Today is quite possibly the single-most insanely hectic shopping day for many people. You roll out of bed extra-early, head for whatever store has your interest and hope that you manage to score that geeky toy that will brighten someone’s day – or maybe just your own. Black Friday is not only dangerous from the aspect of getting smooshed at a door-buster sale, but also from sheer frustration, rush, and ease of access to fast food. Rather than run the risk of a dangerous case of the hungries, here are some things you can do to avoid getting trampled by your stomach as it drags you towards the nearest pile of french fries. (Trust me when I say I’ve been there!)
Eat something before you head out. It’s such a simple thing, but it’s so often overlooked. Having something that you know is filling and healthy before you go to the store is the absolute best thing you can do. (No, a cup of coffee and a slice of toast will not suffice unless you’re just heading out for one thing at the 7-11.) After all, if your tummy is already full, you’re far less likely to give in to the temptation of eating. Think of it as a way of getting that cooking trade-skill up another point – or perhaps avoiding that dreaded expanding-waistline debuff!
If you don’t have time to do that, grab a healthy snack for the road. It takes only a moment to grab a piece of fruit to nosh on. Apples, pears, bananas, grapes and more are excellent travel fruits that will wait patiently in the car until you have a chance to snack on them between stores – and any waste left over is biodegradable! Healthy natural sugars are great for when you’re going to be running all over hell and back, too. Even a bag of microwaved light popcorn or a 100-calorie pack (or two) is better than having nothing at all to snack on during a long day trekking all over town.
Bring someone or something to distract you. Whether you like it or not, you’re likely going to be standing in line at the store for some time. Considering stores like Home Depot and Staples have areas chock full of sugary-sweet impulse purchases near the registers, you can bet there will be piles and piles of sweets and soda waiting to tempt you out there. You are far less likely to pay attention to them if you’ve got someone to cut up and have fun with, or an interesting game to play on your Droid/iPhone/Crackberry/other geeky device. If all else fails, consider doing something like checking your text messages used on your cell phone, call your bank to check your balance, or re-read the Black Friday ads in case you missed something. Just remember – these are not the snacks you are looking for.
If you must grab a bite out, try to make as healthy a choice as possible. That salad at your local McBurger joint may look healthy, but be careful about the toppings. Ranch dressing is a surprise caloric killer that loves nothing more than to trip people up. Kids meals have the benefit of creating automatic portion control if you absolutely must have some chicken nuggets right now or someone is going to get hurt.
Remember those check-out line coolers we were talking about earlier? You can usually find bottles of water tucked away in a corner of the cooler, depending on the store – and water is an excellent choice for filling you up. (Just make sure you head for stores with public restrooms if you’re going heavy on the water!) Grabbing a quick black coffee (or something with Splenda/Stevia/etc.) at the nearby Starbucks is a good option too as caffeine helps quell hunger. It is a bit of a diuretic, however, so be careful about sucking down too many Venti cups of coffee. Oh, and avoid those boutique coffee drink choices unless you’re opting for sugar-free syrups and skim milk. We’d be willing to bet you don’t really want to get a weight-gain present from the calorie fairy this year.
In all, Black Friday will always remain somewhat scary, if just in terms of the crush of people going after the deals of the season. But with a little thought, it doesn’t need to be any scarier than that.
Alternately, you could just save yourself the trouble and wait for Cyber Monday. We are geeks, after all!
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