www.spasincanada.ca for a list of spas that will accommodate larger groups for simultaneous manicures and pedicures. Or, if your girls are up for a real indulgence, check out the weekend getaway options in your province. You can rest assured that you won't be tempted by a whopping plate of nachos or poutine in any of them!
• Take a walk on the wild side: Fitness clubs across Canada are beginning to offer striptease aerobics and poledancing classes. For example, Flirty Girl Fitness, in Toronto, provides women of all ages, sizes and fitness levels a "fun and supportive environment to explore their sexy side".
• Festive festivals: A night out on the town doesn't have to be limited to dance (or strip) clubs. Montréal is gaining popularity throughout North America for hooking up bachelor and bachelorette parties that rival those that can be staged in Las Vegas. Check out www.montrealnitelifetours.com for tours that blend wild nightlife with French culture and legendary festivals to ensure that everyone has a great time.

No matter how the party plays out, remember that there are bound to be others in the group who are just as interested as you are in improving their health and losing weight, and maybe just as conscious of being perceived as "party-poopers" if they resist going overboard for the sake of celebration. Seek out their support in advance of the big party. When offered more food and drink than you've planned for, draw strength from one another's answer: "Thanks for offering, but I'm good!"