The Washington Redskins kick off their regular season tonight against the Minnesota Vikings at FedEx Field. Last week, the Richmond Times-Dispatch took a look at what the Redskins organization — including players, coaches, and staff members — wolfed down during the squad’s three-week training camp in August:

That group of 140 or so people, 88 of whom are players, chewed through 1,200 pounds of sliced deli meats, 1,500 pounds of chicken breasts, 1,200 pounds of beef, 800 pounds of fish, 2,500 pounds of vegetables, 800 pounds of pasta and 500 pounds of salad mix. Then they had dessert.

And dessert was, of course, $240 worth of pudding. Aw, yeah.

According to the article, team dietitian Ann Litt noted that some of the lean, active players must consume as much as 7,000 calories per day just to keep going. Compare that to the 1,800 calories that Litt says are required to keep your lazy, sedentary-male adult -ss flipping the channels during commercial breaks.

Now, 7,000 calories is nothing compared to what crazy ultramarathoner Dean Karnazes consumed in just under 48 hours during the 199-mile Relay (27,934 calories). But there’s no question that it represents a substantial intake.

So, in honor of the “Redskins Diet” and the start of Monday Night Football with color commentator and former Redskins QB Joe Theismann, we recommend that you head over to Joe Theismann’s Restaurant (1800 Diagonal Road, Alexandria, Va.) tonight to watch some football and consume some calories. Just because the era of the Hogs is long gone doesn’t mean you can’t still be one.