Super Bowl Low-Carb Snacking Tips

Will your low-carb lifestyle survive Super Bowl XL today?

I got an e-mail from one of my readers this week that simply asked:

"How do you get through the Super Bowl when you are on Atkins?"

LOL! That's a funny question to me because it's like saying, "How do you keep going to work everyday?" Uh, because I have to pay my bills and take care of my family.

So why is our low-carb lifestyle any different? There's nothing so special about today that you have to go out and overeat on the worthless junk food that is typically served at Super Bowl parties. There is absolutely NO reason why you should follow this trend when you are livin' la vida low-carb.

This Forbes story presents some pretty gruesome statistics in terms of the amount of junk food consumed by Americans on Super Bowl Sunday alone. Cover the eyes of your children, hide beneath your desk, lock the doors because these numbers are truly frightening:

11.2 million pounds of potato chips
8.2 million pounds of tortilla chips
4.3 million pounds of pretzels
3.8 million pounds of popcorn
2.5 million pounds of nuts

Oh, I think I'm gonna have a tummy ache! That's an eye-popping 30 MILLION POUNDS OF SNACKS consumed on this day alone, according to research conducted by the Calorie Control Council and the Snack Food Association.

They figure the consumption of these foods averages around 1,200 calories and 50g of fat just from snacking today. Yikes! They didn't examine the carbohydrate content of those same foods, but I would guesstimate it probably includes about 300g carbs, too! Be still my fluttering heart!

Other than the nuts, there really isn't anything healthy and nutritious about consuming these kind of snacks. And then they will undoubtedly be guzzled down with high fructose corn syrup-laded soft drinks in the gallons per person! EEEEEK! This is all a recipe for a diet-busting day of disaster. This conveniently takes place just a couple of days after most people stop their New Year's resolution to lose weight, too. Double whammy!

Although I recently disagreed with her recommendation that people make "small changes" in their eating habits to bring about big changes in their life regarding doing something about their weight, dietitian and the Executive Director for the Calorie Control Council Beth Hubrich makes an excellent suggestion in this column for people to do BEFORE the game starts this evening.

"To burn off those 1,200 calories from snacking during the Super Bowl, it would take three hours of walking around a football field, or 1 hour and 45 minutes of running. Or, if you want to get into the game spirit, it would take two hours of playing touch football to burn those calories," Hubich stated.

Sounds like fun, doesn't it? Makes you wanna just get out there and sweat your butt off right now, eh? LOL! Of course, Hubrich is being facetious to make people realize how ridiculous it is to eat the way that they do during the Super Bowl. But, if you are willing to put in the time to burn off the calories both before and after the game so you can stuff yourself silly while you are watching it, then go for it! But most people don't have the drive or tenacity to do it nor frankly do they even care.

While this story recommends people try to cut the fat and calories in their meals, a better plan of action for low-carbers is to stick with foods that are high in protein, low in carbohydrates so you can eat in a way that is healthy, delicious and will keep you livin' la vida low-carb long after the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Seattle Seahawks today (do you like my not-so-subtle prediction?)!

In fact, you still have time to get to the grocery store and stock up on these low-carb pairs for snacking:

5 TIPS FOR ENJOYING THE BIG GAME WITHOUT THE BIG GAIN

1. Pepperoni slices and string cheese
2. Cheddar cheese melted on low-carb crackers
3. Cauliflower cooked with melted Velveeta on top
4. Sliced turkey and American cheese roll-ups
5. Smoked brats and sauerkraut (compliments of Bill Fairbairn)

There are many other combinations you can come up with, but those will get your started. Be imaginative and refuse to get suckered into thinking you have to eat all that other junk just to fit in with the crowd at a Super Bowl party. LIE! You have chosen a new pathway for yourself and now it's time to see how serious you are about it.

Will you keep livin' la vida low-carb even on Super Bowl Sunday?