10 Tips for Healthy Tailgating

The fall sports season is full of big games and fun times, celebrating your favorite teams before and after the action on the field. Whether you’re a fan of football, soccer or field hockey, tailgating brings us together to support the players, socialize with family and friends, and enjoy good food in the great outdoors. The good news is that you can get in on the action while staying on track to your weight loss goal. To help you prepare a winning game plan for healthy eating, here are 10 tips to keep in mind when you tailgate this season.

1. Eat a healthy breakfast.

Avoid the trap of skipping breakfast on game day to save calories for the tailgate. Instead, kick off the day with a hearty, healthy morning meal that will keep you from feeling famished when the tailgate begins and then overeating. If you’re in a hurry before you head to the game, whip up a nourishing Caramel Coffee Protein Shake with Nutrisystem’s Vanilla Shake Mix and enjoy one of our fully prepared breakfast options. You’ll be fueled up and ready for the big day ahead!

2. Bring your own.

The most reliable way to be sure you have good, healthy choices at any party is to bring a dish or two yourself. Try one of our party favorites, like Cauliflower Buffalo Bites or Skinny Spinach Dip. Everyone will love them but only you will know they’re diet-friendly.

10 Tasty Game Day Recipes

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3. Survey the buffet.

Before stepping up to the plate, take a moment to look at all the options you have to pick from. If you see a couple of unhealthy foods that you really love, fill your plate with good choices first and leave room for just a few bites of the favorites you can’t resist.

4. Seek out the SmartCarbs.

Many common foods at tailgates are simple carbohydrates that are high in calories and low in fiber, such as potato chips, cookies, brownies and soda. Pass on them and go for SmartCarbs such as whole grain crackers, hummus or fresh fruit. You can also bring healthier versions of these tasty treats by whipping up one of the many recipes here on The Leaf! We have recipes for all of the above. Try these recipes for Air Fryer Potato Chips, Black Bean Brownie Dip and Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies! >

Pro Tip: Throw some fresh fruit on the grill to take the flavor to the next level!

5. Lean on low-fat protein.

Grilled foods are common tailgate favorites. Whenever you have a choice, pick PowerFuels like lean turkey burgers or chicken breast. They’re high in protein to fuel you up for fun, but they are low in saturated fat so you don’t load up on excess calories.

The 5 Worst Calorie Bombs at the BBQ

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6. Hold the ketchup and mayo.

The classic condiments ketchup and mayonnaise are categorized as “Extras” on the Nutrisystem Grocery Guide. This is because they’re higher in calories than other options. You can enjoy these in moderation, although it can be quite hard to measure out the correct serving size when you’re at the tailgate. Instead, opt for lower calorie condiments like mustard, which is a “Free Food” and unlimited on your Nutrisystem weight loss plan.

7. Load up on veggies.

If burgers or other kinds of sandwiches are the main course at your tailgate, top them with as much lettuce, tomatoes and onions as you’d like. This will add delicious flavors and textures while providing one of your four daily servings of non-starchy vegetables.

8. Limit alcohol.

While alcohol is high in empty calories, you can enjoy an adult beverage and stay on track with your healthy eating plan. Go for light beer or hard seltzer, white wine or a cocktail without sugary mixers. You can also whip up a batch of our Virgin Jalapeno Lemon Margaritas to share.

Note: Nutrisystem recommends a maximum of two servings of alcohol per week. Try to spread them out so you don’t have them on the same day. Stick to proper portions: A serving of wine is about four ounces (half cup).  A serving of beer is 12 ounces—the amount in standard bottles and cans. One shot—or one and a half ounces—is one serving of liquor.

Alcohol on Nutrisystem: Everything You Need to Know

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9. Stand up.

You burn more calories when you’re on your feet than when you’re sitting on your rear end. At a tailgate, it’s perfectly acceptable to stand while eating. Burn off a few more calories by playing cornhole or another fun game, which also keeps you from standing around the buffet and continuing to pick at the food.

