O is for Overindulgence

Thursday 15 December 2011

Surveys show that on average we will eat our way through as many as 6,000 calories on Christmas Day alone which, according to the British Dietetic Association, may be a result of overindulging on second helpings, snacks and alcohol.

Whilst we are likely to put on an average 5lbs (2kg) in weight over the Christmas period, the Christmas meal is not the main culprit. In fact, the traditional turkey roast can be very good for us.

The problem is that over Christmas we can eat roughly three to four times more food than we actually need. Meaning that we can end up in the New Year weighing a lot more than we did. It also means we are storing up problems for the future. After all the extra calories have to go somewhere. These extra calories will be laid down as fat, and it’s those extra few pounds that can do you harm in the long term.

So what does the average Christmas Dinner mean for our bodies? Here are the nutritional facts:

CHRISTMAS DINNER

Christmas DinnerCaloriesFat
Roast turkey(90g)149 kcal4g
Roast potatoes(85g)127 kcal4g
Stuffing(100g)231 kcal15g
Bread sauce(45g)42 kcal1g
Roast parsnips(90g)102 kcal6g
Boiled carrots14 kcal0g
Brussel Sprouts32 kcal1g
Gravy(50g)17 kcal1g
Cranberry sauce(30g)45 kcal0g
Pork sausage(20g)62 kcal5g
Bacon(40g)135 kcal11g
TOTAL956 kcal48g

CHRISTMAS DINNER EXTRAS

Christmas Dinner ExtrasCaloriesFat
1 slice of Christmas cake(70g)249 kcal8g
1 portion of chocolate log (30g)101 kcal3g
1 portion of cheese and biscuits394 kcal27g
1 portion of mixed nuts (40g)243 kcal22g
1 portion Christmas pudding (100g), custard and brandy butter587 kcal22g
1 mince pie and double cream368 kcal25g
1 glass of mulled wine245 kcal0g

Of course there are plenty of ways of ensuring you don't overindulge over Christmas - but what would be the fun in that?

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You will find many other such tasty morsels of information in my book What is Myrrh Anyway?- and its American counterpart Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Christmas.

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