Tuesday, November 3, 2015

The Exercise Cost of Your Halloween Candy

Woman doing sit-ups at the gym - JGI/Tom Grill/Blend Images/Getty Images
JGI/Tom Grill/Blend Images/Getty Images

Do you know how many calories you consume from Halloween candy? I recently wrote an article on the number of calories you consume on Halloween night and the numbers aren't pretty.  But of course, we often continue to raid the candy bowl well after the holiday is over.  So, the total damage can be even more substantial. 

Halloween Candy Workouts

So how do you burn off all of those Halloween calories?

I've listed the exercise cost of the most popular treats below. The Halloween candy workouts don't seem too bad, but keep in mind, that if you eat extra candy, then you need to do extra workouts to maintain your weight.  So these activities have to be performed in addition to your regular workouts if you are adding candy to your typical diet.

The number of calories that you burn may be slightly different than the calorie counts listed.  But they are good estimates of the Halloween candy workouts you need to do to keep your body weight stable after you indulge. The exercise estimates are based on the number of calories that a 150 pound exerciser would burn as indicated on the American Council on Exercise activity calculator.

  • Kit Kat Bar (3 pieces/210 calories):  Run for 20 minutes or walk at a moderate pace for one hour.
  • Reese's Peanut Butter Cup (1 cup/105 calories): Cycling workout for 25 minutes or swim laps for 15 minutes.
  • Almond Joy (1 bar/80 calories): 15 minutes of intense aerobics class or 30 minutes of yoga.
  • Snickers (2 fun size bars/160 calories): Weight training for 45 minutes.
  • M&Ms (3 Fun size packs/180 calories) Cross country hiking for 30 minutes
  • Hershey's Chocolate Bar (1 fun size bar/77 calories) 10 minutes of raquetball

Not a fan of exercise?  Here are some household tasks that will burn extra calories. Do each activity separately or do a complete housecleaning workout to burn fat and calories.

  • Vacuum for 30 minutes - 100 calories
  • Wash the car - 100 calories
  • Grocery shopping - 80 calories
  • Walk to the grocery store - 115 calories
  • Scrub the floor - 200 calories

The Best Way to Burn Off Halloween Candy

It's not a good idea to try to burn off your Halloween candy calories with a single workout or even in a single day.  If you overindulged, add a few minutes to each of your regularly scheduled workouts for a week or two to get back on track.  You're more likely to stick to the program and you may be able to improve your fitness level to lose more weight while you're at it.

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