Picnic Paranoia

Most people I know that worry about their weight dread the holidays. They bemoan Thanksgiving and Christmas and complain about winter weight gain. But for me, the dreaded food time begins in April or May and stretches out before me like an Iowa cornfield. First there are the confirmations and first communions. Then the wedding showers begin, at least two or three each spring, followed by their respective weddings in May and June. There is the usual plethora of graduation parties, and fears of overlapping with fellow classmates' soirees have them stretched throughout the month of June. The seasonal picnics...Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day simply cannot be ignored. You can add in the family reunions, usually three or four per season, depending on which families decide to go the extra mile. And, like me, I'm sure you have friends that throw an annual summer bash that you would never dream of missing.

The math is clear. I can barely find two consecutive weekends from now through Labor Day where food events are not looming large.

And who ever said that picnic fare isn't just as devastating to your health and weight as a turkey dinner with all the fixings? Fat laden hamburgers, hotdogs, kielbasa and brats on white bread buns are not healthy eating no matter how much you load them with chopped onions, tomatoes and lettuce (often the only fresh veggies on the food table). Those delicious baked beans your Auntie Mayme brought are doctored with enough brown sugar and bacon to make a cardiologist wince.

No matter how much you tell yourself a salad is a salad, if it's not mostly green it just doesn't measure up. Potato salad and macaroni salad are not "salads" at all. They are heavy, high calorie, low density carbs loaded down with high fat, high calorie dressing...think mashed potatoes and gravy...same thing, different color. As for fried chicken and corn-on-the-cob dripping in butter, you might just as well stuff them in your arteries and on your hips, because that's exactly where they're going to end up.

Lest we miss part of the picnic spread, lets not forget the wide assortment of potato chips and snack foods...a great way to fill up on nutritionally empty calories with high fat content. Thirty minutes of mindless grazing at the snack food table and you've ingested half a day's worth of calories before you've even seen the real food. And last, but certainly not least, there is the desert table...cakes, pies, brownies, cookies, and the latest decadent creations from the more creative cooks in the family. Don't forget to think about what you are drinking...a few regular colas or cold brews can add hundreds of calories to your daily intake.

How can you cope with this type of offering again and again over the summer months and NOT gain weight? How can you eat at such functions and stave off the heart bypass surgery? It isn't easy. At functions where you have absolutely no control over what you are served, such as weddings and showers, go for the fresh fruit, veggies and salads. Fill most of your plate with those things leaving little room for the heavier, higher calorie foods. If you cannot control the portion you are getting, eat only half of what you are served. It may still be more than you want, but at the very least you will have done some damage control.

If you are going to those hit-and-run graduation parties...eat a protein bar or a cup of raw baby carrots just before you arrive. You'll be full, and the offerings won't be as tempting. Find the healthiest things offered and eat small portions, staying away from the burgers, dogs and fried chicken. My favorite event is pot luck. I can bring what I want to eat. And I always bring two dishes so I have at least my own two offerings to consume. I often bring a large green tossed salad and provide dressings on the side, including the spray-on type. I also bring a veggie, such as fresh blanched green beans, drained and flavored with spray-on olive oil based margarine and tossed with fresh pressed garlic and a little McCormack's California Blend Garlic Pepper (the most versatile seasoning in my larder). Sometimes I will bring fresh fruit, artfully arranged of course. If I'm asked to make a desert, I will do so, but I won't eat any of it.

I have a mantra I say quietly to myself while walking the food line and eyeing the offered dishes...repeat after me...heart attack, stroke, diabetes, heart attack, stroke, diabetes... I do this because it is much easier to make the right food choices for the sake of my health, than it is for the sake of my vanity. Yes, I want to lose weight and look great, but if those things come as a benefit of long-term healthy eating, rather than emotionally painful diet deprivation, the chance of rebound weight gain is diminished. I have come to the conclusion that diets make us fatter, not thinner. And I'll tell you why in my next post! M.E.