10. Stay on first.

The temptation to make a second trip around the buffet can be strong. Before you do, wait at least a half hour after finishing your first plate before you decide whether or not you are full before returning to the buffet table for seconds.

The post 10 Tips for Healthy Tailgating appeared first on The Leaf.

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Wintertime cardio, Treadmill walking on incline vs. rowing machine vs. Stationary bike?... planning ahead for the ice.

Hello, M32, 5'11" SW 214lbs, CW 192lbs, GW 180lbs.

I've taken up running for cardio to help lose weight, and I'm really enjoying my runs. I'm currently running 30-40km/week. Running is keeping me sane, I've noticed that it really helps with my appetite and my food choices, as I've started thinking in terms of "how far am I going to have to run to burn this food off". My big problem is that I live in a small Canadian town with a pretty shabby snow removal service and winter is coming.

I have a gym membership, Right now I have a 4-day running schedule of "Long-run/Leg day in gym/Upper body day in the gym/Rest day". On my "long-run" day, I do a run between 8-12km. My gym days I usually do a 3-5Km run in the mornings and 1.5 hrs in the gym in the afternoon. On my "rest day" I still try and get in 2 light jogs that are about 3km each. I have access to a treadmill in the basement of my house that I will walk on for a couple of hours a day when the weather outside isn't conducive to running (rain, wind, etc.)

I firmly believe that the calories I'm burning running and the mental benefits of running outside are the keys to my success thus far and I'm scared of what's going to happen when the snow and ice make it unsafe to run outside. I have never been able to jog at any pace on a treadmill, I always, and I mean always hurt my knees when I do, and I don't want to do any more damage to them than I've already done. I have this weird stutter-step in my gait when running that just doesn't mesh with the constant speed of the treadmill.

I am kind of at a loss for what I should do when the snow hits, I don't want to lose my favorite exercise and my favorite motivation (I'm getting addicted to the little medals Strava gives you). I do somewhat enjoy power walking on the treadmill while watching television, according to the treadmill stats I burn ~800 cal in a 75min session (10 min warm-up, 50 min full speedwalk, 15 min cooldown). I have also considered the rowing machine and stationary bike at the gym. The bike has the advantage that I could watch something on my tablet while I go, but I think rowing might be the best bang for my buck calorie burn-wise. I'm also concerned that if I go with the bike route that I won't actually go hard the whole time, because of the fact that you're sitting down and it's easy to just half-ass pedal while you're on it.

I would just like to ask the people who are/have been in a similar situation to me what solution they have tried for this problem.

What has worked for you?

Should I try and maybe rotate all three?

I'm also tempted to abandon cardio and weight loss completely for when it's icy out and just try to figure out my new maintenance, eat at that, attempt to lift bigger, and try to accomplish some body recomposition over the winter. I really don't know what I should do.

Sorry for the long-winded post, I wanted to put enough information and I woke up early today having a minor freak out thinking about it. I know that weight loss is mostly what you eat, but I know me, and without some tangible fitness goals and targets attached, I'm going to get bored and give up. I'm terrified of waking up sometime in Spring and being in worse shape than when I started this all because of ice and snow. Maybe I just need to have some type of a plan for it just to keep my mind from panicking.

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Losing weight while depressed

I’m a 5’2 female, ~160lb. I’ve always been just slightly overweight and have tried many times in my life to lose weight by various means (the most recent being simple calorie counting).

The issue is, I have depression and anxiety and as a result I’m a person with very low energy and motivation. The pattern for me goes as follows: I’ll get fed up with being overweight (often after a holiday or some event where I have to get dressed up and hate how I look, or after seeing a photo of myself). I’ll decide it’s time to make a change, and try to change something about my lifestyle in a way that feels sustainable (low impact exercise programs like couch to 5k, eating smaller / more protein rich breakfasts and lunches while not worrying about what I eat for dinner, cutting out a non essential food item like soda, etc.). I’ll feel good about the change for a while, but since it’s not a drastic I’ll see no difference, I’ll get impatient, an external stressor will make my mental state take a turn for the worse and then I’ll binge eat and the “healthy” phase ends. (Any more drastic change, on the other hand, lasts half a week at most before I get burnt out on it and quit.) Food is a huge coping mechanism for me, and one I find it very difficult to replace—I have a good support system and social circle, a loving relationship, a few hobbies, but nothing feels as good and makes the sad go away as quick as eating comfort food. I also lack the motivation to cook for myself during my depressive cycles and will depend on ordering in, often junk food, for days or weeks at a time.

