Fuel for a better gamer.
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Dried fruits and unsalted nuts like almonds always go over well. Also, muesli bars! Meusli bars are not only healthy and tasty but they're great, individually packaged snacks.
Calorie free but don't ask if it's cancer free. Smokers never like that question.Colour Scientist said:
Depends on how you serve it. Grapes don't cause much of a mess, obviously. Larger fruits can be cut up into smaller pieces. Put them on a platter and hand everyone a desert fork (and a small plate/bowl if the platter isn't within everyone's reach).insaninater said:
GUACAMOLE DIP! I MEAN COME ON!
[sub](Its like my favorite thing ever. I bought some for Sunday Football.)[/sub]
[sub](Its like my favorite thing ever. I bought some for Sunday Football.)[/sub]
Nuts, like a bridge mix or something. A little bit of salt but lots of good protein and crunchyness. best part, because there is so much protein, you don't need a whole lot and will feel full pretty fast. Can't go wrong with the tea you are already drinking.
Nuts and what not are good if you want nibbles that people won't snub their noses up at, but are less sugary and fatty than most other store bought gubbins. Pretzels are also good for the same reason, and you can even provide dips with them.
You could also buy a packet of mini flapjacks, for those who want cake. These are quite filling so most people won't stuff their face with them, and only eat a few. I know cakes are still sugary but as I said they are filling and dry so it fills the gap and prevents face stuffing, plus they are tasty.
All of these may leave your throat dry so bottles of water are good to have around. You would be surprised how many people will drink it if there is no soft drinks about in the immediate area.
Most of these can be store bought at a lower cost than than than the sugary stuff too and unlike serving up fruit and veg they are easier to clean up. Not to mention they won't go all soggy when left out over a long gaming session. Also make sure there is a variety of flavours on offer. That way people won't get bored munching on the same thing.
You could also buy a packet of mini flapjacks, for those who want cake. These are quite filling so most people won't stuff their face with them, and only eat a few. I know cakes are still sugary but as I said they are filling and dry so it fills the gap and prevents face stuffing, plus they are tasty.
All of these may leave your throat dry so bottles of water are good to have around. You would be surprised how many people will drink it if there is no soft drinks about in the immediate area.
Most of these can be store bought at a lower cost than than than the sugary stuff too and unlike serving up fruit and veg they are easier to clean up. Not to mention they won't go all soggy when left out over a long gaming session. Also make sure there is a variety of flavours on offer. That way people won't get bored munching on the same thing.
Nuts, dried fruit, fruit. Veg sticks. All the tasty natural things that others have mentioned. Yum! Home-made guacamole.
I thought that was legendary for being crammed full of sugar and almost as bad as sodas. I know in the UK it was hit by the ASA, who deemed their ads misleading when the drinks were claimed to be nutritious.
Vitamin water? As inThe Rogue Wolf said:
You didn't read the OP.Nods Respectfully Towards You said:
Store-bought iced tea is pretty bad as well. Loads of sugar in there.
If you're going to drink sweetened iced tea, you're better off making it yourself. There are tons of recipes out there, but really basic one would be a fruit tea + some lemon juice + a little honey.
If you're going to drink sweetened iced tea, you're better off making it yourself. There are tons of recipes out there, but really basic one would be a fruit tea + some lemon juice + a little honey.
A few things of note in terms of healthiness.
Generally, eating your 3 meals and no snacks is better than eating a lot of snacks, and that is better than eating 3 meals and a lot of snacks. Unless you're always under-eating, but still.
The time of day will dictate what you should bring. If it is in the evening, bring light foods. Lunch or breakfast, heavier things. Eating heavily before you go to bed is the wrong way to lose weight. You consume all your food and calories... Then go to sleep. You're better off having the heavy meals during the day to provide energy for activities, and use those activities to burn the calories.
