Christmas: How many calories in a Christmas dinner - and how long does it take to burn off?

The Christmas period has arrived, and Brits across the nation are undoubtedly excited for the day of drinking and eating well.

However, with the turkey, Christmas pudding and mince pies galore, it’s no secret that the abundance of food will take quite some time to burn off. But exactly how many calories are in the average Christmas dinner, and how long will it take for us to burn it off?

Mica Moore from Mirafit said: "Christmas day is just around the corner, and it’s an exciting time to gather with loved ones and celebrate with delicious food and drinks. While it’s clear that the calorie intake on Christmas day is incredibly high, it’s one day of the year when we can forget the diet and fitness goals.  However, fitness enthusiasts may be determined to stay in good shape despite the high-calorie consumption, so these exercise tips can guide you to help you stay on track, from upper and lower body workouts to taking a walk with the family.”

It's thought that over the course of Christmas Day, the average Brit will consume 3,959 calories.

Turkey dinner and all the trimmings

The Christmas dinner itself racks up 1,499 calories, including the turkey with all the trimmings, so expect vigorous exercise to burn this off. Running burns more calories than any other exercise, so this is the most practical option – women will need to run for two hours and men will need to aim for one hour and 42 minutes.

Running for a long period of time may be impractical, especially if this isn’t one of your typical workouts. Spread the exercise over a few days, or you could even do so over a week; with the latter, you can incorporate other exercises into the same workout, like strength training. 

If you opt for an outside run instead of a treadmill, wear bright colours to stay visible to drivers when it’s dark. On top of this, muscles become tighter and more injury-prone in winter due to muscles contracting to conserve heat, so it’s vital to stretch properly before your run.

Desserts to finish the feast

While you may be stuffed after your dinner, the feast isn’t over until you’ve had dessert. With a taster of traditional desserts, including Christmas pudding, yule log, and mince pies, you’re looking at a sum of 1,172 calories; that’s an overwhelming four hours and 22 minutes of weightlifting for men, or five hours and 10 minutes for women.

While it’s unrealistic to commit to this length of exercise in one day, it’s certainly feasible to spread it out over a week. Spending just over an hour for four days, or five days for women, is sure to burn the calories you consumed from Christmas day desserts. Alternate between upper and lower body workouts to ensure you’re targeting all areas while simultaneously allowing muscles to recover.

The overhead press is a great exercise to target your shoulders and triceps; here, you need to stand with a straight back, hold dumbbells with an overhand grip at shoulder height, and raise them above your head before bringing them back until your arms are straight. As well as this, try a bicep curl by holding a dumbbell with your hand facing the sky, slowly curling this up by bending your elbow, and then slowly lowering the weight back down again.

For your lower body, try walking lunges – use either dumbbells or a barbell and repeatedly take steps forward by bending your leg until your thigh is parallel to the floor, remembering to alternate your legs for each lunge. In addition, incorporate deadlifts into your lower body workout; with your feet shoulder-width apart, hold dumbbells on both sides of your legs with your arms straight and push your hips back as you lower the dumbbells. Bring them back up slowly as you move your hips forward, and repeat!

Drinks to celebrate the festivities

It wouldn’t be Christmas day without mulled wine, eggnog, and even a couple of glasses of classic wine – but altogether, the combination of these drinks equates to 1,008 calories. To burn this off, women would have to aim for one hour and 24 minutes of cycling, while men should complete one hour and 11 minutes.