Helping Patients Avoid Alcohol-Related Weight Regain During the Holiday Season [+ Mocktail Recipe]

With Australians consuming around 70% more alcohol in December*1 than the annual average, the summer holidays come with an increased risk of weight gain, poor glycemic control, and post-surgical complications.

This article outlines three strategies GPs can use during the festive season to help patients manage alcohol-related weight gain, particularly those using GLP-1 therapies or recovering from bariatric surgery.

1. Explore the patient’s drinking patterns

Dr Jason Winnett, Bariatric and Laparoscopic Surgeon at Winnett Specialty Group, advises health professionals to use quick tools like the World Health Organisation’s Audit C or CAGE*2 to assess patients’ drinking levels.

He also says, ‘Ask patients to track drinks on their phone, encourage planning strategies, negotiate drink limits before they go and encourage four to five alcohol-free days a week.

‘Many people treat a restaurant glass of wine as a standard drink, but it’s important to reinforce that standard drinks are quite small and that there can often be over 7.5 standard drinks in a single bottle of wine, for instance.’

Below is the WHO CAGE test used to assess drinking habits.

2. Weigh up the GLP-1 evidence

‘Many patients consider taking a ‘holiday break’*3 from their GLP-1 medication,’ says Dr Winnett. ‘But it’s important to reinforce that pausing semaglutide suddenly can disrupt appetite regulation, trigger rebound hunger, and make festive overeating even harder to control.

‘Any medication changes should always be discussed between a patient and a doctor. Patients shouldn’t decide by themselves that they need to have a break at Christmas and suddenly stop.’

As a longer-term strategy, introduced well before the festive season, GLP-1 medications may also help reduce alcohol cravings*4 in some patients with comorbid obesity and alcohol-related risk behaviours.

3. Encourage eating first

Dr Winnett says, ‘Encourage patients to have a healthy meal before going out, as eating can slow down the absorption of alcohol.’

Since drinking on an empty stomach can often lead to fast intoxication and loss of control around both alcohol and food, a simple message of ‘food first, then drinks’ can be a powerful strategy.

You might suggest that patients:

Avoid ‘saving calories’ for alcohol – remind patients that skipping meals to ‘make room for drinks’ or to ‘get drunk more quickly’ can backfire, often leading to reactive snacking on high-fat, high-salt foods.

Plan a pre-event snack – Encourage something simple (like a handful of nuts or a high-protein yoghurt) before they arrive at the function.

Healthy festive season tips for patients

The following tips can be shared in consults to help patients enjoy Christmas while supporting their long-term health goals:

Lighten up the champagne with orange juice
Opt for mocktails instead of cocktails
Before the event begins, nominate a certain point in the night to stop drinking
Sip soda from a wine glass, so patients don’t feel they’re missing out (especially for post-surgery patients)
Take your own small glass and drink it empty before topping it up

Refreshing Christmas mocktail recipe: Cranberry Christmas Fizz

Prep time: 5 minutes

Serves 6

Ingredients

4 cups of cranberry juice

2 cups of pineapple juice

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Sparkling mineral water

Ice cubes

Lemon and sugar for the rim of the glass (optional).

Method

Stir cranberry, pineapple, and lemon juices together in a pitcher.

Add ice cubes and stir.

Rub lemon around glass rims.

Dip glass rims in a small amount of sugar or salt.

Pour mixture into glasses and top with sparkling mineral water.

Christmas doesn’t need to be stressful for patients

By screening drinking patterns, reinforcing GLP-1 and bariatric guidance, and sharing a few practical strategies, GPs can help patients enjoy this time of year without undermining their longer-term health.

If you’d like tailored advice for complex bariatric or GLP-1 cases, or wish to collaborate on shared care for your patients, contact the team at Winnett Specialist Group online or call us on (03) 9417 1555.