Best & Worst BBQ Foods

By David Zinczenko
Via Men's Health

Last July 4, Joey Chestnut earned his third consecutive victory in Coney Island’s Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest—the gustatory champ downed 68 hot dogs in 10 minutes. That jaw-dropping stat is made scarier still when you realize that Chestnut consumed over 20,000 calories in that time. That’s a whole day’s worth of calories ... per minute.

Now, your own Independence Day festivities may not rival Chestnut’s, but these days you could easily consume a full day of calories in one sitting—and that’s before you reach for seconds. When grills go wild, so do waistlines.

Luckily, for the best-selling weight-loss books Eat This, Not That! and Drink This, Not That! we created the following list of the best and worst summer barbecue foods. Choose the healthier option in each category, and save yourself over 800 calories (or more) at each meal.

Best and Worst Summer BBQ Meat
Eat This!
Pork Tenderloin (6 oz)
328 calories
11.5 g fat (4 g saturated)
95 mg sodium

Not That!
Cheeseburger (5 oz)
630 Calories
41 g fat (15 g saturated)
735 mg sodium

Pork tenderloin is one of the most underrated cuts in the meat case. It's not just lean, but loaded with thiamin, a B vitamin that converts sugar into energy. Compare that to the cheeseburger, which has nearly double the calories and four times the amount of fat.

Then again, maybe only a burger will do for you. If so, switch to grass-fed beef. You’ll get a leaner chuck with a higher concentration of omega-3s. Or check out our recipe for the healthy, delicious Green Chili Burger in our indispensable list from Cook This, Not That! of the 15 Best Recipes for Cooking Yourself Skinny! In just minutes you can save yourself time, money, and hundreds of calories!

Best and Worst Summer BBQ Side
Eat This!
Coleslaw (1/2 c)
150 calories
8 g fat (1 g saturated)
350 mg sodium

Not That!
Potato Salad (1/2 c)
190 calories
12 g fat (3 g saturated)
430 mg sodium

Potato salad is one of those foods that sounds healthier than it is. After all, potatoes ... good. Salad ... good. Here's the problem: Mayonnaise ... bad. Very bad. (Check out our shocking list of caloric calamities in 30 “Healthy” Foods That Aren’t. You'll understand just how food marketers try to trick you into thinking that salads, wraps, smoothies and other favorite foods are healthy.)

Of course, coleslaw is a vehicle for mayo as well, so it comes down to which vehicle is better for the environment that is your body. Coleslaw wins here by a nose; it has fewer calories and less fat, sodium, and carbs.

That said, if you have your heart set on potato salad, prepare it like the Germans do—that is, with a mustard base instead of mayo. This will cut close to 100 calories from each serving. (For other free health, fitness and nutrition secrets that will improve your life right this second, follow me on twitter here.)

Best and Worst Summer BBQ Snack
Eat This!
Tortilla Chips and Guacamole (about 10 chips)
160 calories
11 g fat (3 g saturated)
280 mg sodium

Not That!
Corn on the Cob with Butter
200 calories
7 g fat (4 g saturated)
190 mg sodium

It’s an American birthright to eat corn, but truthfully, it offers little nutritionally compared to a powerhouse like avocado. So stick with the chips. Choose a whole-grain chip like those made by Garden of Eatin’ and you’ll get a boost of fiber to go along with guacamole’s good monounsaturated fats.

Still want corn? Fine, but make it healthier by cutting back on the butter and sprinkling it with chili powder and lime juice. And remember: Cutting calories isn’t always a matter of watching what you eat. Watch what you drink, and you can trim over 400 calories from your daily diet, without actually altering your food consumption at all. See this must-have list of The 20 Worst Drinks in America for the liquids that should never pass your lips. If you go with the healthier alternatives listed you can lose more than two pounds of belly fat per week!

Best and Worst Summer BBQ Salad
Eat This!
Fruit Salad (1/2 c)
55 calories
0 g fat
5 mg sodium
13 g sugars

Not That!
Iceberg Salad with Ranch
175 calories
11 g fat (2 g saturated)
240 mg sodium

Besides mayonnaise, ranch is responsible for turning more healthy foods unhealthy than any other condiment. Instead of munching on the greens, dice up some melons, kiwi, and pineapple and then toss in a few grapes for good measure. This salad’s naturally sweet and loaded with fiber and antioxidants.

Best and Worst Summer BBQ Drink
Drink This!
Yuengling Lager
135 calories
12 g carbs
4.4% alcohol

Not That!
Budweiser American Ale
182 calories
18.1 g carbs
3.2% alcohol

American Ale might sound appropriately patriotic, but it’s the absolute worst of Bud’s mainstream bottles. Choose Yuengling instead. The Lager is full of flavor, not calories. And Yuengling is America’s oldest brewery. What's more patriotic than that?

Your summer feast starts right here, with our FREE grilling guides. You'll get dozens of recipes and cool techniques that will wow your family, friends, and neighbors with flavor.

