How to Make Football Season a Healthy One
Football season has officially arrived, which means your Sundays might be filled with lots of food and sitting in front of the TV for most of the day. Instead of sabotaging your healthy routine, make these small changes to stay fit like your favorite players.
Stay in the exercise habit
Plan ahead. If you know you will be sitting all day and eating, get your physical activity the morning before the game and try to eat lighter and healthier the day before.
Do your own touchdown dance. Take a break from sitting every time your favorite team scores and come up with your own touchdown dance. Dancing it out in spurts throughout the day keeps your heart rate up and your body moving.
Commercial break? Break a sweat. Commercials last 30-60 seconds, which is a great amount of time to do some interval ab exercises. The goal of your ab workout will be to hold a plank position for the duration of a commercial. In the beginning, you may only be able to hold a plank for 15 seconds. That's okay. With some practice and consistency, you'll soon be able to hold the plank for the entire commercial break—three minutes or more.
Eat your autumn colors
The fall brings more than just cool weather, it also means the arrival of an array of healthy colorful veggies. Try swapping out some of your traditional tailgate foods for these healthy alternatives.
Lay off the grease and load a whole wheat black bean nacho pizza with vitamin-packed veggies and high-protein black beans.
Skip the heavy fried wings and sugary sauces and bake your own savory Asian-style wings.
Trade your normal fatty fries for baked sweet potato fries with tons of potassium, magnesium, and fiber.
Swap your high-calorie guacamole for a half-avocado, half-zucchini recipe.
A heart-healthy season
Just because it’s football season doesn’t mean you have to pack on the pounds and put your heart at risk. And with September 29th being World Heart Day, this is the perfect month to keep your health in check. Make a promise to yourself to eat healthy, get exercise and say no to smoking.
