Damage control for extra holiday calories

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A typical holiday meal, to no one's surprise, is packed with calories - between 3,000 and 4,000, according to the American Council on Exercise. And it's not those beneficial or benign calories but more often the fatty ones coming from dark turkey meat, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing and cream sauces.

Compare that one meal with the 1,500 to 2,500 calories dietitians recommend a normal person take in each day and you get an idea of the havoc that one holiday feast wreaks on a diet.

You could attempt to sweat it off in one shot but you'd likely take all the enjoyment out of it.

A 160-pound person would have to run at a moderate pace for four hours, swim for five hours or walk 30 miles to burn off a 3,000-calorie meal, the American Council on Exercise says.

Since gyms and health clubs are closed on national holidays, local personal fitness trainer Stephanie Maikranz says the best attack against the battle of the bulge is balancing some light physical activity with careful eating.

Maikranz suggests making exercise a fun family affair, such as holding push-up/sit-up contests or relay races or having a beach volleyball or touch football game.

"An activity in the morning, like a brisk walk, before you eat is good because that will get your metabolism going for the day," she says. "You should also take a brisk walk some time after you eat."

Maikranz, and others, say most people gain an average of 7 pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas if they don't work out.

It's not hard to do some modest physical activity to keep the calories in check.

"A brisk walk, depending on the intensity, will burn an average of five to seven calories per minute," Maikranz says, adding that men burn more calories than women "because they have more muscle mass."

Other tips for the holidays:

n Skip the cream sauces; stick with vinaigrette dressing.

n Focus more on the veggie and meat trays instead of the dessert tray.

n If you're on vacation, or don't have access to a gym, find a television exercise program to follow.

n Try to maintain your normal workout routine during the holidays.