Thursday, May 31, 2007
Take steps to burn more calories
My husband gave me a free pedometer he received last week, and as a registered dietitian, I didn’t think too much about it. I exercise regularly, so I should be doing all I can do to stay active, right?
Wrong. I wore the pedometer for one day which resulted in a whopping total of 7,000 steps (goal is 10,000 per day for most people). It wasn’t until I attached the pedometer to my dogs’ collar for fun that I really discovered I was still not making decisions that could maximize my daily physical activity. If he could dance around my kitchen and get a reading of 26 steps in 30 seconds, what am I doing wrong?
In reality, some of the decisions we make everyday can result in burning additional calories by the end of the week. For a 150 lb person, either typing at a desk or sitting in an office meeting for one hour results in expending 102 calories. So, how can you burn more calories throughout the day? Rather than sending an email to a coworker, get up and walk to their desk (5 minute walk burns 23 calories). Doing this 5 times per day results in approximately 500 additional calories burned per week (5-day work week). Parking an extra five minutes farther from your job adds another 40 calories burned per day.
If it takes 3,500 calories to lose one pound of body weight, it’s easy to figure out that within 7 weeks you will lose your first pound just by parking five minutes farther away from work. So, how about getting a little more active with spring activities? For a 150 pound person, golfing will expend 306 calories, gardening 272 calories, pushing a hand mower 408 calories, and washing windows 204 calories per hour.
Interestingly, if the same 150 lb person conducts regular desk work for one hour, they will burn only 122 calories. However, getting up and walking upstairs for only 5 minutes will burn 51 calories. You may have been given good advice in the past to always take the stairs instead of using the elevator, and now you know why. Doing this several times per day can really help you burn more energy to either maintain or promote losing weight.
You don’t need a pedometer to help you realize that making small decisions about increasing physical activity throughout the day can help you manage your weight over time. Next time you decide to drive around a parking lot for an extra five minutes looking for the closet spot to the door, think twice…you’ll only burn 11 calories. For more information on approximate calories burned based on activity, visit www.caloriesperhour.com.
Whitney Bundy is a registered dietitian and Director of Food and Nutrition at The William W. Backus Hospital. This column should not replace advice or instruction from your personal physician. E-mail Bundy and all of the Healthy Living columnists at healthyliving@wwbh.org
Wrong. I wore the pedometer for one day which resulted in a whopping total of 7,000 steps (goal is 10,000 per day for most people). It wasn’t until I attached the pedometer to my dogs’ collar for fun that I really discovered I was still not making decisions that could maximize my daily physical activity. If he could dance around my kitchen and get a reading of 26 steps in 30 seconds, what am I doing wrong?
In reality, some of the decisions we make everyday can result in burning additional calories by the end of the week. For a 150 lb person, either typing at a desk or sitting in an office meeting for one hour results in expending 102 calories. So, how can you burn more calories throughout the day? Rather than sending an email to a coworker, get up and walk to their desk (5 minute walk burns 23 calories). Doing this 5 times per day results in approximately 500 additional calories burned per week (5-day work week). Parking an extra five minutes farther from your job adds another 40 calories burned per day.
If it takes 3,500 calories to lose one pound of body weight, it’s easy to figure out that within 7 weeks you will lose your first pound just by parking five minutes farther away from work. So, how about getting a little more active with spring activities? For a 150 pound person, golfing will expend 306 calories, gardening 272 calories, pushing a hand mower 408 calories, and washing windows 204 calories per hour.
Interestingly, if the same 150 lb person conducts regular desk work for one hour, they will burn only 122 calories. However, getting up and walking upstairs for only 5 minutes will burn 51 calories. You may have been given good advice in the past to always take the stairs instead of using the elevator, and now you know why. Doing this several times per day can really help you burn more energy to either maintain or promote losing weight.
You don’t need a pedometer to help you realize that making small decisions about increasing physical activity throughout the day can help you manage your weight over time. Next time you decide to drive around a parking lot for an extra five minutes looking for the closet spot to the door, think twice…you’ll only burn 11 calories. For more information on approximate calories burned based on activity, visit www.caloriesperhour.com.
Whitney Bundy is a registered dietitian and Director of Food and Nutrition at The William W. Backus Hospital. This column should not replace advice or instruction from your personal physician. E-mail Bundy and all of the Healthy Living columnists at healthyliving@wwbh.org
# posted by ----------------- @ 4:48 PM 
