There were lots of festivities this weekend, pretty much all of which centered around food. While this doesn't have to be the case, it certainly tends to be. As I was out and about I saw lots of pitfalls.
First, I went to the Marietta Square for the parade. At 9:30 in the morning, the food vendors were already frying and hawking their wares. As I stood waiting for the parade to make it around the corner, there were some children playing next to me. I couldn't help but notice that they were both obese. It's sad to see young children already suffering with the challenge of overweight, but to make it worse, their mother was already feeding them junk! They were eating a ~20 ounce snow cone (frozen sugar water). I had a feeling that it was just the start of a whole day of eating quasi food totally void of any nutrition.
Later in the day, at a BBQ there were hot dogs and hamburgers (don't even get me started about the food safety issues with these being left out in the heat for hours), vectors for saturated fat and nitrites. Besides the lettuce and tomatoes for the meat, I didn't see any other fruits or veggies -- not even watermelon! There was however, plenty of dessert. Iced brownies sprinkled with m&m's and iced cupcakes as big as a softball. Wash all that down with several beers or cocktails and you'll easily be quickly consuming a couple of thousand calories in one short party.
So what do you do? A friend of mine did one of the best things -- she ate before she came. She knew that the food was going to be high calorie and not the nutritious stuff she prefers, so she ate at home and was able to choose how to spend her calories. Another great tip is to bring something to share that IS healthy -- like watermelon, low-fat pasta or bean salad, fruit salad, or veggie burgers. You will be sure to have something healthy to eat and share a healthy dish with your friends and family. Planting yourself away from the buffet is also a good tip -- don't stand over it and chat, move on and move away!
Remember to keep the liquid calories in check. Controlling alcohol consumption isn't just about safety (although that's enough of a reason!), it's also about controlling calories. Choosing water, sparkling water and diet beverages will help. If you choose to drink alcoholic beverages, consider alternating with a non-alcoholic, calorie-free beverage and/or avoid the really high calorie offenders (like margaritas and fruity or creamy drinks).
Finally, get moving! Play football, catch, frisbee, go for a walk before AND after dinner, swim, run around the yard with the kids... don't just sit there, do something! And have fun doing it. =)
Happy 4th of July and God Bless America (and you too)!
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