Christmas Explained: T is for Turkey with all the Trimmings

Surveys show that on average we will eat our way through as many as 6,000 calories on Christmas Day alone which, according to the British Dietetic Association, may be a result of overindulging on second helpings, snacks and alcohol.

Whilst we are likely to put on an average 5lbs (2kg) in weight over the Christmas period, the Christmas meal is not the main culprit. In fact, the traditional turkey roast can be very good for us.

The problem is that over Christmas we can eat roughly three to four times more food than we actually need. Meaning that we can end up in the New Year weighing a lot more than we did. It also means we are storing up problems for the future. After all the extra calories have to go somewhere. These extra calories will be laid down as fat, and it’s those extra few pounds that can do you harm in the long term.

So what does the average Christmas Dinner mean for our bodies? Here are the nutritional facts:

CHRISTMAS DINNER

Christmas Dinner	Calories	Fat
Roast turkey(90g)	149 kcal	4g
Roast potatoes(85g)	127 kcal	4g
Stuffing(100g)	231 kcal	15g
Bread sauce(45g)	42 kcal	1g
Roast parsnips(90g)	102 kcal	6g
Boiled carrots	14 kcal	0g
Brussel Sprouts	32 kcal	1g
Gravy(50g)	17 kcal	1g
Cranberry sauce(30g)	45 kcal	0g
Pork sausage(20g)	62 kcal	5g
Bacon(40g)	135 kcal	11g
TOTAL	956 kcal	48g

CHRISTMAS DINNER EXTRAS

Christmas Dinner Extras	Calories	Fat
1 slice of Christmas cake(70g)	249 kcal	8g
1 portion of chocolate log (30g)	101 kcal	3g
1 portion of cheese and biscuits	394 kcal	27g
1 portion of mixed nuts (40g)	243 kcal	22g
1 portion Christmas pudding (100g), custard and brandy butter	587 kcal	22g
1 mince pie and double cream	368 kcal	25g
1 glass of mulled wine	245 kcal	0g

Of course there are plenty of ways of ensuring you don't overindulge over Christmas - but what would be the fun in that?

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You will find many other such tasty morsels of information in my book Christmas Explained: Robins, Kings and Brussel Sprouts.