Bonners Ferry Local Guide including all of Boundary County Idaho

Christmas goodies pack on the pounds

Friday, December 22, 2006; KBCI

Oh, those holiday pitfalls: a martini and a handful of Chex mix at the office party, Grandma's fruitcake, the plate of gingerbread cookies from your neighbor. Eating all those goodies will definitely cost you. To burn off the calories in one gingerbread cookie, you will have to swim 18 minutes. The martini and party mix will take 47 minutes on the bike. And the fruitcake? Take an 84-minute walk. Those are the calculations in a new book that lists the calorie content of 7,500 foods and tells you just how long it will take to work it off. "Most of us have no idea what a calorie is worth," said Charles Stuart Platkin, author of "The Diet Detective's Count Down" and other books. Platkin, a Miami-based public health advocate, spent nearly a year compiling the list, which includes fast-food dishes, popular restaurant menu fare and most grocery items. The exercise calculations are for a 155-pound person; add time if you're lighter, subtract time if you're heavier. Some of the numbers are downright depressing. - Full Story