Holidays ain't the greatest time to be dieting. Still, a lot of people are hoping not to gain that five or 10 pounds over the holidays, and that involves some concessions.
Instead of giving up entire meals, most people will try to cut back on one thing or two. The foods with the most calories are alcohol and sweets. Preferably, hardcore dieters would give up them both, but you don't want to be a total calorie Grinch. So you're at the Christmas table and the wine starts flowing. Do you pass and wait for dessert or say yes to the wine and exit before dessert?
After the jump, a special Pitch-made chart and a BBC game to help you figure out the answer.
According to no less an authority than the U.S Department of Agriculture, a normal sized 1/8 slice of pumpkin pie from a standard 9-inch diameter pie runs 320 calories. If it's beer you're dining on, you'll only save yourself 10 calories by choosing a couple Boulevard Wheats (155 calories per 12 ounces) over pie.
Wine in general is lower in calories, with most reds and whites somewhere between 95 and 110 calories per 5 ounce poor. For an entire bottle, that works out to be in the 450 to 500 calorie range. Surprisingly, champagne doesn't really have more calories than a typical glass of wine so if you're depriving yourself by skimping on the bubbly, don't bother.
Another thing you might want to avoid is popcorn. I've already written that popcorn tins are the most overrated thing since Madonna's comeback, but in addition to that, the cheese and butter and caramel-covered popcorn is really bad for you. In a normal 3.5 gallon tub of popcorn divided into three sections, each section has more than 2,000 calories -- the caramel section has more than 3,500! One and a half cups of caramel popcorn is equal to the piece of pumpkin pie above.
I could play the calorie comparison game all day -- and thanks to the BBC, I can. They have a small flash-based game that shows you, in food form, the amount of calories you consumed in alcohol. For example, I drank two glasses of wine last night which I now know was the equivalent of a two jaffa cakes and a doughnut.
I had to do some research to find out what exactly a jaffa cake is, and unfortunately, it doesn't look too good for you.
The game is on the BBC's Radio One Web Site here. All aboard the guilt train! -- Owen Morris
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