Maybe think twice before eating a Big Mac, it’ll cost you an hour and a half-long run around the Oval if you don’t want it going directly to your thighs.
Putting on weight in first year isn’t inevitable. The “first year spread” is caused by the change in life-style when we move from high school to university.
There are a number of factors at play that cause weight gain. Moving to res means leaving nutritious and controlled portions provided by mom to picking up a deep fried spring roll during lunch or eating at the res dining halls.
Usually our exercise habits also fall away as essays, projects and endless readings take higher priority.
While eating healthily takes more planning and time than eating fast-food, its benefits to your heart, mind and over-all immune system in the end. Not to mention fitting into your favourite pair of jeans.
Check out the table below to get an idea of how much exercise you have to do to burn off some the most popular take-away treats. The calories burned per hour are based on a 60kg person, for a more accurate idea of how fast you burn energy, check out websites like nutristrategy.com or intoshape.co.za
*Note that 1 calorie = 4.184 kilojoules
Coco-Cola Buddy Bottle (500mls) 189 calories Half an hour of fencing
McDonalds Fries Large(154gms) 500 calories Cycling an hour
KFC Streetwise 2 529 calories Over 2 hour walk
McDonalds Big Mac 540 calories Run hour and 15mins
KFC Colonel Burger 590 calories An hour of Rugby
