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The Fit Fan: Surviving The Parks
Jun. 24th, 2011 08:43 pmIt's summer, so parks from Six Flags Great Adventure to Cedar Point to Kings Dominion, are open for another season. (Of course, if you are in California or Florida, the parks are open year-round.)
Fannish types LOVE amusement parks. They don't have to have kids to enjoy them. They don't even have to bring anybody else with them, though it is a lot more fun to exchange quotes of your favorite movie lines while on a roller coaster with other like-minded people.
But parks (and I'll throw in zoos as well) offer hidden dangers and I don't mean a ride gone off the rails. The problem is the food. The only place with worse grub is the fair. Most of what they dole out is meant to satisfy the salt-and-sugar-loving palates of children. Plus there are snacks galore, hardly any of which are healthy and low in calories.
So what are you to do? My quick and dirty advice is this: bring your own food from home. Last year, when I went to Sea World with some relatives, I brought an apple with me to eat as a snack. When I went to Legoland recently, I brought a sandwich I made at home, lower calorie chips, and a lower calorie granola bar. Not only will it save a lot of excessive calories, fat, sodium, and sugar, it will save you a crapload of money (park food is pricey), and chances are it will taste a lot better than anything most parks serve. Many parks will let you bring a picnic so long as you're not bringing in alcohol or glass bottles. Check with them in advance to see if they allow it.
Some parks don't want you to bring in anything. You can tailgate it instead, chowing down your lunch before going in and discreetly smuggling in a healthy snack for later.
Now let's say you're one of those people who has to enter the gates as the park opens and you don't leave until the sweepers chase you out after the fireworks show. Let's say you can't bring anything because you're visiting from out-of-town. Or for whatever reason, you can't eat before or after visiting the park. You're stuck!
Well, some parks have tried to offer less-bad fare to health-conscious visitors. But as with restaurant food, not everything that seems healthy is. According to "Eat This, Not That," most wraps are far worse than the trinity of pizza, hot dogs, and hamburgers. Here's what to look for:
1. Grilled chicken or any other grilled meat. If they offer skewers, go with that. If they have grilled chicken sandwiches, order one of those. Fortunately most park food service places don't put anything on the food because they don't have time. Go over to the condiment stand and avoid the mayo.
2. Veggie or cheese pizza. Look for thin crust pizzas and blot off the grease off the top.
3. Hamburgers. Most of the burgers you find at parks have 1/4 lb patties like McDonalds; you'll rarely find a huge Five Guys style burger. Again, most of them are served naked, so get ketchup and mustard from the condiment stand. Hold the mayonnaise.
4. Hot dogs. As long as they're regular-sized, not a big fat Polish sausage or something, they're not the worst things you can eat at the park. Ketchup, mustard, onions, and a little bit of relish do little harm.
5. Salads. Salads are fine as long as they are not covered with croutons, fried "noodles," or smothered with creamy dressings. Order a low fat dressing on the side.
Stay away from the french fries, fried chicken, or fried anything else. I'd also advise steering clear of bbq ribs, creamy cole slaws, or pastas.
When I went to Disney's Hollywood Studios during Celebration V, I ate a turkey sandwich on whole wheat. It was a little smaller than a Subway footlong and it came with baby carrots. I saved the baby carrots (consumed on the trip home) and ate the sandwich without any condiments.
As for snacks, parks have peanuts, popcorn, cotton candy, ice cream, giant pretzels, and all kinds of other goodies. If you really have to have a snack and you didn't bring anything with you, I would advise avoiding the cotton candy (I was shocked to see how many calories it has). Plain pretzels aren't so bad if you eat one in place of a meal or you share it. Don't dunk it in sauce. Popcorn is usually a healthy snack, but like at the movies, the stuff you buy at the park is full of salt and butter. Peanuts, particular the shelled ones, are healthy per se but they are also high in calories; limit what you eat and share.
Any ice cream bar or sandwich not called "Skinny Cow" should be avoided. But a single scoop of ice cream, free of whipped cream, "fudge," or any other crud dumped on it, is fine just as a treat.
Remember too that drinks other than water or diet sodas have calories. Lemonade, juices, flavored iced teas, etc. can run over 100 calories per serving. Drink a big vat of it and you're downing a lot of empty, sugary calories.
Now if there's something you JUST have to have, come hell or high water, eat light the rest of the day to factor in the extra calories.
