How to burn those Christmas day calories

Research by the team at online health and fitness site Vivotion.com has revealed that food consumed on the average Christmas Day, including breakfast, lunch, dessert, snacks and drinks, tots up to a massive 5,350 calories, which could take up to 13 hours of intense exercise to burn off.

Christmas is the time for splurging and enjoying a variety of tasty treats, and many of us forget, or choose to ignore, the number of calories we’re putting into our bodies over the festive period.

By taking into account each food type usually found on our plates over the course of Christmas Day, the team have calculated that the average Brit will consume over 5,000 calories on this one day alone, which is double the recommend daily calorie intake for a grown man.

In order to burn off these extra, unwanted calories, the average person will have to spend between six and 13 hours completing rigorous exercise.

You would need to tackle a 13-hour uphill walk, get in the boxing ring for over seven hours, or spend almost eight hours skipping with a rope.

An hour of aerobic dance will be needed to burn off the roast potatoes alone, and an hour’s spin class will counteract just two pigs in blankets and a serving of honey roasted parsnips from the annual Christmas Day lunch.

A spokesperson from Vivotion.com commented: “Christmas is the one time of the year that everyone tends to really let their hair down and eat and drink anything and everything they want.

“It’s this behaviour that contributes to festive weight gain, and it’s no surprise considering the annual Christmas Day lunch alone is bursting with almost 2,000 calories.

“By taking into account the exercise we’d all need to be doing to ultimately burn off those calories, we hope that people will be more mindful and perhaps re-assess their decision to go back for second helpings.

“We have put together handy tables of calories consumed and burned via various Christmas foods and exercises respectively illustrate this.”

BREAKFAST:

2 sausages 360 kcal

2 bacon 100 kcal

2 eggs 180 kcal

2 slices toast 100 kcal

1 croissant 297 kcal

250ml orange juice 105 kcal

Flat white coffee 130 kcal

CHRISTMAS DINNER:

2 slices of turkey breast 44 kcal

1 homemade Yorkshire puddings 125 kcal

2 sage and onion stuffing balls 126 kcal

Turkey gravy 30 kcal

2 pigs in blankets 162 kcal

150g roast potatoes in duck fat 430 kcal

50g honey roasted parsnips 245 kcal

Brussel sprouts 20 kcal

Carrots 15 kcal

1 table spoon cranberry sauce 25 kcal

1 slice Christmas Pudding 151 kcal

2 glasses red wine 428 kcal

SNACKS AND DRINKS:

Chocolates 250 kcal

Mixed nuts 210 kcal

Mince pies 360 kcal

Variety of cheeses 529 kcal

Crackers 130 kcal

Chocolate liqueurs 114 kcal

250ml glass mulled wine 454 kcal

120ml glass champagne 89 kcal

330ml glass coke 150 kcal

EXERCISE - CALORIES BURNT PER HOUR (approx.)

Indoor cycling class 483 kcal

Aerobic dance 443 kcal

Rock climbing 454 kcal

Skipping rope 670 kcal

Rowing 682 kcal

Boxing 727 kcal

Jogging 744 kcal

Uphill walk 415 kcal

Swimming (breast stroke) 744 kcal

Swimming (butterfly) 818 kcal