Oh,
those holiday pitfalls: a
martini and a handful of Chex
mix at the office party, Grandma's
fruitcake, the plate of gingerbread
cookies from your neighbor.
Eating all those goodies will
definitely cost you.
To
burn off the calories in one
gingerbread cookie, you will
have to swim 18 minutes. The
martini and party mix will
take 47 minutes on the bike.
And
the fruitcake? Take an 84-minute
walk.
Those
are the calculations in a
new book that lists the calorie
content of 7,500 foods and
tells you just how long it
will take to work it off.
"Most
of us have no idea what a
calorie is worth," said Charles
Stuart Platkin, author of
"The Diet Detective's Count
Down" and other books.
Platkin,
a Miami-based public health
advocate, spent nearly a year
compiling the list, which
includes fast-food dishes,
popular restaurant menu fare
and most grocery items. The
exercise calculations are
for a 155-pound person; add
time if you're lighter, subtract
time if you're heavier.
Some
of the numbers are downright
depressing.
A
half-pound of prime rib will
cost you 230 minutes of yoga.
A Starbucks Caramel Macchiato
is 38 minutes on the bike
add 81 minutes if you grab
a piece of coffee cake. You'll
have to walk 173 minutes to
burn off a Whopper from Burger
King.
Platkin,
44, said it is like money:
Once diners know a food's
caloric value, they can weigh
in their mind whether it is
"splurge worthy."
Some
of the biggest food rip-offs
include crackers, at 12 to
20 calories apiece, and premium
ice creams, Platkin said.
It will take 72 minutes to
walk off a half-cup of Ben
and Jerry's Butter Pecan,
versus 31 minutes for Edy's
Slow Churned Light version
of the same flavor. Predictably,
fruits and veggies provided
the best bargains.
The
holidays are one of the trickiest
seasons for dieters. Research
shows people tend to gain
just under a pound during
the holidays. It only takes
an extra hundred calories
a day (five Ritz crackers)
over the holiday season to
gain a pound. And they don't
typically lose it by spring.