sing a pedometer has made me sensitive to just how many steps and how much time it takes to burn off the calories we can casually consume. In the summer 2002 edition of "Well" I went into the lab to test the accuracy of our pedometers and measure how many steps it took to burn off a given number of calories. A person weighing in the 180 - 200 lb (81.5 - 90 kg) range would burn about 500 calories walking 10,000 steps. (Lighter people burn a few less, and heavier folks a few more: see the table in "More Thoughts on 10,000 Steps" summer 2002) Therefore, as an approximation it takes 20 steps to burn off 1 calorie. If you know how many calories in a particular product, just multiply that number by 20 and you'll know how many steps it takes to walk it off.
For example, a regular Snickers bar contains 280 calories and will therefore require 5600 steps to walk it off (280 cals x 20 steps). The next question is how long will this take? 
Walking at a typical pace where you can walk and talk comfortably (not a stroll) takes approximately 8 mins. 40 secs. /1000 steps. Therefore, it will take you 48 1/2 minutes to 'walk off' your Snickers bar.
A 'King' sized snickers packs a huge 570 calories and would take 1 hour and 40 minutes to walk off.
As a rule of thumb, 5000 steps takes roughly 3/4 of an hour. If you are power walking you can cut that time close to 1/2 hour. As I've noted before, the business of living in a normal day for me seems to account for about 5000 steps, so in order to get my 10,000 I can jog for about 25 minutes, power walk for 35 or walk briskly and comfortably for 45 minutes.
Obviously, once you get into the cookies, candies, cakes, croissants and chips there are not enough hours in the day to burn them off, so instead you have to let them take up residence in your hips, thighs and abdomen.
In the North American culture, you have to use your brain when making food choices. Don't be guided by your friends, by advertising, by convenience, by 'not letting good food go to waste', or even by your taste buds which eons ago learned to respond favorably to salt, fats and sugar. The following table might guide your thinking when running the gauntlet of fast food franchises that dominate the food courts of our malls and that ruin the landscape as you approach most towns and cities.
| Calories | Steps | Approx time
to to burn it off at a steady walking pace |
A Grande (16 oz)
Starbucks Latte | 350 | 7000 | about 1 hour |
In a world where big is better, it's fascinating that Starbucks has no word for 'small'. Their 3 advertised sizes are 'tall', 'grande' and 'vente'. If you specifically ask for a 'small' they can produce some regular sized coffee cups, but it's not something they encourage you to order.
|
|
McDonalds
Big Mac Meal | 1470 | 29400 | 5 hours |
This needs a long walk and the average
pace will be a little slower.
|
|
Subway Classic
6" Meatball | 501 | 10020 | 1 1/4 hours |
Jared must do a lot of walking!
|
|
Krispy Kreme
Glazed Creme Filled | 350 | 7000 | 1 hour |
|
|
In New Orleans recently, I watched people
buying Krispy Kremes. In 10 minutes not
one person ordered a single donut, many people
bought them by the box.
|
|
Domino's Pizza
Ultimate Deep Dish
14" Cheese | 677 | 13540 | 2 hours |
(you can add 'Domino's Dots)
|
|
KFC Popcorn
Chicken (large) | 620 | 12400 | 1 3/4 hours |
|
|
Dairy Queen
Grilled Chicken Sandwich
| 310 | 6200 | 53 mins. |
|
|
Jugo Juice
Powerzone | 341 | 6820 | about 1 hr. |
 |
|
Some Typical Meals at Home
| Breakfasts | Calories | Steps | Time it takes
to burn off |
A) 3/4 c fresh fruit
1 oz. Corn Flakes
1/2c. 2% milk | 250 | 5000 | 43 mins. |
 |
|
B) 2 eggs poached
3 pcs. of streaky bacon
1 c. hash brown potatoes
2 slices white toast
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp jam | 850 | 17,000 | 2 hrs. 25 mins |
 |
|
C) 2 slices brown toast
1 tbsp butter
1/2 c orange juice
1 cup black coffee | 350 | 7000 | 1 hour |
 |
|
| Lunches | Calories | Steps | Time it takes
to burn off |
1. 1 c. mixed green salad
1 slice whole wheat bread
1/2 tbsp. Butter
1c. herbal tea | 250 | 5000 | 43 mins. |
 |
|
2. Bowl of vegetable soup
white bread rolls
cup of coffee with cream | 360 | 7200 | just over 1 hr. |
 |
|
3. Chicken salad sandwich
on brown bread
Fresh apple
Cup of tea with milk | 464 | 9280 | 1 hr 20 min. |
 |
|
| Dinners | Calories | Steps | Time it takes
to burn off |
1. Grilled Chicken breast
with steamed vegetables
1/2 baked potato with 1 tbsp butter
Low fat yogurt | 600 | 12000 | 1 3/4 hours |
 |
|
2. Spaghetti with tomato sauce
Grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 c. vanilla ice cream | 690 | 13800 | 2 hours |
 |
|
3. Roast beef with gravy
roasted potatoes
Yorkshire pudding, roasted mixed vegetables,
Slice of chocolate cake | 1323 | 26460 | 3 3/4 hours |
 |
|
Looked at in a different way, here is the weight you would gain if you added one a day of the products shown below and didn't burn it off with some exercise. For example, if you consumed one extra 10 calorie product each day for a year the math looks like this:
Approximately 350 days a year x 10 calories = 3500 calories = 1 lb of weight gained.
Every 10 calories per day turns into one pound
[Ron: please put this into the form of columns with the headings of calories and weight gain per year]
As it says in the old song by Kitty Kallen "Little things mean a lot" and those insignificant Triscuits, Kit Kats and cookies can miraculously turn into fat. Conversely, every step you take, every stair you climb, every sit-up you perform and every grocery bag you lift can help turn Triscuits, Kit Kats and cookies into vapour.
(from Canada's Tim Horton's)
(Note: Tim Bits are small, round donuts, somewhat like Domino's Dots. Nobody eats one, they buy them by the box of 20 for a 'Snack' Pack or 45 for a 'Family' Pack.)