Dieting can often seem like the end of all pleasurable culinary experiences. The awareness that our favorite indulgences are true calorie bombs make us face the sad reality that we will have to severely limit them in order to hit our weight loss goals. Of course, neither of us is perfect and binges or indulging a little too much tend to be normal reactions at least from time to time.

A better alternative to enduring waves of guilt whenever we slip off is to make a conscious decision to burn off the calories a certain ‘forbidden’ decadence contains using the exercise alternative that most suits us. As one might expect, the trade is not always simple as ingesting calories is much easier that burning them off, but the mere realization of the effort it takes to correct a simple slip off can lead to better choices as we might eat less or simply have a stronger determination to give up our craving. Here are a few common indulgences along with the time it takes to burn them off:

Pizza

Depending on the type, 2 slices of pizza can easily surpass the 500 calories mark, so consider this info before reaching for another one. To burn these calories you could swim vigorously for 49 minutes or run for 47 minutes or bike for 59 minutes. If you would rather walk, you would have to do so for no less than 72 minutes.

Ice cream

It might be a heavenly treat but typically one cup of ice-cream can add 250 calories to your daily calorie intake. Since it’s quite a challenge to stop at just one cup we will assume you need to burn off between 400 and 500 calories. To meet such goal you would have to play golf or do tai chi for little over two hours, play ping pong for an hour and ten minutes or racquetball for half an hour.

Large French fries

A large serving of French fries contains double of the calories of a small one. To burn off this treat you would have to do high impact aerobics for 47 minutes, dance for about an hour, jog for about 45 minutes or do rock climbing for about 45 minutes. Is it worth the effort or would you rather settle for the smaller version?

Box of chocolates

A severe snack attack resulting in eating an entire box of chocolates can ‘cost’ you over 1000 in calories. Ouch! To burn off these many calories you could go bowling for 5 hours and 15 minutes, climb stairs for over 2 hours, walk for about 4 hours and 50 minutes or do aerobics for over two hours.

Nachos

Another favorite among snackers, nachos generally mean bad news for your diet if not burnt off. To burn off a typical serving of nachos you would have to do housework for about about 3 hours and a half or do cycling for 1 hour and 30 minutes or over two hours of free style swimming.

Fried chicken

Two pieces of delicious fried chicken require 56 minutes of vigurous cycling, 1 hour and a half of walking, 2 hours of housework or 1 hour and a half of swimming in order to be burnt off. Removing the skin will help reduce a bit the effort needed.

Photos: Thinkstock