Christmas Sugar Calorie Guide
We all allow ourselves a little leeway at Christmas time. But especially if you are in the middle of losing weight to go completely off the wagon is not a good idea. Firstly you would be amazed how much damage you can do in 7/10 days over Christmas. Believe me I have seen clients put on weight that it has taken them a couple of months to lose. And secondly it’s not as easy as you may think to just pick up where you left off come January 1st. Good habits breed more good habits and bad habits do the same. So people find it really difficult to get back to their previous exercise and nutrition regime, it’s not as easy as you may think.
There are obviously calories everywhere at Christmas. The ‘big 3’ are sugary treats, savoury treats and alcohol. But I am going to focus on the sweet stuff here, mostly because I think that’s the most dangerous area for the majority of people.
My general advice is to pick the things you really enjoy and avoid the things you could take or leave and are just eating for the sake of it ‘because it’s Christmas.’ A lot of people can get into the habit of picking at sweet snack bites that they would never ordinarily have, purely because they are there. Like those big boxes of Quality Street or Celebrations that people have hanging around the house.
Here are a few of the most common and main offenders to watch out for in my;
Christmas Sugar Calorie Guide
Terrys Choc Orange – 816 cals in the whole thing! This one shocked me to be honest.
Cadburys Selection Box (containing a Fudge, Dairy Milk, Dairy Milk Kids Bar, Double Decker, Dairy Milk treat size Buttons and a Crunchie) – 892 calories
Quality street/Roses/Celebrations – 40-50 cals per chocolate depending which you choose. How many of those would you get through over Christmas and how many calories would that amount to?
Fererro Rocher – 72 calories
After 8 – 30 calories
Christmas Pudding – 100 gram slice (not that much) – 280 calories
Brandy sauce – 50g serving – 83 cals
Christmas Cake – 100 serving – 350 calories (give or take depending on the brand).
Mince Pies – 200-250 calories depending on the brand.
Coffee Shop Drinks – I did a blog on the coffee shop Christmas drinks a couple of years ago which is definitely worth a read if you haven’t done so already. The worst and most shocking offending was the Starbucks’ Signature Caramel Hot Chocolate. A large mug comes in at 758 calories! But in all honesty they are all pretty bad. Easily 300 calories as a bare minimum so best left alone I would suggest.
Conclusion – Christmas Sugar Calorie Guide
The amount of calories in these foods is obviously part of it. And if you eat these types of foods regularly you can see how easy it is to rack up some serious excess calories as a result. But equally important are the blood sugar spikes and troughs they create. The result of this will be that the food won’t fill you up so you will end of wanting to eat more of it or something else. And also you are much more likely to store the food as fat with these blood sugar spikes. And finally sugar is highly addictive. The idea that you will simply stop eating these foods once Christmas is over is much easier said than done.
So overall be aware how many calories are in these types of foods and pick the ones you really want to treat yourself to. Don’t just eat everything and anything and ignore the calories and sugar!