Burning off those extra holiday calories

With the timeless phrase “why not, it’s Christmas?” uttered throughout the festive season, is it any wonder many of us come to regret overindulgence in the New Year when the Christmas weight just won’t budge. 

With this in mind, the experts at GolfSupport.com decided to look into how many exercises we’d have to do to burn off our favourite festive foods. 

After finding the top 15 most popular Christmas foods, GolfSupport.com calculated the average calories per serving to find out how many squats, burpees, lunges, planks, and jogs you would have to do to burn those Christmas calories off.

The Results

The most calorific festive food item is Christmas Pudding at 305 calories per serving. To burn this off, GolfSupport calculated you would have to do 1,445 squats, 460 burpees, 578 lunges, 29 1-minute planks or jog for 29 minutes. 

Just behind is the nations’ favourite Pigs in Blankets, at 280 calories per serving. To burn a serving of Pigs in Blankets off you would need to do 1,350 squats, 430 burpees, 532 lunges, 27 1-minute planks or 27 minutes of jogging. 

In third place is a serving of Bread and Cheese, with approximately 945 squats needed! Followed by Yorkshire Puddings in fourth place. In fifth place is the dish that makes every Christmas dinner complete, Roast Potatoes, which would require the nation to jog for 17 minutes in an effort to burn one serving off. 

At the bottom of the list is Roasted Chestnuts. To burn off one serving of this festive treat, you would need to do 315 squats. Just behind Roasted Chestnuts is Candy Canes, with only 5 1-minute planks needed to burn one off. 

Finally, rounding off the top 15, is the love-them-or-hate-them, Brussel Sprouts. A 4-minute jog will burn this smelly serving off!

Nutrition and Fitness Expert, Tom Jenane said: 

“Pigs in blankets may look small, but the calories add up and they’re high in saturated fat, so you’ll have to complete plenty of squats to burn off the pork. You can try swapping out the roast potatoes for roast sweet potatoes in order to cut back on the calories and provide yourself with a nutritious alternative packed full of antioxidants. You can also make your own gingerbread men rather than picking them up from the bakery, meaning you’re in control of how much sugar you add.

Burpees are an incredible exercise to burn off those added calories, but make sure to give it a bit of time after eating your roast before giving them a try.”