The Super Bowl!

     If anyone of you are following Scoobysworkshop.com, you will have read a blog he just wrote about exercising while everyone else were all inside watching a football playoff game last sunday. He has some great points! My blog today in looking forward to the big game is at how much alcohol is both sold and consumed during that sunday. It is staggering how many people will sit down in front of the TV all afternoon and evening on this special day in February and consume alcohol. There is something extremely unhealthy about this choice. We should not be "going all out" on this day with either food consumption or alcohol consumption. Just as we strive for balance each day, we should strive for balance on super bowl sunday.
     Now, your probably thinking, "Ryan, how do I find balance on super bowl sunday? and Who cares, its the big game!" Well yes you are right, calling it a big game is an understatement. This is basically as big as the Presidential election and bigger than a gold medal hockey game. This game affects us all in some form or other. Whether we know someone is watching the game, or we are ourselves (even if it is just for the commercials), we are all someway tuned in. So, to achieve balance on this day, the difficulty remains the same as any other day. Here are some simple health and wellness tips for the Super Bowl:

1) Make your own dips! Homemade dips are always better when you can control what ingredients you put in your dip!
2) Make it social! You will probably consume less if you are with other people and you will probably feel less guilty! Emphasize that guests bring over healthy snack foods.
3) Don't buy alcohol. Instead, make a nice smoothie or a double chocolate protein shake to feel like you are treating yourself.
4) Eat whole grain crackers or pita chips. Please take my advice on this one! Regular potato chips are a no no!
5) Don't watch EVERY commercial and every play. Get up and stretch or walk around the house just to keep the metabolism up and burn a few calories about every 20-30min.
6) Workout on sunday. That's right, I know some people believe that sunday is a rest day. Well to me, any day can be your rest day, but its super bowl sunday...... So get an afternoon exercise session in!

    Ultimately, I wish for you all to enjoy this game that only comes around once each year. However, just like every other important day or holiday which comes around once a year, we need to find a way to enjoy it without compromising our health. Make good choices on game day and you may end up saving yourself some money and monday morning won't be as much of a struggle as if you had overindulged in alcohol or food, or both during Super Bowl Sunday.

Ryan Fahey
B.A Human Kinetics
CPTN Canada
Canfitpro
NCCP Canada