How Far Do I Have to Run to Burn Off a Sprinkles Cupcake?

The other day someone told me that she found my blog by researching how far she'd had to run to eat one Sprinkles cupcake. I've wondered this too, but I'm in denial about how many calories are in cupcakes. Being the health-nut that I am, I should probably know this info. So here goes...if you don't read any further, I totally understand.

Last year I posted some nutrition facts for two of my favorite Sprinkles cupcakes (pumpkin and red velvet). Since Red Velvet is one of the most popular flavors, we'll use it in today's example.

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According to livestrong.com, a Sprinkles Red Velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting has 497 calories! (In their defense, Sprinkles cupcakes are pretty big.)


According to healthstatus.com, a 140lb person running at a 7mph pace (8:30 mile) will burn 730 calories an hour. So to burn a 497 calorie cupcake, you would have to run for 40.8 minutes. At a pace of 7mph, that's 4.8 miles.

(Me and my Team Sparkle running buddies)

So in order to enjoy one Sprinkles Red Velvet cupcake, you would have to run 4.8 miles to burn it off. 4.8 miles is a long run. Would it be worth it to you? I'm interested to hear what you think.

Nutrition Facts for Sprinkles Cupcakes

WARNING: If you love Sprinkles Cupcakes and want to continue eating them, don't read any further.

Today at lunch (as I was craving a cupcake), I began thinking about the nutrition facts of a cupcake. I had never seen any nor did I really want to. Curiosity got the best of me and I started researching. Since Sprinkles Cupcakes are some of the most well-known cupcakes, I figured they would be a good starting point.

The information wasn't hard to find and interestingly I found it on livestrong.com (via thedailyplate.com). Funny that they listed two of my favorite Sprinkles cupcakes:




Sprinkles Pumpkin Cupcake w/o frosting
Calories: 272
Total Fat: 8.75g (Sat Fat: 0)
Sodium: 0
Carbs: 34g
Protein: 0

But who eats a cupcake with frosting? Add Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
Calories: 130
Total Fat: 5.5g (Sat Fat: 0)
Sodium: 0
Carbs: 19g
Protein: 0

Add those together and you have the nutrition facts for the Pumpkin Cupcake sold at Sprinkles. Let's do another:




Red Velvet Cupcake w/o frosting
Calories: 130
Total Fat: 1g (Sat Fat: 0)
Sodium: 240mg
Carbs: 29g
Protein: 3g

Not bad...for a cupcake with no frosting. Get ready for this.

Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Frosting
Calories: 497
Total Fat: 26.8g (Sat Fat: 16g)
Sodium: 412mg
Carbs: 61.5g
Protein: 6g

Whoa! I think I was in denial that cupcakes can be so bad for you! The funny part about this website is that it lists activities you can do to burn off all of these calories. If you eat this Red Velvet cupcake, you can croquet for 182 minutes or do bookbinding for 198 minutes.

Keep in mind that Sprinkles Cupcakes are HUGE and that you can cut out a lot of fat and calories by scraping off half of the frosting. This won't stop me from enjoying a delicious cupcake from Sprinkles.