What Low-Carb Foods Can I Eat at a Sporting Event?

Ask Theresa is an advice column by Theresa Link. A Virta Health Coach since 2015 and a loyal follower of the ketogenic lifestyle, Theresa is a Registered Dietitian who is an expert in living a metabolically-healthy life. 

In this week’s column, Theresa discusses ways to curb your carb intake while cheering on your favorite sports team. No need to avoid hot dogs, burgers, pizza and wings – you can enjoy these with just a few simple modifications. 

❓Question:

Theresa,

I’m really into college football. A Michigan fan, through and through. GO BLUE! We have season tickets and I attend every game. Problem is, I just started Virta a week ago. My ketones have been awesome and I feel amazing, so I’m panicking about the hot dogs, ice cream, pizza, and funnel cakes. We have over 23 different places to buy food in The Big House. How do I maintain my ketones with so many carbs nearby?

Sincerely,
Haunted by Hot Dogs

👩🏻‍💻 Theresa:‍

Dear Haunted,

Live sporting events of any kind can be hard those of us trying to curb carbs. You can’t bring in any food. No cheese sticks. No nuts. Definitely no beautiful green salad with blackened salmon and an olive oil vinaigrette. You basically have three options: eat during the game, eat before the game, or skip that meal. Let’s dive into each.

Strategies for Eating During the Game

I have been known to pull the hot dog straight out of the bun, dip it in ranch, and eat it like finger food. And for pizza, I’ll slide the cheese right off and fold it like a sausage and cheese roll-up. Perhaps it looks a bit strange, but most folks are too busy yelling to notice. 

In addition to hot dogs and pizza, you have burgers, wings, and bratwursts, all of which serve as carb-friendly protein sources. Hot dogs and bratwursts can be enjoyed with a plastic knife and fork (or cutlery-free like me). Burgers are a great option, too:just skip the bun. Some places will even wrap it in lettuce for you. For chicken wings, opt for a low-sugar sauce like classic buffalo and enjoy with blue cheese dressing or ranch, and ask for extra celery if they have it. If the wings are extra crispy, that usually means they’re heavily breaded. In that case, I’d suggest one of the other options instead.

Eat before the game 

This one’s pretty easy. Any sports bar or grill will offer a variety of options that you can modify to make low carb. Just like at the stadium, you’ll have burgers, hot dogs, bratwursts, and wings. You’ll also have veggie options to choose from, like salads. Most will offer Cobb salads (just skip the croutons) or house salads that you can top with a protein source of your choice. You can even order any sandwich that you like and ask them to hold the bread or wrap.

‍Skip that meal

Since you’re in nutritional ketosis, your body has a virtually endless supply of fuel, and this is why people in ketosis can go without needing to eat every 3 or 4 hours; there’s plenty of fat to provide fuel between meals. And since blood sugar stays steady, there are fewer hunger-inducing crashes, so you simply don’t need to eat as often.

It’s possible to go overboard here. You shouldn’t go more than a day without eating (aka fasting) because you can actually deplete protein stores. As always, hydration is essential, even if you skip just one meal. Try low carb and sugar-free drink options and skip the alcoholic beverages.

Want more info on fasting? Check out Coach Detrick’s episode from our podcast, Your Life, Reset.

‍Enjoy the experience!‍

Remember that attending a sporting event is more about cheering on your favorite team and enjoying time with your friends – the food doesn’t need to be the main focus. Regardless of who you’re rooting for, I just hope both teams have fun.

Whether you’re cheering for football, volleyball, or at a high school basketball game, you have more low-carb options than you think. From hot dogs and burgers to wings and brats, simply skip the bread, pile on the ranch or blue cheese dressing, and stick with low-sugar sauces. Most importantly, enjoy the game!

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