Score a Nutritional Touchdown on Super Bowl Sunday

Millions of people look forward to Super Bowl Sunday every year. For some, it's a way to bid farewell to the current football season and relive their favorite team’s glory days. For others, the game ranks a distant second place to the day’s menu and the vast array of food it typically contains.

It's easy to give in to temptation and load up on all the high-fat, salty and sweet treats that go hand-in-hand with one of the year's most significant food-related events. Use this list of do’s and don’ts to create a game day strategy that helps you score a nutritional touchdown.

Tip 1: Do have a game plan

Think through your plans and decide in advance how you’ll handle the multitude of menu choices on game day. A mental game plan can help you avoid spur-of-the-moment decisions that you may later regret.

Tip 2: Do eat before you go

Eat a healthy meal before you head out to a Super Bowl party. If you start the festivities already hungry, you’re more likely to overeat while you’re there. A balanced meal beforehand with plenty of vegetables, lean protein and whole grains will keep you feeling satisfied and better able to make good food choices.

Tip 3: Do exercise early

Start the day with a little activity to burn off some pre-game excitement and offset the extra calories you plan to eat during the game.

Tip 4: Don’t drink your calories

Excessive alcohol, sugary drinks and sweetened soda can derail your best-laid plans to make healthy choices. Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated and curb your appetite at the same time. Limit how much alcohol you drink to avoid the empty calories and impaired inhibitions that can increase the likelihood you overindulge.

Tip 5: Don’t graze the buffet line

Review all your options before you fill your plate. Be selective. It’s ok to have the occasional splurge. Just be sure to take more from the vegetable tray than the platter of nachos or basket of fried chicken wings.

Tip 6: Don’t be afraid to substitute

If you’re hosting a Super Bowl event of your own, make and serve healthier snacks. Try recipes with reduced fat, sugar or salt. Substitute with more nutritious ingredients such as plain low-fat yogurt for sour cream or lighter versions of full-fat cheese and milk whenever possible.

If the Super Bowl is synonymous with snacking for you then you're not alone. Some fun facts according to SNAC International:

• More than $400 million is spent on Super Bowl snacks every year, with corn tortilla chips, potato chips, pretzels and dips leading the list.
• Americans consume an estimated 90 million pounds of snacks during the Super Bowl. That’s enough to fill 17 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
• More than 80 million pounds of salty snacks are typically purchased the week before Super Bowl Sunday—enough to fill 1,000 18-wheel trucks.
• If you laid all the bags of tortilla chips end-to-end eaten during the Super Bowl, they would span the United States 2.5 times.