Last night’s binge overwhelmed my pre-alcohol prophylactic regimen, though there were other factors at play. Four of my mountain bike buddies and I went out to celebrate one member of the group’s retirement. About an hour beforehand, I took ZBiotics and 2 WineFix (2 more at bedtime) and drank a liter of water with Waterboy electrolytes.
Over a generous dinner, the five of us shared four bottles of wine, actually two magnums. I also had an espresso martini and dessert, far more sugar than I usually touch. After dinner we Ubered to a bar where we sampled bourbon and ended the night with Chartreuse.
Before anyone judges, it has probably been a decade since I have drunk like that. I rarely drink anything other than wine, almost never mix spirits, and do not usually consume that volume. I drank water steadily throughout the evening, and was never remotely a sloppy mess. This was over about a five-hour period.
My wearables were unimpressed. Sleep was poor, sleep efficiency fell under sixty percent, and my resting heart rate climbed to 51 from a normal 42 to 43, roughly a twenty percent increase. Surprisingly my recovery index was good, and that’s usually the most affected in my case. The data made it clear that for me, even the best prophylactic stack has its limits.