Its that time of year again. Can you feel it in the air? It causes the hair on the back of your neck to standup! No, its not the leaves getting ready to change, or the air getting a little cooler. IT'S FOOTBALL SEASON!
As you can tell, I'm a big football fan. I played football growing up and it was always fun to watch games and bbq with family and friends on Sundays. In Hawaii, because of the time difference, games start at 7am, so we used to wake up early, have a cup of coffee and then start the full day of festivities. This usually started with bloody mary's, a giant breakfast, and then led into beer, burgers, wings, fries, more beer, chips, and normally ended with a sore stomach and a nap on the couch. This would then repeat itself every week.
As I started to do more research and gained more knowledge about nutrition and its effect on the body, I realized this isn't the best course of action, especially if you're trying to maintain any level of fitness. Because what usually happens? You binge all day Sunday, go into a hangover daze and unmotivated to do anything Monday; get in a half-ass workout Tuesday; finally feel normal Wednesday, and then bring on the Thursday night games, college Saturday games, and you cant miss Sunday! And this vicious cycle continues for 5 months.
So what am I saying? You shouldn't partake in something you love? No way! Just be smarter about it.
Most people have a favorite team? So make plans to sit down with friends and enjoy that game. However, enjoy that game only, you don't need to go on a 9 hour football bender every Sunday. Have you heard of a thing called Sportscenter? It's this show that replays the highlights of all the days games, its great!
If your team plays at 10am, plan ahead to get in some exercise before the game starts. Have some healthy options available during the game. If you're unsure of healthy snack options, contact me and I can help. Cheer on your team and have fun! But once that game is over, don't sit on the couch for another four hours like a sloth; get up and do something. Go to the beach, go for a hike, help your neighbor build his fence, read a book, be productive! Then later in the evening, carve out 20 minutes to watch ESPN and catch up on the other games, that way you won't feel like you missed anything.
This may be difficult for some, (it definitely was for me), but you'll still get to partake in the fun of cheering on your team, you'll get some exercise, and not feel like a total piece of shit the following day.
Make your health a priority!