Super Bowl Survival Guide

Super Bowl XLVI is this weekend so you know what that means; junk food.  That’s ok though.  This can be one of those exceptions to your diet.  You work so hard all of the days leading up to it so you can relax and eat a bit of junk and not feel too bad about it.  That being said, it’s still best to stick to the less damaging of the junk foods.  Some options are even healthy so you won’t stray from your diet at all.  Here’s a Super Bowl food guide to help you out this year. 

Chips and Dip

Good Eats – Chips and Salsa

14 chips: Calories 120, Fat 4g, Sodium 150g, Carbs 22g, Protein 2g

4 tbs. Salsa: Calories 20, Fat 0g, Sodium 200mg, Carbs 3g, Protein 1g

You’ll save 20 calories 4 grams of fat by getting baked chips instead of regular.  Salsa is almost all vegetables and is a great choice for a dip.

Bad Eats – Potato Chips and French Onion Dip

14 Chips: Calories 150, Fat 10g, Sodium 180mg, Carbs 15g, Protein 2g

4 tbs. Dip: Calories 120, Fat 10g, Sodium 460mg, Carbs 8g, Protein 2g

You’ll save 130 calories, 17 grams of fat and 290 mg of sodium by switching to chips and salsa!            

Pizza

Good Eats -Thin Crust Pizza

1 slice: 270 calories, Fat 12g, Sodium 530 mg, Carbs 22g, Protein 10g

Bad Eats - Regular Hand Tossed Pizza

1 slice: Calories 330, Fat 14g, Sodium 870 mg, Carbs 37g, Protein 13g

Beer

Good Drinks                Calories               Carbs               Alcohol %

Budweiser Select            99                         3g                     4.3%

Michelob Ultra                 95                         2.6g                  4.1%

Miller Lite                         93                         3g                     4.2%

Bud Light                        110                        6g                     4.2%

Coors Light                    102                        5g                     4.15%

Bad Drinks                         Calories               Carbs             Alcohol %          

Budweiser                               145                       10.6g                5.0%

Miller Genuine Draft               143                       13.1g               4.7%

Sam Adams Boston Lager   160                       18g                   4.75%

Sierra Nevada                        175                       14.1g                5.6%

Bottom line: stick to the light stuff.  The lights all taste great and the alcohol percentage in the heavy stuff is a fraction of a percent more which isn’t worth the calories or carbs. 

Hopefully this guide will help direct you away from the grease and towards a much healthier choice.

Until tomorrow, spend Everyday Living Fit!

Image Source: http://www.homecookingconnection.com

Have a Drink This Weekend!

The term “Beer Belly” gets thrown around quite a bit when it comes to drinking.  But fear not!  The term may not be all it’s cracked up to be.  It all depends on what you drink, how much you drink and what you eat while you’re drinking.

Think about every single time you watch a commercial with alcohol in it, every picture you see with alcohol in it, where they place the alcohol in stores and what you think about eating when you imagine yourself having a few drinks while watching the big game.  What do you think about?  Fatty foods.  Most of the reason people gain the weight is because of the food you eat while you are drinking, but not the drinking itself.  Of course it’s great to eat nachos, burgers, fries and chicken wings once in a while, but when you do don’t blame it on the alcohol (no Jamie Fox / T-Pain bun intended).   Here are a few other reasons why you should allow you to indulge yourself in a couple of drinks this weekend.

1.) Having 1-2 drinks every other day or so lowers your risk of heart disease and having a heart attack.

2.) People who drink 1 or 2 drinks every other day or so have less body fat then those who only drink every few weeks but have 5 or more drinks at a time.

3.) Wine has a ton of antioxidants in it to prevent sickness and disease.

4.) Guinness has a surprisingly low amount of carbs and is one of the better darker beers for you.  Stick to Guinness when drinking dark beers.  Other good options are pilsners, lagers, goldens and most light colored beers.  STAY AWAY from the fruity options!  They are filled with carbs and sugars!

So go ahead, have a few drinks this weekend.  Just make sure you are being responsible, only sticking to only a few drinks and not eating too much junk to go along with it.  Have fun and until tomorrow, spend Everyday Living Fit!