Your favorite winter sports can help you make it through the holidays with minimal damage to your waistline.

By Reggie Reyes, BKin. and
Michael Carrera, MSc.

The holiday season is a time that many of us let down our guard when it comes to eating right. With all the temptations around us at work and home, along with all the extra social gatherings, it’s inevitable that we end up consuming a lot more calories during this festive time. An average consumption of an extra 500 to 1000 calories a day over a one-week period equals a gain of one to two pounds of fat.

If you feel that an extra 500 to 1000 calories a day sounds like a lot, keep in mind that we consume the most calorie-dense foods during this season, namely those containing fat and alcohol. Every gram of alcohol we consume equals seven calories and every gram of fat equals nine calories.

On the other hand, every gram of protein and carbohydrate we consume equals only four calories. To learn more, use the Truestar Food Trakker to calculate the number of calories you consume by eating a slice of chocolate cake and washing it down with an ice wine. You’ll be surprised how fast the calories add up.

Burn it off!
Whether you’re going out for a game of touch football with your buddies, playing road hockey with the kids or going on a ski trip with your family, outdoor sporting activities are a fun way to keep the typical holiday weight gain to a minimum. Not only are these activities efficient at burning calories and improving your fitness level, they are also a great way to get some fresh air, get away from the everyday hustle and bustle and reconnect with old friends and family.

If you haven’t been keeping up with regular physical activity, now is not the time to break any records. Ease into the activity, dress appropriately and make sure you stretch before and after to reduce your risk of injury and to avoid post-exercise muscle and joint stiffness.

If you want to put up a solid fight against holiday weight gain and get the biggest reward for your effort, see the following chart to find out which outdoor holiday season activity burns the most calories.