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FOLLOW DAVE ZINCZENKO ON TWITTER and get FREE live-better secrets every day!

Sign up for the free Eat This, Not That! newsletter.

Check out these cutting-edge guides to fast and easy weight loss, the brand-new Men’s Health Big Book of Exercises and Women’s Health Big Book of Exercises.

Doug Shows Us How To Stretch

Falling Off the Wagon

By Doug Betts
Director of Training, Core Fitness Solution

Have you ever fallen off the proverbial diet and exercise “wagon?” It can be tough to stay the course when the results seem to stagnate, or worse, back slide.

Here's a quote from a song by Robert W. Service that seems to fit appropriately in such a case:

"And so in the strife of the battle of life
It’s easy to fight when you're winning;
It’s easy to slave, and starve and be brave,
When the dawn of success is beginning.
But the man who can meet despair and defeat
With a cheer, there’s the man of God’s choosing;
The man who can fight to Heaven’s own height
Is the man who can fight when he’s losing."

There will always be times when your progress decelerates, stops, or
reverses, but remember to keep moving. As much as we like to think of the
process as science and the results as a foregone conclusion, sometimes
life gets in the way. Murphy's Law sometimes takes over your life. Dave
Ramsey - my favorite radio talk show host - would say that "Murphy" has
moved into your spare bedroom!

When short-term stuff starts getting in the way, we have to shift our
focus further out. This way, we realize that small deviations can be
overcome with small corrections. The fastest way between two points may be
a straight line, but that's only a theoretical construct. In reality,
straight lines don't exist. When you drive your car, you have constant
left and right movements of your steering wheel. Likewise, the space
shuttle (perhaps the most precise piece of machinery ever created) spends
an estimated 97% of its time correcting small deviations in its course.

There will always be setbacks. Just accept them as part of the process
(just like soreness was a part of the process when you first started!).
They are inevitable. The good news is that they are also temporary. Keep
trudging on!

When things get rough for me, I like to picture "Murphy" getting really
frustrated because no matter what kinds of twists, turns, setbacks, or
monkey wrenches he throws at me, he just can't get me to quit.

Don't let "Murphy" win!

The Worst Chips and Dips via Men's Health

By David Zinczenko

Consider the potato: It’s heavy. It’s brown. It’s gnarly. It grows in the dirt. It’s hardly the most appealing food on earth.

Now consider the Pringle: It’s light. It’s golden. It’s crispy. And it comes in a can! A tremendous improvement on the earthbound spud, right? Except for one thing: Pringles aren’t potatoes.

In fact, they’re only 42 percent potato, which means that every time you pop a Pringle, what you’re mostly eating is...um...something else. But what?

Oil. In fact, a single serving—just 14 chips—will grease up your innards with 11 grams of fat, as much as you’d get in a Burger King hamburger. And that’s exactly the problem with most chips: Food marketers have done to the potato and the ear of corn what British Petroleum did to the gulf: They took a great source of natural food, and covered it in oil.

Does that mean you can’t accompany your summer barbecue with a side order of chips and dip? Absolutely not. (I have a friend who followed the advice in Eat This, Not That! and lost 10 pounds of belly fat in six weeks and kept it off—without ever dieting!) There are plenty of healthy options out there. If you love potato chips, check out the Kettle Bakes line (the closest you can get to an unadulterated spud). If you’re into corn chips, Sun Chips Original is made from whole grains—meaning you’re upping your heart-healthy fiber intake with each bite. Below, I’ve listed some simple swaps you can make to help you stay slim all summer long—so you can literally “chip away” at your belly!

WORST REGULAR POTATO CHIP
Boulder Canyon Malt Vinegar & Sea Salt (~14 chips, 28 g)
150 calories
7 g fat (1 g saturated)
410 mg sodium

Boulder Canyon might boast “Natural Foods” on the packaging, but these chips contain nearly double the sodium of all the other major brands in the grocery store. To cut back on the sodium, opt for Popchips Salt & Pepper, instead. Popchips are neither fried nor baked—the potatoes “pop” with heat and pressure. It’s delicious ingenuity.

Eat This Instead!
Popchips Salt & Pepper (~20 chips, 28 g)
120 calories
4 g fat (0 g saturated)
290 mg sodium

Pay attention to how you chase your chips, too. Pick up the latest book in our series, Drink This, Not That!, and find out how watching what you drink can save you more than 400 calories a day.

WORST FLAVORED POTATO CHIP
Ruffles Cheddar & Sour Cream (~11 chips, 28 g)
160 calories
11 g fat (1.5 g saturated)
230 mg sodium

Ruffles are cut thick and crinkled, which means more fried potato is stuffed into each bite. Think of it this way: If you stretched out the crinkles, you’d have a massive hunk of fried potato. If you want a flavored crisp, go for anything from the Baked! Lays line, which has about 10 fewer calories per serving than almost any other brand of baked chips.

