3 Tips to Score a Healthy Home Run at the Ballpark

Article posted in: Lifestyle
Baseball Stadium

As spring comes into full swing, so does a brand new season of baseball. Unfortunately, a trip to the ballpark can be total slim-down sabotage thanks to the numerous temptations lurking everywhere you turn. But you don’t have to let a trip to your local stadium derail your diet. With a little bit of mindfulness and some advanced planning, you can hit a healthy home run while you root, root, root for the home team! Here’s how:

1. Rethink Your Drink
Soda and beer are staple drinks at the ballpark. But these beverages cost you calories before you’ve even had a bite to eat. If you want something other than water, consider bringing (or purchasing) a flavored seltzer, water enhancer or even getting a healthy fruit smoothie (just skip the sugary syrup!). Unsweetened ice tea is also a good choice. Of course, if the game just isn’t the same for you without a cold one, opt for one light beer. Most light varieties are typically fewer than 100 calories per 12 ounces. Make it last the whole game by chugging water between sips. Stick to one and you won’t do your diet too much damage.

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2. Mind Your Main Course
From cheesesteaks to pizza, many of the “meal” options at the ballpark are big-time diet destructors. But the healthy options do exist! You just need to be willing to look. Seek out a salad, thin-crust pizza topped with veggies, a grilled chicken sandwich or a veggie dog—just be sure to bypass that liquid cheese dispenser.

The fact is, most ballparks do offer healthier alternatives—they just require some work to find. Just remember that choosing a healthier option can save you hundreds of calories so it’s worth the trouble to seek them out.

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3. Snack Smarter
Snacks like French fries, caramel corn, honey-roasted peanuts and funnel cake may be fan favorites, but they’re no friend to a healthy diet. If, for you, snacking goes hand-in-hand with watching the game, there’s a smarter way to do it. If you like peanuts, opt for dry-roasted or even swap them out altogether for sunflower seeds which are rich in B Vitamins like thiamine and selenium. If it’s popcorn that you love, forgo the butter and keep your size to small. Be sure to share half the bucket with your baseball-watching buddy, and you’ll cut a couple hundred calories. For those that have a sweet tooth, get a small frozen yogurt instead of sugar-packed treats like cotton candy, funnel cake or ice cream.

With these smart swaps, it is possible to enjoy the game—and your snack—without striking out on your healthy diet.