Mini Weight Loss Guide For Football Fans!

i love football. And when football season rolls around, there are a few things I associate with during this time of year. These few things may come in contact with my healthy lifestyle. Those few things are sandwiches, beer, and stress (I'm an Eagle's fan....enough said)!

How do you cope with those things if you are trying to lose weight and improve your health?

Well, let's start with sandwiches. What you put in sandwiches is pretty simple when it comes to healthy foods to eat to lose weight. Tuna, salmon, lean chicken, lean turkey, lean beef, egg whites, and more. However, when it comes to the bread, that's where it gets a little tricky....

I was reading an article in one of my favorite magazines, Men's Health, and they had listed 4 healthy alternatives to sandwich bread. Check them out:

Boston Lettuce:A full cup of these velvety green leaves (also called Bibb lettuce) is just 7 calories, and it's a good source of folate and vitamin A.

Sprouted-Grain Bread:
With sprouted-grain breads, the entire grain sprout is ground into dough. The resulting loaf is soft like regular bread but contains 3g fiber sand just 80 calories a slice.

Wasa Crispbread:
One of these crunchy, graham cracker-size crispbreads from Swedish bakery Wasa contains just 7 grams of carbs-compared with 21 g in regular sliced bread.
Kavli Crispbread:
Kavli crackers are light and wafer-thin, like crispy tortilla pieces. Each cracker has only 20-40 calories---a sixth of what's in a slice of bread.


What about beer?

What are some good beers to have if you are on a diet? Obviously you are going to have to choose beers that are low in calories, and definitely one's that are low in carbs.

Another thing I would like to mention before I talk about the best beers to drink if you are on a diet, is that you got to understand that beer is "empty calories". There is no nutritional value coming from drinking beer. For this reason, and of course to avoid getting wasted, make sure you limit what you drink as much as possible.

As we speak, I have a case of beer in my fridge. Want to know how long it's been there? 2.5 months! How? I only drink 1 to 2 beers a week, and sometimes 1 every 2 weeks. Be careful with your beer consumption for weight loss and for your overall health.

Here are some beers I recommend if you are on a diet:

Guinness Draught Bottle (4.2% alcohol)
Calories: 125 ** Carbohydrates: 9.9 grams (g) ** Foods it goes best with: Creamy, mild taste plays well with shellfish and soups. Taste test: "Smoky flavor with hints of coffee. Breakfast, anyone?" ***


Yuengling Premium (4.4% alcohol) (MY FAVORITE!!) Calories: 135 *
Carbohydrates: 12 g * Foods it goes best with: Hoppy, sweet notes blend best with barbecue or pan-Asian foods. Taste test: "A little bitter and a little sweet, like my relationship with my ex." **


Sol Cerveza Especial (4% alcohol)
Calories: 127 ** Carbohydrates: 10 g ** Foods it goes best with: Its light body and fizzy texture are the perfect foil for spicy fare, like jalapeno-heaped nachos. Taste test: "Tastes like a Mexican Budweiser. Can someone snag some nachos and a lime?" *


Victory Lager (4.8% alcohol)
Calories: 138 * Carbohydrates: 11 g * Foods it goes best with: This crisp lager cleanses the palate after a burger. Taste test: "A little hops-heavy at first, but the taste grows on you." ***


WINNER
New Belgium Skinny Dip (4.2% alcohol)
Calories: 110 *** Carbohydrates: 7 g *** Foods it goes best with: This bright, light beer pairs nicely with chicken and fruit. Taste test: "A good beer for kicking back after a long day of hard work." ***


Now onto stress. My Philadelphia Eagles, and pretty much all Philadelphia sports teams have a tendency to get my blood pressure up!!! The Phillie's were doing good all year, and now they are starting to slip. The Eagles looked pretty good in the preseason, but who knows what will happen in the regular season....especially if they get key injuries (Mcnabb, Westbrook). The only teams that really don't get me too frustrated would be the Flyer's and the Sixer's....and that's because the expectations are not as high.

If you are a true fan of your team, you are going to feel negative and positive emotions no matter what. But when you are a fan of a team that always seem to JUST ALMOST make it, it has a tendency to drive you up the wall!

Stress can have an impact on not just your overall health but also for your weight loss efforts. Here are some things I do to relieve stress during the sports seasons...especially football...lol:

- Drink a lot of beer! Just kidding!! One thing I may do if I find myself getting tense before a game is to go for a walk around the corner. This can help in getting my mind at ease, and relieve some of that nervous energy.

- Breathe. I'm serious. Doing breathing exercise can do wonders for stress and relieving tension. Take deep breaths and hold it for 2-3 seconds, exhale slowly, and repeat until you start to feel relaxed.

- Avoid foods and drinks high in caffeine before and during watching sports games! Trust me on this one! All this will do is heighten your level of stress.

- Understand that it's just a game. There are several teams out here and they all have just as much a chance to win each year as your favorite team does. Sure you can get upset with stupid penalties, plays, etc., but not to the point where it causes health problems due to stress and high blood pressure.