Corn dogs, funnel cakes, loaded nachos, cotton candy, fried Oreos...sounds like the state fair or summer festival, right? It’s hard to eat moderately healthy at a festival when the healthiest thing you can find is a sub sandwich. So here are my thoughts about it coming from my observations at Lifest this summer:

It’s no wonder people gain weight and feel like crap after being at a festival for a few days. When a bottle of water costs $2.50 and some places don’t even let you bring in your own food or drinks, most people wouldn’t want to put in the work to plan a semi-healthy meal. The hot sun is quick to make someone dehydrated and when the cost of soda and water is the same, it’s a 50/50 shot that they will choose water over soda.

To give a few examples of the damage that can be done in just one day at a festival, according to bustle.com, a funnel cake has approx 760 calories, a turkey leg has approx 1,136 calories, and fried cheese curds have approx 460 calories. That doesn’t even take into account the fat content, crazy amount of sodium, and that they are likely fried in hydrogenated oils that can lead to heart attacks.

I’m not trying to ruin summer traditions, but it’s easy to forget what you are consuming in an atmosphere like that. What can you do to help lessen the damage? Walk it off, dance and jump around, don’t drink your calories (basically drink water and unsweetened iced tea), and limit an indulgence to only one thing per day maximum. Just because you might be skinny does not mean this doesn’t apply to you. Skinny people can still feel like crap.

So here’s my request to the state fair and music festivals: people need better options. Sure, keep the funnel cakes and deep fried cheese curds because they will always make you money, but for those of us who don’t want to feel like death after eating your food, bring in a few healthy vendors. I can promise that there are people there who will still buy healthy food and make it worth the effort of bringing in something people aren’t used to. When 35.7% of adults are considered obese and 6.3% extremely obese, you are not encouraging a healthy lifestyle for people. At the least, let people bring in their own water.

Summer is about having fun with good company. Let your company be in friends and music, not in food. Also, if you want to see something change, tell someone about it! Lifest always does a survey after the festival is over. Find a way to contact someone in charge and tell them that you want a specific vendor in the area. Lastly, lead by example. People will follow after a good example, and if you could help someone make better choices by the way you live, that leaves you more fulfilled than a funnel cake ever could.