Today is Super Bowl Sunday, and we have been bombarded with two weeks of hype and commercials, plus it is now February sweeps for the TV networks.  Which reminded me of the connection between watching TV and eating.  A connection I am well aware of personally, and something I continue to struggle with.

Watching TV is a passive endeavor, as you do nothing more than look at the screen. Growing up in the 60’s and 70’s, the TV was often the center of a family’s activity.  We had a TV in the kitchen, so when I would eat breakfast, I would watch the news, or on Saturday, cartoons. Plus, when eating dinner, we would often have the TV on.  My family’s den, had the primary TV in the house, and we often would bring food there to eat, or have snacks, all while watching TV. And watching sporting events on TV is sort of like tailgating, or being at the event, which typically involves eating.

On Super Bowl weekend, pizza deliveries are at their highest for the whole year, and in supermarkets, the big displays, in front of the aisles, are mostly for chips, dips, soda, beer, and anything else that can be eaten, or can be gulped, while watching the TV.  On TV itself, food and drink commercials dominate the airways.

As a result, we grow up hardwired to associate food with watching TV. What else do we do when watching TV?  And this connection has only grown as the TV has morphed into a home theater. What would it be like to go to a movie and not have some popcorn to share, a soda to drink, and maybe some Junior Mints as a chaser. It is also not a coincidence, that movie theaters now have even more snacks and food then was ever available before (e.g., pizza, pretzels, ice cream, etc.), plus the newest theaters have electrically adjustable reclining seats, with cup holders, duplicating that home den La-Z-Boy chair for watching TV.

Given that I have struggled with my post-surgery weight loss, I have been thinking back to some of the strategies I used when I lost all that weight from 2009 to 2011. One of those strategies was to watch less TV.

Just a few thoughts on that — some people do not have TV’s, and all the people I have met that do not have TV’s have been thin.  Also, when I went away for summary camp as a kid, with no TV or computer, I always used to lose a considerable amount of weight during the summer. Coincidence?  I think not.

That’s not to say I would give up watching TV, as it is valuable resource in providing sports coverage, the news, historical information, and entertainment. However, watching less TV can assist you in eating less, so I am trying to watch TV.

So what else can be done?  First off, instead of watching TV read a book, exercise, garden, roam around the city/town, listen to music, write, all of which make it more difficult for us to eat while are doing that activity and which we have not been hardwired to eat when we engage in that activity. Also, you can exercise while you watch TV, so for me, I watch TV when I am doing my hour-long exercise in the morning on my stationary exercise bike.

Another strategy is to eat at a table, and not have the TV on when you eat a meal. Living alone, that is not always easy, as I personally know.  Furthermore, it you feel like you want a snack while watching TV, then chose something that is filling, but with reduced calories.

Here are some substitutions you could make:

Popcorn instead of chips — even better, have air-popped popcorn, and if you want a bit more taste, spray the popcorn with oil (olive, corn, etc.) and then toss with Parmesan cheese, or if you want something sweeter, cinnamon.

Unsweetened Ice tea instead of soda (diet or regular) — for over 6 years I have not had one soda, nor sweetened drink, as they are high in calories and sugar (which can make you even hungrier, even diet soda), and if you want more flavor, squeeze some fresh citric juice into the ice tea, or even into plain water.

Salsa and vegetables instead of chips and salsa, and no creamy or cheesy dip — Cut celery, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, green peppers, etc. into bite-sized portions, and have your guests use those to dip in the salsa instead of chips. Much more nutritious, lower in calories, and more filling.

Fresh fruit instead of cakes and pies — make up a platter of blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, kiwi, oranges, grapefruit, etc. instead of cake or pie. If you just have a have a chocolate fix, then get a fondue pot, and melt dark chocolate with a high coca content (75% or more), and dip your fruit into that.

If all else fails, go for placing tape on the refrigerator and cabinets so that you have to break the tape to get more food.  And I would also suggest looking at your TV guide, and only have the TV on for those shows, events, etc. that you really want to watch, rather than having it on 24/7. If you want some noise in the background, listen to music or the news from Internet streams, the radio, MP3’s, CD’s, etc.

So enjoy the Super Bowl today, but overall, watch less TV, and as a consequence, eat less.

