March Diet Madness

What is the tie between major sporting events and eating really unhealthy food?  During the Super Bowl this year I learned the statistic that Super Bowl Sunday was the second biggest eating day behind Thanksgiving.  I wonder what the calorie count difference is though?  At Thanksgiving you have a chance at some vegetables and turkey can be healthy, but I can’t think of one traditional Super Bowl food that would be in my normal weight reduction food list.

Now it’s March Madness and since I live between Duke and UNC I can’t help but be interested in the goings on around hoops.  I just got an e-mail from our club up the street that they have a special NCAA menu in the Grille for B-ball watching.  This is what is being served: Buffalo Chicken Wings with blue cheese dressing and celery, Fried Mozzarella Sticks, Fried Mushroom Caps, Potato Skins with Cheddar Cheese, Bacon, Sour Cream and Scallions, Chili Fries, Beef Sliders with three kids of cheese and Nacho Platter.  Out of that whole list I could have the scallions and the celery.

One would think that watching basketball was a huge amount of exercise based on the number of calories that appear to be necessary to watch it.  Maybe it is just that these foods can be consumed mindlessly so one can stay focused on the screen.  I am sure that the club will still have salads available, but don’t plan on any salad specials for the games.  Who can eat with a fork and watch TV at the same time, must be the reasoning?

Since March Madness is an eight-day event if you only count the days games are being played and not the time in between, I venture to say that NCAA tournament is the biggest eating affair of the year by far.  Even if you only eat wings every other day you are probably consuming more calories watching basketball over those eight days than you ever would burn off playing basketball all year.

I’m advocating for some lettuce wraps and fruit kabobs be included in the offerings during the tournament.  People really need to pace themselves, March is a long month.