Whoever said, “health is wealth,” certainly had the right idea. After all, our bodies are the vehicles through which we experience the world. Taking care of your body is often likened to taking care of your car; if you put the right fuel in it and perform proper routine maintenance, the vehicle of your body will take you through the many miles of life.
So how does one take care of their health?
As with many things, there are multiple answers. Here are just a few:
- Exercise: Run, lift, swim, HIIT, playing sports, walking, yoga, biking…and on and on. There are any number of great ways to get in a workout, and the health benefits of exercise have been exhaustively chronicled in countless studies.
- Sleep: Just like a car cannot run forever, a body needs to rest now and again. Getting proper sleep is another seemingly obvious way to ensure your body has the proper time it needs to recover from the strain of the day.
- Diet: Perhaps the most important of the three listed, your diet is literally what powers your body to wake up, brush your teeth, go to work, hit the gym, and still have energy for everything else in your day-to-day life. The fuel you put in your engine is a fundamental component of your experience in this world.
There are a great many diets around right now. Some of the more popular ones include the paleo diet, the ketogenic (or “keto”) diet, the carnivore diet, vegan diets, and so on. However, one of the most increasingly popular diets is the Noom diet.
What is the Noom diet?
The Noom diet is based around a smartphone application designed for weight loss. The app encourages a more thoughtful approach to what you eat and why you eat. By logging everything you consume and the exercise or activity you complete every day, you get a more complete picture of the caloric needs your lifestyle demands.
Noom categorizes the kinds of foods you can eat on a scale of green, yellow, and red. Green foods are the least calorically dense foods, and as such can be enjoyed with greater frequency (examples: blueberries, broccoli, apples). Yellow foods are more caloric and nutritionally dense and should make up the majority of your diet on Noom (examples: chicken, beans, fish). Red foods are the most calorically dense and should only be eaten sparingly. As you might imagine, examples include pizza, french fries, and sweets. There are no off-limits foods in a Noom diet. The key is to moderate what you eat and consider why you are eating it.
Now for the magic question: can you drink alcohol on Noom?
Remember, there are no off-limit foods or drinks on the Noom diet. The entire point is to change how you think about what you are consuming and why you are consuming it. This includes alcohol. However, there’s no escaping certain realities. If you are truly trying to change how you live, that usually means sacrificing things you may enjoy that are unhealthy.
But let’s talk about drinking for a second. Sure, getting a light buzz at the end of a long day is an almost-worldwide way to blow off some steam. Alcohol has existed longer than humans have, and its effects on the human body have been well, WELL documented. But for any number of reasons, (including a diet like Noom) one might not want to consume alcohol. That doesn’t have to mean delicious, satisfying drinks are completely off the table, however.
Enter the Mocktail
A mocktail is a drink made without any alcohol, oftentimes similar to a cocktail (though obviously non-intoxicating). Here at Ritual, we meticulously craft the world’s finest liquor replacements - giving you all the flavor of everyone’s favorite spirits without the intoxicating effects and health drawbacks.
So a cocktail without any alcohol…what’s the point, right?
Let’s take a second to consider some of the most common reasons someone might not want to consume alcohol.
- Diet friendly
- No hangover
- Doesn’t affect sleep
- Optimal exercise performance
- Can still be sociable
- Athletic training
- Nutritional value (if made with healthy ingredients)
- Avoid poor decision making
- Be a reliable designated driver
- Maintain religious priorities
And so many more reasons. But a brand new and exciting reason? Mocktails can actually fit into your Noom diet! In fact, depending on how they are prepared, they can fit into yellow drink categories (and even green drink categories, in some cases)!
Depending on the type of drink and ingredients you use, some of these mocktails can actually provide several nutrients and vitamins. Plus, consider the primary driving factor behind Noom diets - more conscious consumption. Choosing drinks that are objectively healthier and cleaner can give you a tasty change of pace with a clean conscience (and diet).
Pairs best with…
So with Spring finally here, we wanted to give you a few ideas for when and how best to enjoy green and yellow Noom-friendly mocktails:
- Post-workout: crush your WOD? Follow up your protein shake with a mocktail chaser - you worked hard to build up a sweat, celebrate your accomplishment with an ice-cold All Day Margarita.
- After-hours: enjoying a late night with good company? Sip on a New Fashioned with confidence and let conversation flow without the fear of a crippling hangover.
- Summer sunset: maybe you just played 18 or spent an afternoon poolside. Time for something light and tasty like a Ritual Gin & Tonic.
The beauty of these mocktails is that, among other reasons, they won’t bust your Noom diet. You can indulge with peace of mind knowing that your goals and hard work won’t be lost to a delicious change of pace.
Interested in learning more diet-friendly mocktail recipes and spirit alternatives? Check out our refreshing selection of craft recipes today!
