How much exercise will you have to do to burn off that Big Mac?

Everything we eat consists of a certain amount of calories and each item of food contains different amounts. Depending on what type of food it is and how it is cooked decides how many calories each one contains. Our bodies need a certain amount of calories a day, on average men need 2,500 and women 2,000. If you exercise a lot you may find you need to consume more then this, however if you consume too much then what the body needs, then these extra calories will be converted into fat and stored. A lot of junk food 'restaurants' are now showing customers how many calories are in each of their foods, so customers can make an informed choice and hopefully start to think that these types of foods should be eaten sparingly instead of being a main part of the staple diet. Here I present a selection of some of our nation's favourite foods, how many calories they contain and also more importantly how much time needed to exercise to burn such meals off. Full English breakfast (698 calories) - you will need to walk the dog for 3 hrs 41 mins or swim for 2 hrs, 2 mins to convert these calories to energy. Fancy that bacon sandwich? Or McDonald's egg Mcmuffin that will be 280 and 290 calories respectively and you will need to swim for the best part of an hour to burn it all off! Fancy having a Gregg's steak bake for lunch? That's another 420 added to your daily calorie intake and you will have to do nearly 2 hours of gardening or 2 hrs, 13 mins, walking the dog. A pepperoni pizza will be 970 calories, that's the best part of half the total daily amount of calories for a woman! You're need to do 5 hrs , 7 mins of walking that dog or nearly 3 hrs of swimming to avoid it adding to those hips. Fancy a pint, than that will be 200 for a bitter and 158 for a shot of Jaegerbomb, have a few of those ....and you can do the math on how much exercise you will have to do to avoid storing these empty calories as fat....a hell of a lot! Of course all that drinking will make you hungry again and you will need to get yourself a take-away. That KFC box will set you back a whopping 1080, that includes the diet coke and you will have to do just over 3 hrs of swimming or 5 hrs , 40 mins walking that dog again. The classic Donner Kebab that will be 642 and will need 1 hr, 52 mins of swimming to burn off. Oh and that Big Mac, that contains 492 calories and that's before you add the milkshake(490) and large fries (510), that's a gut busting 1,492 calories! To burn that lot off you'll need to walk for 6 hours or cover 9.5 miles! These types of food are ok in moderation and can be part of a well balanced diet but as you can see if these foods are consumed too often than those calories will soon add up and get out of control and the only direction they will be heading for will be on you as fat! Food for thought?

Seven Life Habits To Help You Live Longer

Back in April 2012, Lester Breslow, died at the age of 97. He was a distinguished public health doctor who in 1965 published the results of a study of 6,928 adults in California. It showed that the length of life was dependent on seven life habits. The fewer an adult followed the shorter their life expectancy was. The seven life habits were: Moderate consumption of alcohol, no smoking, regular exercise, 7 - 8 hours of sleep per night, maintenance of a normal body weight (BMI 18-24) by eating moderately and regularly and regular consumption of breakfast. This is a good check list to look at and decide if the lifestyle you are following needs improving if you want to stand the best chance of living longer and maintaining a good quality of life in your older years. How many do you follow?