Eat This Instead!
Baked! Lays Barbecue Flavored (~14 chips)
120 calories
3 g fat (0.5 g saturated)
210 mg sodium

And remember: Not all food that sounds healthy is healthy. See for yourself—read 30 “Healthy” Foods That Aren’t.

WORST REGULAR CORN CHIP
Fritos Original (~32 chips, 28 g)
160 calories
10 g fat (1.5 g saturated)
160 mg sodium

Beloved Fritos are great for transporting bean dip to your mouth. But they’re decidedly not great for keeping off the belly fat. Choose the Baked! Tostitos Scoops! instead. They scoop just as well as the Fritos, with less than half the fat. And if you crack them in half, they’re roughly the same size, too.

Eat This Instead!
Baked! Tostitos Scoops (~15 chips, 28 g)
120 calories
3 g fat (0.5 g saturated)
130 mg sodium

WORST FLAVORED CORN CHIP
Tostitos Hint of Lime (~6 chips, 28 g)
150 calories
8 g fat (1 g saturated)
160 mg sodium

For Tostitos, a “hint of lime” includes partially hydrogenated soybean oil and artificial coloring. If you want lime-flavored chips, your best option is easily the Guiltless Gourmet line. It has fewer ingredients, less fat, and double the fiber of the Tostitos.

Eat This Instead!
Guiltless Gourmet All Natural Chili Lime (~18 chips, 28 g)
120 calories
3 g fat (0 g saturated)
200 mg sodium

WORST CHEESE DIP
Kraft Cheez Whiz Original Cheese Dip (2 Tbsp, 33 g)
90 calories
7 g fat (1.5 g saturated)
440 mg sodium

This glowing orange goop is pure junk. If you have a taste for cheese, save your calories for the real thing. We're especially fond of Tostitos Salsa Con Queso Medium. With the nutritional perks of tomatoes and peppers, salsa con queso beats straight cheese dip every time. Plus, you can eat twice as much for the same caloric punch (not that you should, of course!).

Eat This Instead!
Tostitos Salsa Con Queso Medium (2 Tbsp, 34 g)
40 calories
2.5 g fat (1 g saturated)
280 mg sodium

For life-changing nutrition and health secrets you can use instantly, follow me on Twitter. And for a more comprehensive list of disastrous beverages, and what to drink instead, check out the new losers on the 2010 list of the 20 Worst Drinks in America.

WORST PARTY DIP
Lay's Creamy Ranch Dip (2 Tbsp, 33 g)
60 calories
5 g fat (2.5 g saturated)
240 mg sodium

Make ranch your staple dip and you could be adding hundreds of low-quality calories to your snacking. Instead, choose hummus. This fiber- and protein-rich Mediterranean staple is perfect for dipping and slathering, and it has only a little over half the calories as nutritionally void ranch.

Eat This Instead!
Wild Garden Hummus Dip Roasted Garlic (2 Tbsp, 30 g)
35 calories
2 g fat (0 g saturated)
70 mg sodium

WORST SALSA
Tostitos Creamy Salsa (2 Tbsp, 32 g)
35 calories
3 g fat (0 g saturated)
150 mg

Salsa is typically the planet's finest condiment because it's packed with antioxidants that help prevent cancers and macular degeneration. Another benefit? It's typically no more than 10 meager calories per 2 tablespoons. Any salsa labeled "creamy," however, has been polluted with a dose of fatty oil. This Tostitos Creamy Salsa is more than three times as caloric as the Ortega Thick & Chunky. Maybe not such a big deal after one scoop. But after 10? You're looking at the caloric difference of four McDonald's McNuggets.

Eat This Instead!
Ortega Thick & Chunky Salsa Medium (2 Tbsp, 31 g)
10 calories
0 g fat
210 mg sodium

For the healthiest packaged foods around, check out 125 Healthiest Packaged Foods for Women and 125 Best Packaged Foods for Men.

WORST GUACAMOLE DIP
T. Marzetti Guacamole Veggie Dip (2 Tbsp, 29 g)
130 calories
13 g fat (2.5 g saturated)
240 mg sodium

Real guacamole is an incredibly healthy spread for chips and sandwiches alike. That's because avocados are rich with oleic acid, a healthy fat that helps to lower the bad cholesterol and raise the good. The problem, however, is that guacamole imposters are hiding in ever cooler in the country. This one from T. Marzetti is made up mostly of oil and sour cream.

Eat This Instead!
Wholly Guacamole Classic (2 Tbsp, 30 g)
50 calories
4 g fat (0.5 g saturated)
75 mg sodium

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FOLLOW DAVE ZINCZENKO ON TWITTER and get FREE live-better secrets every day!

Sign up for the free Eat This, Not That! newsletter.

Check out these cutting-edge guides to fast and easy weight loss, the brand-new Men’s Health Big Book of Exercises and Women’s Health Big Book of Exercises.