Holiday celebrations and feasts should be a time when you can indulge yourself a little. Enjoying the rich foods of the season is acceptable as long as it is done in moderation. Before you reach for that second (or third or fourth) helping of seasonal delights, consider the additional physical activity required to burn off the extra calories.*

• 1 gingerbread cookie (1 oz., refrigerated cookie dough - 140 calories) requires 15 minutes of snow shoeing
• 1 slice of roasted regular boneless ham (3 oz. - 151 calories) requires 23 minutes of ice skating
• 1 slice of homemade cornbread (65 g - 173 calories) requires 21 minutes of cross country skiing
• 1 cup of homemade mashed potatoes (with whole milk and butter - 223 calories) requires 34 minutes of ice skating
• 1 cup of eggnog (regular - 343 calories) requires 41 minutes of cross country skiing
• 1 slice of homemade pecan pie (1/6 of an 8" pie - 452 calories) requires 54 minutes of cross country skiing

*Estimates are for a 150 pound individual under the assumption that snow shoeing is performed at an 8 MET capacity, cross country skiing done at a 7.0 MET capacity, and ice skating executed at a 5.5 MET capacity.

Resources:

The Diet Detective's Count Down, 2007, Platkin, C.S.

Bowes & Churches Food Values of Portions Commonly Used, 18th edition, 2005, Pennington, J.A.T. and Douglass, J.S.

Compendium of Physical Activities

ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, 8th edition