How To Work off Festive Fat From South Africans Favourite Foods

The festive season is usually associated with overindulgence and eating your favourite foods as much as possible. Given the type of food consumed during this period often is rich, high in sugar and carbohydrates and the portion sizes are plenty. It should come as no surprise that people gain weight by the turn of the year. South Africans "hou van lekker eet", and we shouldn't feel guilty of spoiling ourselves after a long hard year.

If you think its time to pull an Eskom and start load shedding as your new years' resolution, then here are the numbers behind what those tasty treats will cost you in sweat.

Infographic: How to burn off South Africa's favourite festive dishes

Popular South African Christmas dishes

To give you an idea of what you owe the gym in sweat the next time you walk into one or renew your gym membership, we've decided to take the most popular festive time dishes and see how many calories it costs you to stuff your face generously during the December holidays.

Note: These dishes and calorie counts do not include all the delicious sides or account for your personal preparation methods or how many beers you may be drinking while the dishes are being cooked.

1. Glazed Gammon

• 1 Gammon 2100 calories
• 100 gram serving 140 calories

How to burn off that 100-gram serving

• 2.24 km of running
• or 700 jumping jacks
• or 336 squats

2. Roast chicken

• 1 Chicken 1430 calories
• 100 gram serving 239 calories

How to burn off that 100-gram serving

• 3.82 km of running
• or 1195 jumping jacks
• or 574 squats

3. Roasted pork

• 1 pork loin 1885 calories
• 100 gram serving 145 calories

How to burn off that 100-gram serving

• 2.32 km of running
• or 725 jumping jacks
• or 348 squats

4. Leg of lamb

• 1 leg of lamb 1 043 calories
• 100 gram serving 230 calories

How to burn off that 100-gram serving

• 3.7 km of running
• or 1150 jumping jacks
• or 552 squats

5. Braai vlies

• 1 family braai pack 2529 calories
• 100 gram 281 calories

How to burn off that 100-gram serving

• 4.5 km of running
• or 1405 jumping jacks
• or 675 squats

Popular South African Christmas desserts

Oh and let's not forget the sugary treats we tend to enjoy after dinner and well into the evening with a cup of tea or coffee.

1 Milk tart

• 100 gram serving 166 calories

How to burn off that 100-gram serving

• 2.66 km of running
• or 830 jumping jacks
• or 399 squats

2. Peppermint tart 

• 100 gram serving 186 calories

How to burn off that 100-gram serving

• 2.98 km of running
• or 930 jumping jacks
• or 447 squats

3. Malva pudding

• 100 gram serving 317 calories

How to burn off that 100-gram serving

• 5.1 km of running
• or 1585 jumping jacks
• or 761 squats

4. Cheesecake

• 100 gram serving 321 calories

How to burn off that 100-gram serving

• 5.2 km of running
• or 1605 jumping jacks
• or 771 squats

5. Trifle

• 100 gram 168 calories

How to burn off that 100-gram serving

• 2.7 km of running
• or 840 jumping jacks
• or 404 squats

Averages calculated on the following basis

When it comes to fitness numbers are not absolute figures and things like weight, diet, gender, age and body type can all affect the performance of the body and its ability to burn calories. As a result, these calculations were done using the following averages to maintain a level of consistency.

• Average 100 calories burned - 1.6km
• Average 100 calories burned - 500 jumping jacks
• Average 100 calories burned - 240 squats

What is your guilty pleasure during the festive season?

Are any of these 10 dishes your vice during the December holidays? Which dish is not on the list that you find irresistible? Are you surprised at the number of calories you can put on from these foods? Let us know in the comments below.

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Recommended reading

If you enjoyed this post and have time to spare why not check out these related posts and dive deeper down the rabbit hole that is South African snacks and foods.

• Your Guide To Meal Delivery Services In South Africa
• Where To Buy A Gatsby In Cape Town
• Snacks That South African Travellers & Expats Miss The Most
• 43 South African Subscription Box Services

Tags: Festive Season, Gym, Weight Loss