You know the situation all too well. After eating a healthy breakfast at home, you arrive at the office, only to face a box full of fresh doughnuts brought in by a co-worker. They look good. They smell good. Everyone is enjoying them except you. And even though you're not hungry, you don't want to be the odd one out. "I've been so diligent tracking my calories, staying away from tempting sweets, and hitting the gym," you tell yourself. How much damage could one strawberry frosted doughnut really do? Find out how many minutes of brisk walking you'd have to do at the office to undo that doughnut. Your average strawberry frosted doughnut contains about 240 calories (not too bad) and 10 grams of fat (ouch!). That's not exactly a caloric nightmare—as long as you limit yourself to just one. (And we all know how hard it can be to stop once you get started.) According to SparkPeople.com's Fitness Tracker, a 150-pound woman who walks briskly at a 15-minute mile pace (4 mph) will burn 5 calories per minute. To burn off the doughnut you'd have to walk around the office (at this quick pace) for 48 minutes, which is just over 3 miles! When you think of food "extras" in this light, it can make it easier to stick with your healthy eating plan. Personally, I'd have to really (I mean REALLY) be craving a doughnut in order to put in this extra exercise time. How about you? |
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