Christmas Calorie Surprises
by Annie O'Brien | 3rd Dec 2020
We all admittedly overindulge in food during Christmas time. While this festive season, in particular, is the time to be jolly it is still important to think before eating a whole block of cheese and crackers or clinking one too many glasses of Prosecco.
However, your favourite holiday foods maybe loaded with more calories than you thought and there maybe be some shocking Christmas Calorie Surprises in store…
Bottomline, a dose of reality might prevent you from gaining that extra weight this Christmas.
Booze
It wouldn’t be Christmas time without a few drinks to set the mood, but every sip of alcohol you drink adds to the weight gain. But, if you plan on throwing out the diet completely for Christmas you may be shocked to hear the Christmas Calorie Surprises hidden in your favourite tipple.
Christmas Calorie Surprises
Wine
If you’re watching your weight, switch your favourite glass of wine for bubbles instead. A glass of white or red can contain approximately 220 calories, whilst a glass of prosecco or champagne has just 85 calories.
Mulled Wine
The average glass of this festive Christmas staple will set you back 210 calories. So, if you’re making it at home add a sweetener like stevia or honey instead of processed sugar to cut the calories.
Baileys
Nothing tastes like Christmas quite like a Baileys, but a glass of the creamy stuff can be around 164 calories. Swap it for 50mls of Baileys Almande made from almonds for a vegan alternative and you’ll come in at almost half the calories at a mere 76.
Grub
If you knew how many calories were in a mince pie (ahem, 260kCals, ahem) you might be less likely to overindulge. Wishful thinking for many of us, to be sure, but it’s always worth being more mindful about what we eat and a little indulgence isn’t a bad thing!
Chocolates
Chocolates can be one of the biggest Christmas Calorie Surprises. Celebrations, Quality Street and Cadbury Roses are a Christmas tradition, but the calorie content is shocking. In three pieces of Roses, there are 160 calories and we all know that we can never stop at three…
Cheeseboards
Another Christmas killer is your beloved Cheese Board, little portions of cheese can rack up huge calories. Your daily intake should be a matchbox size of cheese, just enough for 2 crackers with Cheddar is 124 calories.
Christmas Dinner
The all too familiar post-Christmas dinner nap is probably because you’re munching down way too many calories. One portion of roast potatoes (120g) can rack up nearly 400 calories alone! In 4 slices of turkey, there are 400 calories. One slice of glazed Christmas ham is approximately 200 calories.
Bottom line…
Don’t go into ‘ah sure it’s Christmas’ mode too early! Try to limit the damage by limiting the time frame you allow yourself to overindulge e.g. from 24th to 31st
Don’t go into the ‘I’ll start my diet in January so I may as well eat whatever I want now’ mind-set. This is such a common trap to fall into! But if you do, why not book a nutrition consultation and have a clear set of goals for January.
Stay active – get out and exercise over the holidays to make up for some of the extra calories – even a 30 minute walk daily helps.