A Realistic Look at Calories

By Jon Herring

If you want to get a good idea of what it takes to burn off calories, jump on a treadmill. That’s what I did yesterday. After a brief warm up, I dialed up the intensity for about three minutes until I was spent. Then I slowed it down for a minute or two. After this brief rest, I repeated the process six or seven times.

At the end of my half-hour treadmill workout, I was covered in sweat. The readout told me that I had burned 440 calories.

That number was brought into sharp focus today [02-17-2007] when I saw an article put out by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. The CSPI is trying to bring attention to the extreme number of calories that are in many popular junk foods. Here are a few examples:

• Starbucks Frappuccino coffee with whipped cream - 550 calories
• Dunkin Donuts sesame seed bagel with cream cheese - 570 calories
• Dunkin Donuts 24-ounce strawberry / banana smoothie - 550 calories
• 2 Dunkin Donuts jelly donuts - 420 calories
• McDonald’s large chocolate shake - 1,160 calories

The number of calories you burn depends upon your weight and the intensity of the exercise you are doing. But here is a rule of thumb. If you weigh 125 pounds, you will burn approximately 600 calories running for one hour (at a 10-minute-per-mile pace). If you weigh 175 pounds, the same number of calories will take about 45 minutes to burn.

That’s something to think about the next time you are standing in line at a fast-food restaurant. Is that cream-cheese-slathered bagel really worth an hour on the treadmill? It’s a better idea to stick to foods that are nutrient-dense, high in protein, and naturally low in calories.
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It’s Fun to Know: About the Year of the Pig

According to the Chinese zodiac, the Year of the Pig runs from February 18, 2007 to February 6, 2008. The pig is associated with fertility and prosperity. People born during this year are believed to be honest and straightforward, and are admired by others.
(Source: Wikipedia)
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Word to the Wise: Distrait

"Distrait" (dis-TRAY) - from the French for "to distract" - means inattentive or preoccupied, especially because of anxiety.

Example (as used by Sinclair Lewis in Babbitt): "He had painfully written out a first draft, and he intoned it now like a poet delicate and distrait."
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These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #1968, 02-17-07], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.