It’s summer! Barbecues, family reunions, baseball games, and lots of fried chicken, ribs, potato salad, ice cream, hot dogs and alcohol. It’s one of the biggest reasons we love this time of the year, but if you’re not careful, you could quickly pack on the pounds.
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Here are 10 diet dangers you need to watch out for this summer:
1. High-Fat Barbeque
Giant steaks, ribs, and hamburgers can wreak havoc on your waistline. Stay away from ribs and other cuts of meat with visible marbling (white streaks of fat) and fat around the edges. When possible, go for lean cuts like pork tenderloin or skinless chicken breast. Also, avoid burgers made with high-fat ground beef.
2. Hot dogs, Sausages, and Bratwurst.
Hot dogs and sausages are favorite summer treats for many Americans, but you might want to save them for baseball games. A typical hot dog has 280 calories, 15 grams of fat, and 1,250 mg of sodium, while 6 ounces of kielbasa has 330 calories, 24 grams of fat, and 1,590 mg sodium.
3. Mayonnaise-Based Salads.
What would a barbeque be without the coleslaw, or potato, or pasta salad? Probably a lot less fattening. A small half-cup portion of your typical potato salad has 180 calories and 12 grams of fat; the same amount of coleslaw has about 150 calories and 8 grams of fat.
4. Sweet Alcoholic Drinks.
Sweet, fruity alcoholic drinks (the kind often served with an umbrella) may go down easy, but the calories add up in a hurry. Pina coladas can range from 245-490 calories, a daiquiri can contain from 300-800 calories, a Long Island iced tea can set you back 520 calories or more — and much of it is from sugar.
5. Thirst Quenchers.
When you’re hot, you need to stay hydrated. But watch what you choose to quench your thirst. If you’re drinking 12-ounce containers of beer, sweetened soda, sweet tea, energy drinks, or juice drinks, you’re probably taking in about 150 calories a pop. Smoothies, milkshakes, and cold coffee concoctions can go much higher.
6. Frozen Treats.
A cup of soft-serve ice cream can have 380 calories and 22 grams of fat. Make it a Dairy Queen chocolate chip cookie dough blizzard and the calories soar to 720, with 28 grams of fat! Baskin Robbins’ two-scoop French vanilla and peanut butter ‘n’ chocolate on a sugar cone has 660 calories and 39 grams of fat. And Ben and Jerry’s two-scoop Chunky Monkey in a waffle cone has 659 calories and 34 grams of fat.
7. Fair, Carnival, and Boardwalk Food.
State fairs, carnivals, and seashore boardwalks serve some of the most fattening deep-fried diet disasters. From fried cheesecake (around 500 calories), fried macaroni and cheese (610 calories) to gigantic turkey legs (1,136 calories and 54 g fat), most eat-while-you-walk foods will give you calorie overload. Skip the fried foods and choose cotton candy, caramel apples, or a simple grilled meat.
8. Salad Toppers.
A salad can be the perfect no-cook summer dinner, light, refreshing, and a perfect way to get your produce and lean protein. But if you top your salad with high-calorie items, it can go from lean to fattening in a hurry.
9. Sweet or Salty Snacks.
A handful of any kind of snack won’t do much harm, but when you have your hand stuck in the bag or box all day long; it can really sabotage your diet. Each ounce of potato chips or cheese puffs is roughly 160 calories and 10 grams of fat. Ballpark cheese nachos will set you back 692 calories (plus 38 g fat and 1,632 mg sodium); a box of Cracker Jacks packs 420 calories and 7 g fat; and a 10-cup box of movie theater popcorn has 550 calories, 31 g fat, and 972 mg sodium.
10. Fried Chicken.
A bucket of fried chicken is an easy way to feed a crowd, but it can wreak havoc on your waistline (and arteries), especially when you don’t stop at one piece. So forgo the fried and toss boneless, skinless chicken breasts on the grill. A 3.5 oz. skinned chicken breast has only 167 calories and 7 grams of fat, compared to a KFC fried chicken breast with 360 calories and 21 g fat.
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