How many calories are you burning?

This Week In The HSI Healthier Talk Community

That question, of course, calls to mind the necessity of burning the calories we use to fuel our bodies. And that question also happens to be the title of a thread posted on the “Energy” forum in the HSI Healthier Talk community.

A member named Jo UK starts the thread with an entry from a newsletter that addresses exercise, fitness and calories burned. If you go to the trouble to count calorie intake, it’s a good idea to know how many calories you’re burning off, especially if you’re attempting to lose weight. If you consume 1,000 calories in a day, for instance, you’ll need to burn a total of 4,500 in order to lose one pound.

Jo has entered a list of activities and the approximate number of
calories each activity burns in an hour. And she adds this note: “I
think we should add more categories Coping with children. Running after the dog. Having to go upstairs three more times because you forgot the first two times what you went for. Etc. Etc.”

Here are a few items on Jo’s calorie-burning list:

 

• Walking (4 mph): 324
• Moderate calisthenics: 324
• Gardening: 324
• Heavy cleaning: 324
• Mowing lawn: 324
• Bicycling (12-14 mph): 576
• Tennis: 504
• Golf (carrying clubs): 396
• Golf (using cart): 252
• Tai chi: 288
• Sitting (reading, or watching TV): 81
• Sleeping: 45

This list prompted a side discussion of Tai Chi, the exercise system based on an ancient Chinese martial art, sometimes described as a combination of yoga and meditation. (See the e-Alert “Supremely Ultimate” (3/18/04) for a look at research that reviewed 50 separate Tai Chi studies revealing a wide range of health benefits.)

“Tai Chi burnsas much as mowing the lawn?” asks an HSI member named Naturalway. “I didn’t know it expended so much energy.”

But a member named Ani UK was not surprised by this: “Have you ever been made to hold a position in Tai Chi? It feels like you are burning calories for everyone in the world. When I’m not doing that I love doing Tai Chi it is such a chill out. So why don’t I do it more often!!!”

Naturalway: “I love it but I don’t do it regularly because I didn’t know it was a workout. I liked it for the relaxation. I think I’ll do it more since I can’t do the more strenuous workouts I used to be able to do. A relaxing workout? What a great thing that is.”

Jo UK’s comment about adding more categories to the calorie-burning list was sort of tongue-in-cheek, but after casting around for a bit on the Internet I found a site that breaks down calorie burning into some very specific categories. The site is Calories Per Hour (caloriesperhour.com), and if you want to find out how many calories are burned while playing the accordion, digging worms, pumping gas, applying makeup or pole-vaulting, this is the site for you.

Calories Per Hour lists plenty of typical activities (such as walking, jogging, bed making, etc.), but it also gives you the option to customize a search for calories burned. For instance, if you’re a 50-year-old female who weighs 130 pounds and stands 5’8″, 25 minutes of accordion playing burns approximately 41 calories.

Apparently the accordion doesn’t provide quite the calorie-burning workout that Tai Chi does.

Other topics being discussed this week in the Healthier Talk community forums include:

 

• Allergies: Springtime allergies
• General Health Topics: Help to sleep
• Cancer: Vitamin D for lung cancer
• Vision: Macular degeneration
• Hormones: Saliva test for hormones
• Depression/Mood: Getting off Prozac

To join in with any of these discussions, just go to our web site at
www.hsionline.com, choose “Forum,” and add your own insights and comments about health, nutrition and natural treatments.