The good news is that you get to do an awful lot of walking at the park. Pushing a stroller adds to the workout. Eat healthy and you'll get the most out of the exercise.
Fannish types LOVE amusement parks. They don't have to have kids to enjoy them. They don't even have to bring anybody else with them, though it is a lot more fun to exchange quotes of your favorite movie lines while on a roller coaster with other like-minded people.
But parks (and I'll throw in zoos as well) offer hidden dangers and I don't mean a ride gone off the rails. The problem is the food. The only place with worse grub is the fair. Most of what they dole out is meant to satisfy the salt-and-sugar-loving palates of children. Plus there are snacks galore, hardly any of which are healthy and low in calories.
So what are you to do? My quick and dirty advice is this: bring your own food from home. Last year, when I went to Sea World with some relatives, I brought an apple with me to eat as a snack. When I went to Legoland recently, I brought a sandwich I made at home, lower calorie chips, and a lower calorie granola bar. Not only will it save a lot of excessive calories, fat, sodium, and sugar, it will save you a crapload of money (park food is pricey), and chances are it will taste a lot better than anything most parks serve. Many parks will let you bring a picnic so long as you're not bringing in alcohol or glass bottles. Check with them in advance to see if they allow it.
Some parks don't want you to bring in anything. You can tailgate it instead, chowing down your lunch before going in and discreetly smuggling in a healthy snack for later.
Now let's say you're one of those people who has to enter the gates as the park opens and you don't leave until the sweepers chase you out after the fireworks show. Let's say you can't bring anything because you're visiting from out-of-town. Or for whatever reason, you can't eat before or after visiting the park. You're stuck!
Well, some parks have tried to offer less-bad fare to health-conscious visitors. But as with restaurant food, not everything that seems healthy is. According to "Eat This, Not That," most wraps are far worse than the trinity of pizza, hot dogs, and hamburgers. Here's what to look for:
1. Grilled chicken or any other grilled meat. If they offer skewers, go with that. If they have grilled chicken sandwiches, order one of those. Fortunately most park food service places don't put anything on the food because they don't have time. Go over to the condiment stand and avoid the mayo.
2. Veggie or cheese pizza. Look for thin crust pizzas and blot off the grease off the top.
3. Hamburgers. Most of the burgers you find at parks have 1/4 lb patties like McDonalds; you'll rarely find a huge Five Guys style burger. Again, most of them are served naked, so get ketchup and mustard from the condiment stand. Hold the mayonnaise.
4. Hot dogs. As long as they're regular-sized, not a big fat Polish sausage or something, they're not the worst things you can eat at the park. Ketchup, mustard, onions, and a little bit of relish do little harm.
5. Salads. Salads are fine as long as they are not covered with croutons, fried "noodles," or smothered with creamy dressings. Order a low fat dressing on the side.
Stay away from the french fries, fried chicken, or fried anything else. I'd also advise steering clear of bbq ribs, creamy cole slaws, or pastas.
When I went to Disney's Hollywood Studios during Celebration V, I ate a turkey sandwich on whole wheat. It was a little smaller than a Subway footlong and it came with baby carrots. I saved the baby carrots (consumed on the trip home) and ate the sandwich without any condiments.
As for snacks, parks have peanuts, popcorn, cotton candy, ice cream, giant pretzels, and all kinds of other goodies. If you really have to have a snack and you didn't bring anything with you, I would advise avoiding the cotton candy (I was shocked to see how many calories it has). Plain pretzels aren't so bad if you eat one in place of a meal or you share it. Don't dunk it in sauce. Popcorn is usually a healthy snack, but like at the movies, the stuff you buy at the park is full of salt and butter. Peanuts, particular the shelled ones, are healthy per se but they are also high in calories; limit what you eat and share.
Any ice cream bar or sandwich not called "Skinny Cow" should be avoided. But a single scoop of ice cream, free of whipped cream, "fudge," or any other crud dumped on it, is fine just as a treat.
Remember too that drinks other than water or diet sodas have calories. Lemonade, juices, flavored iced teas, etc. can run over 100 calories per serving. Drink a big vat of it and you're downing a lot of empty, sugary calories.
Now if there's something you JUST have to have, come hell or high water, eat light the rest of the day to factor in the extra calories.
The good news is that you get to do an awful lot of walking at the park. Pushing a stroller adds to the workout. Eat healthy and you'll get the most out of the exercise.
