DEAR HARRIETTE: My friends constantly lament about how their beach bodies are not ready and they don't know why. They are heavy drinkers, and with heavy drinking comes heavy eating. I try to limit my alcohol consumption so I don't end up hung over and to avoid the calories, but these lessons seem lost on my friends.
Is it my responsibility to try to steer them away from food when they are drunk? They constantly tell me not to "let them" eat while drunk, but I feel as though it is inevitable. -- Booze and Bikinis, Morristown, New Jersey
DEAR BOOZE AND BIKINIS: You are not responsible for your friends' alcohol consumption or for their calorie intake. Because you obviously care about them, you may want to tell them, at a time when they are sober, that they are killing their chances to meet their beach-body goal.
When they ask why, remind them that alcohol is highly caloric and so is binge eating, and they are doing both on a regular basis. Point out that it is their choice what kind of bodies they will have in a few weeks.
(Harriette Cole is a life stylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams. You can send questions to askharriette@harriettecole.com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)