So you’re at a backyard barbecue and everything looks delicious, but you’re still trying to whittle off a few pounds. How can you enjoy yourself and stick to your diet at the same time? You know we’ve got the answer! It’s a battle of the barbecue foods:

• When your choice is between a burger or a steak, which one wins? Believe it or not, the steak, but it has to be the right steak. A tenderloin, or any cut that ends in “loin”, is an extremely lean, protein-packed cut – whereas most ground beef has 15 to 20% fat. In fact, a four ounce burger can have twice as many calories as a six ounce filet. Just remember, “loin” means “lean.” Plus, with the burger, once you add toppings like cheese or thousand island dressing – forget it.
• Next, it’s the coleslaw versus the potato salad. Which should you scoop onto your paper plate? Well, neither is a really great choice because they’re both loaded with mayo but ounce for ounce, the coleslaw is slightly better. It’s made from cabbage which contains a chemical that boosts your body’s production of enzymes that fend-off cell-damaging, cancer-causing free radicals. So go for the slaw.  
• And what’s on the dessert menu at the barbecue? Succulent summer fruit? Great. But which is better? In one corner you’ve got a slice of watermelon. In the other, a sweet peach. Reach for the watermelon. Nothing’s really wrong with peaches – they do have a few more calories than the watermelon though, and they have one of the highest sugar contents of any fruit. But what really puts the melon over the top? It’s loaded with lycopene – which helps fight a lot of different cancers, including prostate and breast cancer. Plus, you can have a seed spitting contest afterward.