It’s worth noting I’ve been medicated for my mental health issues for many years and that the medication is effective, but also causes weight gain and seems to discourage weight loss. I’ve spoken to my psychiatrist about trying non-SSRI’s, but it’s not the right move now and my only choice has been to increase my medication dose, thereby increasing my weight gain.

I didn’t mean for this to be such a vent, but after a depressive spiral followed by several days of binge eating I’m feeling discouraged and I guess my question is: is there any way to lose weight while depressed? Has anyone figured out a way to trick their fickle brain into sticking to a lifestyle change when even small changes feel impossible? I would love to love my body and just let it be the way it is, but I’m sick and tired of not fitting into my clothes, looking bad in photos, and feeling slow and lethargic all the time. I fear that my cycle will continue forever and figured this might be a good place to look for advice. Thanks for reading!

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Not sure if I should continue eating at a calorie deficit? (Skinny fat)

Hey! I'm a 19 year old male, 170cm (5 feet 7) tall and my starting weight was 96kg (212lbs). In March this year, after several failed attempts to change my eating habits throughout high school, mostly due to me not being consistent enough, I decided to take it more seriously this time.

I did some research, learned about CICO, stumbled upon weight loss subreddits, downloaded MFP and started eating at a pretty big calorie deficit. I used 1200isplenty as an orientation, most of the time I ate about 1300 kcal though.

It turned out to be very effective. It's been 7 months and I'm at a weight of 67kg (148lbs) now. I'm really happy with what I achieved because I would've never expected myself to actually have the willpower to go through with it. I feel a lot better about myself lately, especially due to the health improvements that I've noticed.

However I'm still not where I want to be when it comes to my appearance. Even though I've lost 29kg (64lbs) my belly is still huge. I looked at some before and after photos and it definitely became smaller, but I'm still nowhere near my goal.

I heard that becoming "skinny fat" is a common issue for people who lost weight by changing their diet but not working out. In my case, it was probably about 90% diet and 10% physical activity. So I'm scared of ending up skinny fat as well.

So now I have no idea what to do. Should I just continue to eat at a calorie deficit like I did for the past 7-ish months and try to go down to 60kg (132lbs) and then start building muscle from there? Or should I already go up to eating maintenance calories and start building muscle right now? Or should I bulk? I'd be really grateful for some advice, thank you for reading all of this :)

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Day 1? Starting your weight loss journey on Friday, 05 November 2021? Start here!

Today is your Day 1?

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Welcome to r/Loseit!

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So you aren’t sure of how to start? Don’t worry! “How do I get started?” is our most asked question. r/Loseit has helped our users lose over 1,000,000 recorded pounds and these are the steps that we’ve found most useful for getting started.

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Why you’re overweight

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Our bodies are amazing (yes, yours too!). In order to survive before supermarkets, we had to be able to store energy to get us through lean times, we store this energy as adipose fat tissue. If you put more energy into your body than it needs, it stores it, for (potential) later use. When you put in less than it needs, it uses the stored energy. The more energy you have stored, the more overweight you are. The trick is to get your body to use the stored energy, which can only be done if you give it less energy than it needs, consistently.

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Before You Start

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The very first step is calculating your calorie needs. You can do that HERE. This will give you an approximation of your calorie needs for the day. The next step is to figure how quickly you want to lose the fat. One pound of fat is equal to 3500 calories. So to lose 1 pound of fat per week you will need to consume 500 calories less than your TDEE (daily calorie needs from the link above). 750 calories less will result in 1.5 pounds and 1000 calories is an aggressive 2 pounds per week.

