Scanning the room it’s obvious, everyone else is doing it. Cheers fill the air and reverberate through my skull reminding me that I’m not having any fun. I am the only one not doing it. Peer pressure, they call it, and it works. Slowly, my resolution to withstand the pressure of my surroundings corrodes.Quickly, before I can change my mind, I plunge my hand into the bag and pull out. a handful of potatoes chips.

It’s Sunday afternoon and I’m at a football party. Every week my friends and I get together to hangout, watch some football and eat. The coffee table looks like the shelves buckled in the potato chip aisle and slid onto it and the refrigerator is so full we need a baby proof door-snap to keep it from bursting open.

It’s hard to stay on track when there’s a smorgasbord of delicious treats within reaching distance. They sit there mocking me. “Eat,” they scream. “Eat” because it’s a party; “eat” because it’s just for today, you’ll do better tomorrow; “eat” because Doritos’s fill the hole Romo tears in my heart when he throws the third pick of the game. “Eat!!!”

The devil on my shoulder wins and I eat the crappy food. And ruin my goal to eat healthy.

There’s hope, however, according to Kathleen M. Zelman, MPH, RD, LD an expert columnist for WebMD. In her article, Tips for Terrific Tailgating, Zelman gives advice on how to maintain a healthy diet and attend a football party. Apparently, if you are proactive and mindful, football doesn’t have to be synonymous with feast.

She offers some tips to help you avoid the snack foods and still enjoy the game.

Zelman suggests having a small snack before attending the game to quell the immediate urge to wolf down chips. Something with fiber and protein rich, like cereal and yogurt, is best.

When you do hit the buffet, Zelman says to survey all your options first and only pick the options that are healthiest. She also claims that putting everything on a plate, instead of eating directly from the bag or “continually grazing from the buffet,” helps you monitor how much you’ve eaten.

If you’re hosting, opt for more fruits and veggies; low fat chips and dip; and backedwhat are “backed” chips??? chips. (If choosing this option, I suggest warning friends in advance. For us dieters this is great, for others expecting mass quantities of chips, dip and grinders not so much.)

Forethought and attention can keep your diet in check and help you not immediately fall off the wagon.

As for reactive eating, eating in response to a lousy play or a loss, I suggest carrot sticks. Aggressive chomping is very cathartic.