See how to burn off those Christmas treat calories by doing normal Christmas activities
Christmas is always marked by a certain amount of overindulgence. Some people gorge themselves on chocolate, others on mince pies or Christmas cake and, of course, don’t forget that alcohol is loaded with calories. Over on Twitter, @okeating has shared some useful information on how to balance your indulgence in three common Christmas treats: sweets, mince pies and red wine – the breakfast of kings. Diabetic kings, probably.
In line with government guidelines, the charts show how long an average man or woman would have to do a cardio exercise, such as running, and how long they’d have to spend lifting weights to burn off the calories in each treat, but they also show the effect of activities you would probably be doing at Christmas anyway.
“Pick up 497 pieces of wrapping paper and take them out to the recycling bin.
Frantically search through every drawer, box and bag to find batteries/a 3 amp fuse or a receipt for a broken toy.
Search through 497 pieces of wrapping paper in case the receipt has been recycled.
Carry 14st drunk up a flight of stairs then back down again to the toilet. Scrub vomit from the bathroom floor for half an hour.”
“Stand on Lego and do the ‘Just stood on Lego’ dance 289 times.
Tense every muscle in your body and hold it through an entire Monopoly game (Approximately 29 hours).
Chase a hyperactive, sugar-fuelled toddler up and down the stairs for 9 hours.
Open online banking. Read balance. Sweat profusely.”
“Throw 4lbs of uneaten sprouts at the TV during the queen’s speech. Track them all down, throw them in the bin and scrub the sprout marks from the walls and furnishings.
Plunge the toilet vigorously for 4 hours after someone uses it to dispose of the disappointing gravy. At least you hope that’s what it was.
Play the ‘Sound of Music Jumping Game’: every time Julie Andrews commits a sackable offence, do a star jump.”
It all sounds pretty feasible apart from one thing: what kind of person only eats 12 Quality Street?
Source: @okeating on Twitter
