Exercise equations

So if you need to lose a few pounds to look your best on the beach this year, here's a guide to how much exercise you need to take to burn off the calories from your favourite foods (Equations are based on the average-sized woman, which means if you weigh more you'll burn more calories and if you weigh less, you'll burn fewer. All equations are approximate.)

FRUIT AND VEG

If your diet contains a high proportion of fresh fruit and veg, you won't have to work too hard to burn the calories they contain off:

Medium-size banana = 16 minutes walking

Pear = 11 minutes mowing the lawn

Medium-size orange = 6 minutes jogging

Carrots (per portion) = 3 minutes dancing

Potatoes (per portion) = 26 minutes playing golf

SNACKS

Depending on the type of snack you prefer, you could end up having to put a fair bit of effort in if you want to burn off all the calories it contains:

Mars Bar (standard size) = 50 minutes aqua aerobics

Jam doughnut (average) = 45 minutes walking

Blueberry muffin = 23 minutes steady swimming

Cheese and onion crisps = 35 minutes playing frisbee

DAIRY

Cheese, cream and butter are all high in fat (unless you go for the low-fat versions), which means they're also high in calories. Here's how to burn those calories off:

Butter (single pat) = 5 minutes dancing

Sour cream (1 tbsp) = 3 minutes jogging

Cheddar cheese (28g) = 13 minutes swimming

Cottage cheese (28g) = 4 minutes walking

Mozzarella (28g) = 10 minutes aerobics

LUNCH

Even sandwiches can be high in fat and calories, so here's what you need to do to burn off the calories in some popular midday meals:

Egg mayonnaise sandwich = 1 hour 20 minutes hill walking

Cheeseburger and fries = 88 minutes of aerobics

Chicken Caesar salad = 60 minutes skating

Chicken and Mushroom Pot Noodle = 1 hour and 10 minutes playing tennis

Regular hot dog = 36 minutes dancing

EVENING MEAL

Get ready to be very active if you want to stand a chance of burning off the calories in these popular dishes:

12-inch pepperoni pizza = 3 hours 40 minutes walking

Fish and chips = 1 hour 10 minutes jogging

Spaghetti Bolognese = 1 hour low-impact aerobics

Six chicken nuggets = 45 minutes dancing

Roast beef dinner = 1 hour 40 minutes cycling

DRINKS

Don't forget drinks calories as they count just the same as calories from food:

Red wine (175ml glass) = 18 minutes digging the garden

Pint of Fosters lager = 45 minutes dancing aerobics

Single measure of Scotch = 14 minutes jogging

Orange juice = 18 minutes walking

Diet drinks = 45 seconds dancing

What exercise burns the most calories?

Do you want to burn as many calories as you possibly can through exercise? It largely depends on how much effort you put into your exercise - for instance, if you swim up and down the pool at a leisurely pace, you won't burn the same number of calories as someone who does reasonably fast laps.

So bearing that in mind, here are some popular activities that burn the most number of calories:

• Running
• Squash
• Cycling
• Aerobics
• Boxing
• Skipping
• Jogging
• Swimming