Diet Detective: Healthy Super Bowl Swaps

Three Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Beers = 211 Minutes of Coaching Football

You ever see those coaches? They’re constantly running around—not to mention the stress. There are some high-calorie beers out there, and this is one of the highest.

Diet Pro: Unless you love Sierra Nevada, your best bet is a regular beer or, even better, one of those micro-light beers. Sample a few light beers before the game to see which ones you prefer.

More: How to Lose a Beer Gut Without Giving Up Beer

One Sloppy Joe = 59 Minutes of Climbing the Stadium Stairs

Have you ever used a stair climber? It’s not easy. Try doing it for an hour for just one sloppy joe. This is a tex-mex creation that includes fatty ground beef, sugar and ketchup and has more than 500 calories.

Diet Pro:Use lean ground beef, and try a low-calorie sauce (without sugar). It will still taste great. Also add veggies (onions, peppers, broccoli—all chopped up) to the meat to lower overall calories and increase health benefits.

Six Traditional Hand-Spun "Buffalo Wild Wings" Dipped in Ranch Dressing = Doing the Wave 6,480 Times.

Stand up, wave your hand and be counted—6,480 times. Six wings from Buffalo Wild Wings have 990 calories. The dressing (two servings) has 340 calories. That’s 1,330 calories.

Diet Pro: Make your own. Go skinless and bake instead of deep frying them.

Two Handfuls of Cheetos Jumbo Puffs = 30 Minutes of Playing Professional Football

The only problem is that, according to The Wall Street Journal, there are only about 11 minutes of actual ball playing in a football game. That means you need to play almost three games of professional football to burn off two handfuls of Cheetos. Keep in mind, that’s 320 calories for about 2 ounces—yes only 2 ounces.

Diet Pro: How about making popcorn sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and sprayed with butter spray? Of course, it's not the same, but it might satisfy that salty cheese urge.

More: Raising the Bar: How to Choose Healthy Snacks

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The Diet Detective's Bio » The Diet DetectiveActive.com Expert
Charles Stuart Platkin is an Active Expert, nutrition and public health advocate, author of the best seller Breaking the Pattern (Plume, 2005), Breaking the FAT Pattern (Plume, 2006) and Lighten Up (Penguin USA/Razorbill, 2006) and founder of Integrated Wellness Solutions and DietDetective.com. Sign up for The Diet Detective newsletter free at www.dietdetective.com.

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