“Happy hour” is a marketing term for a time when a venue such as a restaurant or bar offers reduced prices on alcoholic drinks. Discounted menu items like appetizers are often served during happy hour. This is a way for bars and restaurants to draw in more business before or after peak business hours.
“Happy Hour” has its’ roots in the Prohibition Era. When the sales and consumption of alcohol were illegal, some restaurants would hold secretive times before dinner meals when they would serve, to select clients, alcohol containing drinks. These became known as “Happy Hour”.
I would like to focus now on the concept of “Happy” as this relates to our perception of eating and drinking. The reason why “Happy” is applied to these occasions is because we tend to feel giddy/happy when we down booze, feel happy when we consume high-caloric bar foods and are even more thrilled when we are paying half prize for the booze and food compared to the non-“Happy hour” prices.
Let’s bring the concept of “Happy Hour” to other no alcohol/no food arenas:
- Spending an intimate hour with your spouse/significant other
- Enjoying an hour playing with your grandchildren
- Taking a hike for an hour on a beautiful day
- Relaxing to an hour massage treatment
We can add many more bullet points to the list of “happy hours” that do not involve booze or food.
The point: Good health will allow us to spend MANY more “happy hours” doing the things we love to do, especially with our loved ones. Although drinking alcohol and consuming the foods we love provide an immediate “happy hour”, cumulatively, these will rob of us of the “happy hours” that are truly more important to us.
Stay focused on your weight control efforts…lots of more important “happy hours” will be yours for the taking.
