The average American eats about 4,500 calories on Thanksgiving and the holiday binge eating doesn’t stop with the last bit of leftover turkey. From your mom’s homemade cooking to all those seasonal beverages that you HAVE to drink at least once by Jan. 1, there’s no avoiding the ample proportions of the holidays. Luckily, we at MyTennisLessons know a thing or two about keeping people in shape when the dessert table is just too tempting. Grab your tennis racket if you know you’re going to rack up some calories over Chanukah or Christmas — we think we can help you counteract that extra slice of cake.
(Thanks to Diet & Fitness Today for info on how many calories the average male and female burns during each of these tennis activities.)
Female, 163 lbs
One potato, two potato, three potato, four. If you eat four latkes, you’ll need to do one hour of light hitting to burn off those 400 calories.
No harm in having a few glasses of Eggnog at the office holiday party, right? Actually, just two glasses of this creamy drink are 450 calories. Play doubles for an hour the next day to counteract the damage.
A girl can’t get through the holidays without Starbucks’ seasonal treat, the Peppermint Mocha. Order a Venti and you’ll need to schedule an hour tennis lesson to burn all 500 calories from the drink.
If you’re thinking about reaching for another helping of bread pudding, be ready to hit the court to work off the calories. Two cups of the desert equals about 600 calories, which is how much you work off in a hour of singles.
Male, 190 lbs
It’s prime time for overeating at holiday dinners, but think twice before you dig into that standing rib roast. Schedule a match with your doubles partner to burn off the 500 calories consumed after eating a half-pound of prime rib.
You don’t want to get a jelly belly this holiday season, but too much sufganiyot will have you wishing you booked some tennis lessons. Just two of the traditional Chanukah jelly doughnuts have 600 calories — about the same amount burned in a one-hour tennis lesson.
Hey, Santa Claus — are you going to eat both those gingerbread men? Two of these Christmas cookies can cost you as much as 680 calories. You’ll need to play one hour of singles tennis so that you don’t turn into the fat man in the red suit.
Stop whining about weight gain this season and put down your drink. Four glasses of sugary glühwein, or mulled wine, are about 450 calories. Luckily, you’ll just need a light one-hour tennis warm-up to offset the beverage.
Sorry if we made you hungry after reading this post. Remember to keep your cravings in check and hit the tennis court!
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