Exercise is also a VERY important factor that cannot be underestimated. My mother is obese, and has been dieting for... God knows how long now. At least 5 years. She has barely lost any weight. The reason for this is she wakes up, drives to work, works, drives home, then eats and goes to sleep. I, on the other hand, eat a fair bit, but also walk on average 10,000 steps per day, alongside other bits of exercise weekly, which ends up making it very difficult for me to actually put on weight. I started to for a while, but now I'm back to losing it again.
All this in mind, I wouldn't do snacks. I'd take a break for a meal, and eat appropriately. Tradition or no, your friends are dieting and trying to lose weight. You're already breaking the tradition by taking diabeetus bait out of it, may as well go the whole hog. If there are no snacks, there are no temptations. They can't be tempted into eating too much. If that's not an option, plenty of other suggestions in the thread.
With snacks, if possible, I'd try to theme them around what you'll find in the game, and encourage eating them only when you acquire them, and that eating them decreasing your stash of them. So you could find/buy some grapes in the game. This allows you to eat grapes. If you eat the grapes, however, your character no longer has the grapes. Helps immersion, can be a bit of fun, and helps limit how much each person will eat, or pace it. This will require co-operation of the DM if you are not the DM.
Additionally, try and work physical activity into the run as much as possible. I've had DMs that have had us all get up and act, had us actually write poems and then judge us on them to see if we woo the lady or not, and, where appropriate, have us perform other IRL feats in substitute of our characters. Its fun, entertaining, and so long as its worked into the game well - balanced and enjoyable. It also gets people up and doing a bit of exercise. The focus naturally still has to be on your stats and your character's skills, however rewarding good shows IRL with a +1 or +2 to a dice roll, and encouraging players to try when they're 1 or 2 short of what they need can work. More often, its better to get a skill that isn't related to what the characters know - something like dancing, which may be in the rules for a role, but its probably niche enough that most people wouldn't know about it - and make the players perform it IRL in order to pass, instead of making up a roll to work for it. Again though, requires co-operation of the DM.
Honestly, the best thing you can do is try and work things into the scenario. It turns the diet into a game, and makes it enjoyable and fun for everyone, whilst also helping with the goals of weightloss. Its not always easy to do, and I know its not exactly addressing the OP, but if you want to go to that bit of extra effort, its something to consider.
Generally, eating your 3 meals and no snacks is better than eating a lot of snacks, and that is better than eating 3 meals and a lot of snacks. Unless you're always under-eating, but still.
The time of day will dictate what you should bring. If it is in the evening, bring light foods. Lunch or breakfast, heavier things. Eating heavily before you go to bed is the wrong way to lose weight. You consume all your food and calories... Then go to sleep. You're better off having the heavy meals during the day to provide energy for activities, and use those activities to burn the calories.
Exercise is also a VERY important factor that cannot be underestimated. My mother is obese, and has been dieting for... God knows how long now. At least 5 years. She has barely lost any weight. The reason for this is she wakes up, drives to work, works, drives home, then eats and goes to sleep. I, on the other hand, eat a fair bit, but also walk on average 10,000 steps per day, alongside other bits of exercise weekly, which ends up making it very difficult for me to actually put on weight. I started to for a while, but now I'm back to losing it again.
All this in mind, I wouldn't do snacks. I'd take a break for a meal, and eat appropriately. Tradition or no, your friends are dieting and trying to lose weight. You're already breaking the tradition by taking diabeetus bait out of it, may as well go the whole hog. If there are no snacks, there are no temptations. They can't be tempted into eating too much. If that's not an option, plenty of other suggestions in the thread.
With snacks, if possible, I'd try to theme them around what you'll find in the game, and encourage eating them only when you acquire them, and that eating them decreasing your stash of them. So you could find/buy some grapes in the game. This allows you to eat grapes. If you eat the grapes, however, your character no longer has the grapes. Helps immersion, can be a bit of fun, and helps limit how much each person will eat, or pace it. This will require co-operation of the DM if you are not the DM.
