How to enjoy the weekend without paying for it Monday

I just landed in Phoenix.

Bachelor weekend for one of my best friends. Good people, good weather, and I'm sure enough alcohol flowing to sink a small boat.

I'll probably have one drink all weekend. Maybe two.

Not because I'm disciplined. Not because I'm making a point. But because I genuinely don't feel the pull.. and when I do have one, it'll be because I wanted it, with a proper meal, not because someone put a glass in my hand and the situation made it awkward to say no.

I'm not telling you this to be smug about it.

I'm telling you because most of the men I work with are nowhere near that place, and that's completely fine. Alcohol is part of the life you've built. Work dinners. Weekends. A drink with your wife on a Friday night. That's not going anywhere and it shouldn't have to.

What I've spent years coaching men through isn't quitting.

It's drinking smarter.. so the weekend doesn't become something you're recovering from all week.

Here's what actually works:

Only drink when you actually want to.​
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Not because it's there. Not because everyone else is. Not because saying no feels like you're making a statement. If you want one; have one. If you don't.. order something that looks social and move on. Nobody's watching as closely as you think.

Pair it with a proper meal.​
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Protein and fiber dense whole foods — not bar snacks. Food slows absorption, gives your liver something to work with, and keeps one drink from turning into three because your blood sugar crashed an hour in. This is the single biggest shift I give clients who want to feel better the next day without drinking less.

Drink earlier, not later.​
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Alcohol in the three hours before sleep is the most disruptive thing you can do to your recovery. It suppresses deep sleep, spikes cortisol overnight, and hits testosterone by morning. Move the drinking earlier in the evening and the damage drops significantly.

The morning after (don't skip this)​
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Protein breakfast before the coffee. Electrolytes, not just water. A 20-minute walk before anything else. These three things cut your recovery window in half. Cortisol gets back under control, energy returns, and Sunday isn't a complete waste.

None of this requires you to become someone who doesn't drink.

It just requires knowing how your body actually works in your 30's, 40's and beyond, by making a few small adjustments that mean you can enjoy the weekend — and still feel like yourself on Monday morning.

That's the whole game.

Enjoy your weekend.

— Montel

P.S. Is alcohol something you've been trying to navigate around your health goals? Hit reply and let me know — I read every response and it shapes exactly what I write about next.