Are you ready to combat Super Bowl diet temptations?

You don't need a reminder to tell you the Super Bowl is coming soon. Now what's that going to do to your diet?

That's simple. Super Bowl and snack time go together. And for most people that means all the rules you've set for yourself are "Out the Window".

But you don't need go out of bounds just because your Super Bowl party has chips, dips, beer and other party beverages.
Guess what you can eat and still join in the fun of the party? You can eat and drink plenty. It just takes some planning ahead.

Just like with most planning, winning at your diet game is mostly a mental exercise. Like Yogi Berra used to say, "80% of the game is 90% mental".

It's not a process requiring trips to the health food store or picking a batch of extra watercress. You can host a party or go to your friends party and still have fun, enjoy the refreshments and stay close to your diet program. During this "party period" you may not lose weight but you won't gain any substantial weight either.

Keep it simple. Go for the low fat and low fat snacks. Try pretzels. Most parties have them. That doesn't mean you can keep dipping your hand continuously into the pretzel bowl. If you can make a snack bag for yourself you can put a measured amount of pretzels (100 to 200 calories worth) and ration them for the length of the game.

If you divide your "authorized snack" into two bags you can save one for the second half. You'll be surprised how having your own bag of an "authorized snack" will give you the will power to withstand eating too much or eating the wrong food or even eating at inappropriate times.

It's like setting any other kind of goal. In this case goal is making one snack pack last for an entire half. For your party beverages choose no-cal soda or water.

And you can yell and scream and cheer your team like everyone. Best of all water does the same thing as beer. It makes you go to the bathroom a-lot. You can get bottled with a hint of a variety of flavors and some even come with vitamins. The real physical specimens, the workout freaks, the muscle guys drink water with vitamins. Why would you want to drink anything else? Of course if you're a fan of diet cola or other diet soft drinks they work too.

So don't choose the chips, the french Fry's and those high fat sour cream dips. Sure pretzels have lots of salt. But if you can handle that they can be a low fat alternative to all the other things you might choose.

If you have a double chin now you don't need to try for a triple one just because of the Super Bowl. If you already have a beer belly you don't need to try for a double one at the tail gate party.

These are a few tips you can use to prepare yourself for the upcoming super-bowl parties.

Pass these tips out to your friends. Send us some of your own tips. Erwin Posner, R.Ph.

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