March Madness officially begins tomorrow, which, for college hoops fans, stands as the best two days in the entire year to call in sick. While we most certainly don’t recommend faking sick, we understand why people may choose to do this: tomorrow’s Saint Patrick’s Day and non-stop sports are awesome.
The Northwest will be represented this year with Oregon claiming a one-seed, Oregon St. receiving a seven-seed, and local Gonzaga getting an eleven-seed. While Gonzaga is an underdog, and will likely fail to go the distance, Oregon seems ready to make a run for the title. Yet no matter how well our local teams perform, March Madness makes for a great time, regardless. Unfortunately, this next month can be an incredibly unhealthy time for basketball fans for several reasons.
Many of us choose to watch March Madness at restaurants or bars, as it’s always a bonus to watch basketball amongst a crowd. However, this likely entails eating finger foods such as wings and french fries, in addition to drinking calorie-rich beers. In fact, Americans drink an estimated 220 million gallons of beer each year during March Madness, along with 120 million chicken wings. While there’s nothing better, and perhaps more American than eating wings, drinking beer, and watching March Madness, there’s also few activities more unhealthy than this combo.
In order to compensate for this bombardment of calories, fat and bad carbs, exercise is imperative. If you wish to enjoy wings and beer while you’re watching hoops, then try and eat healthy meals for while you’re not watching March Madness. Also, make an effort to space out your beers by drinking water in between. By staying hydrated, this reduces the chances of developing a hangover the next morning. If you wake up with a hangover, the chances of you summoning the energy to workout will be incredibly slim.
With the weather improving outside, it’s important for us to start our Spring off on the right foot, as many of us have likely gained some winter weight over the past few months. Exercise doesn’t have to be intense during this time; it can be as minimal as doing push-ups and sit-ups during timeouts, which as we all know, can easily drag out the last two minutes of the game into a half-hour.
If March Madness has put a toll on your body, feel free to visit us at AFC Doctors Express Urgent Care Southcenter, where we can provide you with a physical, and monitor your blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing. For more information, call us at 425.291.3300.