13 Ways to Burn off a Holiday Meal

Some people can consume up to 4,000 calories from just one holiday meal. That’s twice the amount of calories most people need in a day. If you want to start 2013 on the right note instead of packing on extra pounds during the holidays, marry your indulgences with some serious calorie burn. While calorie burn varies based on your weight and ratio of muscle to fat, here are some ideas to burn a few extra calories..

Eat one serving of mashed potatoes at 250 calories and you’ll need to hop on the treadmill for an hour long power walk to burn them off.  A 150-pound person walking for one hour at 4 mph would burn about 272 calories.

Take the treadmill up to a 5% incline and you’ll double the calorie burn, making up for a serving of candied sweet potatoes or a cup of eggnog at around 400 calories each.

You can also burn those calories with your favorite winter sports and activities.

Sledding: 250 calories

Snow shoeing: 300 calories
Skating moderately: 230 calories
Cross-country skiing: 300 calories
Downhill skiing: 210 calories
Snowboarding: 250 calories
Walking the dog, moderate pace: 125 calories
Shoveling snow: 230 calories
(Approximations based on a 150 pound woman for 30 minutes of activity.)

Watch portions and be on the lookout for ways to burn extra calories this winter. Dance at your Christmas party (600 calories), take a 60-minute walk to do some holiday shopping (240 calories) or spend two hours preparing a holiday meal (320 calories). 

Discover more fun calorie burning facts at caloriesperhour.com.

Brought to you by Life Fitness