Additionally, try and work physical activity into the run as much as possible. I've had DMs that have had us all get up and act, had us actually write poems and then judge us on them to see if we woo the lady or not, and, where appropriate, have us perform other IRL feats in substitute of our characters. Its fun, entertaining, and so long as its worked into the game well - balanced and enjoyable. It also gets people up and doing a bit of exercise. The focus naturally still has to be on your stats and your character's skills, however rewarding good shows IRL with a +1 or +2 to a dice roll, and encouraging players to try when they're 1 or 2 short of what they need can work. More often, its better to get a skill that isn't related to what the characters know - something like dancing, which may be in the rules for a role, but its probably niche enough that most people wouldn't know about it - and make the players perform it IRL in order to pass, instead of making up a roll to work for it. Again though, requires co-operation of the DM.
Honestly, the best thing you can do is try and work things into the scenario. It turns the diet into a game, and makes it enjoyable and fun for everyone, whilst also helping with the goals of weightloss. Its not always easy to do, and I know its not exactly addressing the OP, but if you want to go to that bit of extra effort, its something to consider.
A diet won't succeed if it's not a proper lifestyle change and lifestyles are hard to change if you don't let yourself enjoy the small things, like game night with friends. Besides, being mindful of your eating habits is important, but obsessing over it will do you no good.Joccaren said:
As for the three meals a day thing? Mostly bullshit. Look, if you're the type of person to overeat outside of meals, then it may be a good idea to only a have a few pieces of fruit between them, but small eaters need snacktimes just to eat everything they need. People should figure out what works for them. And even if they do figure snacks are not for them, having some fruits, nuts and veggies with dip on game night isn't going to keep them from the weightloss goal. Those 300-500 cal one evening a week or so won't hurt, especially if you distribute your 'snack allowance' to the evening and don't snack during the day. What matters if that you keep it a weekly thing. Stuffing your face every evening is a bad habit, having a good time with friends while enjoying food and drink doesn't have to be.
My advice would be to first ask your gaming group if they want to be treated like children with no self control before going ahead with any plan on changing the tradition.Tatsuki said:
That has came across VERY condescending.RhombusHatesYou said:
They are well aware I'm going to try and bring healthier snacks I just made no promises as to what as I was unsure. Tradition got broken when they stopped eating the usual snacks, and I assure you, leftovers are definitely not tradition. But each person sees things in different ways, where you see me treating them like children, I see it as trying not to leave out half the group.
My go-to not kill me snacks are Veggie Straws and Skinny Pop popcorn. Both are delicious and really low in calories and fat.
I like easy stuff you can pop into your mouth like crisps and biscuits, but then the healthy version; grapes, cherry tomatoes, strawberries, nuts and dried fruits. That sort of stuff. The stuff I listed is all full of vitamins, good fats, with enough calories to keep you going but not too many.
You know what I hate though? The fact that snacking on that is way more expensive than just spamming crisps and cookies and whatnot. I live on a student budget but I'm pretty adamant on leaving relatively healthily.
You know what I hate though? The fact that snacking on that is way more expensive than just spamming crisps and cookies and whatnot. I live on a student budget but I'm pretty adamant on leaving relatively healthily.
Cost will be a big factor in my final decision.
The cost of fruit to just sit down and eat is getting ridiculous whereas stuff you would add to meals and drinks is cheap which is a huge way to put off people from eating the recommended levels.
Small punnet of grapes £1.99
Large party tray of 15 Donuts £1.50
Then there are healthy, cheap things I could make (homemade ramen is one of the best things ever) that just aren't practical at the table.
captcha: my friends can't dance
But captcha, if my friends don't dance then they ain't no friends of mine.
Kudos to those who get the line without the interwebs help.
The cost of fruit to just sit down and eat is getting ridiculous whereas stuff you would add to meals and drinks is cheap which is a huge way to put off people from eating the recommended levels.
Small punnet of grapes £1.99
Large party tray of 15 Donuts £1.50
Then there are healthy, cheap things I could make (homemade ramen is one of the best things ever) that just aren't practical at the table.
captcha: my friends can't dance
But captcha, if my friends don't dance then they ain't no friends of mine.
Kudos to those who get the line without the interwebs help.