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Tracking

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Here is where it begins to resemble work. The most efficient way to lose the weight you desire is to track your calorie intake. This has gotten much simpler over the years and today it can be done right from your smartphone or computer. r/loseit recommends an app like MyFitnessPal, Loseit! (unaffiliated), or Cronometer. Create an account and be honest with it about your current stats, activities, and goals. This is your tracker and no one else needs to see it so don’t cheat the numbers. You’ll find large user created databases that make logging and tracking your food and drinks easy with just the tap of the screen or the push of a button. We also highly recommend the use of a digital kitchen scale for accuracy. Knowing how much of what you're eating is more important than what you're eating. Why? This may explain it.

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Creating Your Deficit

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How do you create a deficit? This is up to you. r/loseit has a few recommendations but ultimately that decision is yours. There is no perfect diet for everyone. There is a perfect diet for you and you can create it. You can eat less of exactly what you eat now. If you like pizza you can have pizza. Have 2 slices instead of 4. You can try lower calorie replacements for calorie dense foods. Some of the communities favorites are cauliflower rice, zucchini noodles, spaghetti squash in place of their more calorie rich cousins. If it appeals to you an entire dietary change like Keto, Paleo, Vegetarian.

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The most important thing to remember is that this selection of foods works for you. Sustainability is the key to long term weight management success. If you hate what you’re eating you won’t stick to it.

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Exercise

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Is NOT mandatory. You can lose fat and create a deficit through diet alone. There is no requirement of exercise to lose weight.

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It has it’s own benefits though. You will burn extra calories. Exercise is shown to be beneficial to mental health and creates an endorphin rush as well. It makes people feel *awesome* and has been linked to higher rates of long term success when physical activity is included in lifestyle changes.

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Crawl, Walk, Run

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It can seem like one needs to make a 180 degree course correction to find success. That isn’t necessarily true. Many of our users find that creating small initial changes that build a foundation allows them to progress forward in even, sustained, increments.

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Acceptance

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You will struggle. We have all struggled. This is natural. There is no tip or trick to get through this though. We encourage you to recognize why you are struggling and forgive yourself for whatever reason that may be. If you overindulged at your last meal that is ok. You can resolve to make the next meal better.

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Do not let the pursuit of perfect get in the way of progress. We don’t need perfect. We just want better.

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Additional resources

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Now you’re ready to do this. Here are more details, that may help you refine your plan.

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• Quick Start Guide - Build your foundation!

* Lose It Compendium - Frame it out!

* FAQ - Answers to our most Frequently Asked Questions!

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How do you find motivation again? (F/5’11/220 pounds)

How do you find motivation again?

Evening! I’ve been losing weight for a few years now, with stalls every now and then. Overall, I’ve lost 120 ish pounds and I’ve got about 30 more to go. The thing is, I go through cycles of being incredibly motivated, hitting the gym hard every day, religiously watching what I eat, and then the flip side of the cycle normally happens when work/life/family gets incredibly busy and I get tired. I seem to lose motivation during these times and my weight loss stalls some.

So my question for you all is how do you manage it? What do you do to get that fire back?

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Any tips for weight loss before pregnancy?

SW: 289 GW:200 CW: 222.5 (lbs)

I am not sure exactly what I need but has anyone had this as part of their goal post? When I (27F) first met my husband (31M) and we started getting serious we had discussed having kids after marriage and that I would want to weigh 200lbs before trying. He said he would support this push for weight loss but has always seemed disappointed by the speed that I’m losing the weight. I keep trying to say that I started the year around 265 and that I was trying.

I got an allergy test at the beginning of year and found out I was allergic to all grains, even barley and and rye, and that I could only eat rice and I cut all the grains out of my diet. We just got married two weeks ago and I had a huge kidney infection after (sorry tmi) so it’s been 3 weeks since I have gone to the gym.

Any tips or advice would be appreciated. Sorry if I didn’t meet the group guidelines.

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