Two spray dispensers for cooking oil, and a container of Roland Diamond Balsamic Vinegar of Modena.

Salad dressings typically contain lots of calories, fat, salt and sugar, and should be avoided if one is trying to lose (or maintain) weight, so instead, I ask for oil and vinegar when I dine out, or use only balsamic vinegar when I eat at home. However, if balsamic vinegar is not available when dining out, I will then use red wine vinegar. And it is amazing, when dining out, how often the server does not know the difference between balsamic vinegar and balsamic vinaigrette – I have won many bets that the server will inevitably bring out a container of balsamic vinaigrette instead of balsamic vinegar. Just so there is no confusion, balsamic vinegar is pure vinegar, made from grapes and is low in calories, whereas balsamic vinaigrette is made from combining oil (usually olive oil) with balsamic vinegar, along with garlic, salt, etc., and it is higher in calories and salt than just balsamic vinegar.

That is not to say I do not use oil in my cooking, but I use it sparingly. The oils I primarily use are olive oil (first cold pressed extra virgin), canola oil (when I want to avoid an olive taste, like with French toast), and peanut oil (with grilled meats when I want a peanut flavor, and want to use an oil with a higher burn temperature than olive oil). I even use olive oil for omelets, instead of butter, but use a spray dispenser (Misto®, or some other spray dispenser) to spray the pan/pot with a thin coat of oil, instead of just pouring the oil into the pan/pot. The main advantage of this technique is that it limits the amount of calories added to the dish since you only use the amount of oil (hence calories) needed to coat the pan/pot to avoid the food from sticking. I learned this technique at the Canyon Ranch Spa (Lennox, MA location), where I took a few cooking classes, and it is the technique they use to limit calories. Other advantages of this technique are that your oil last longer (as you use less), and when cooking up French toast or pancakes (on those special occasions), there is no excess oil in the pan to burn during each batch, as you simply re-spray the pan after each batch rather than re-use the excess brunt oil.

I also use this technique when I cook my vegetables in a microwave, as I first spray them with oil (usually olive oil) before adding any spices, thereby better adhering the spices to the vegetables. In this way, the spices and olive oil can better enhance the taste of the cooked vegetables without adding too many calories, while also helping the vegetables to cook better as the heated oil helps the cooking process. As I have mentioned in earlier posts, part of my process for controlling my food and caloric intake, is to take time on the weekend to clean and cut various vegetables into bite-sized pieces (broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, carrots, sting beans, etc.), put them in a microwave container, spray them with olive oil, add spices (typically, crushed pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika, garlic, etc.), and then place them in a sealed container in my refrigerator so that I can quickly cook the vegetables once I get home during the week.

While on the subject, here are some other dining out tips. First, should the restaurant not have balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar, and one still wants dressing on one’s salad, choose the dressing with the least creamy and/or cheesy composition, ask for it on the side, and then use a fork to sparingly spread it on the salad. Second, avoid sauces, particularly, cream sauces. So instead of having, e.g., sauce béarnaise on a steak, ask for balsamic vinegar instead. As an aside, and as you may or may not know, the more expensive the balsamic vinegar (typically by how long it has been aged – which can be for 25 or more years), the balsamic vinegar has a sweater taste, and is more viscous. These aged/premium vinegars can even be used for meat toppings, dressing, or even dessert toppings. One brand of balsamic vinegar that I particularly like is Roland Diamond Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, and I use it for everything from salad dressing, sauce for meats and vegetables, and sometimes even on desserts.

Another eating out tip has to do specifically with Mexican restaurants. What I do is avoid the chips, tacos, and wrappings, so I instead just eat the salsa straight out of the container with a fork, and/or put it on my dish instead of a sauce. So when first ordering, I ask the server for my own container of salsa, separate from the container that others in my party may be using for dipping their chips, and then eat right out of that container. There are many advantages to this approach – salsa without chips is low in calories, the chips are very high in salt and in calories, and by eating salsa in such a way, I still maintain the flavor of my Mexican meal, without the extra calories and salt from the chips (or tacos, wrappings, etc.). I also eat guacamole in the same matter, sans chips, since avocados, which are high in calories, nonetheless have no cholesterol and contain monounsaturated fat, which studies have shown helps to reduce one’s cholesterol and are a good heart healthy choice.