What Burns the Most Calories?

I’ve been monitoring how many calories I burn (using my Body Media armband) doing various activities so wanted to share the info with everyone!

Types of Exercise

Sunday I did 1 hour 15 minutes of Ashtanga Yoga and burned 250 calories.  Only 2 minutes of this time was “vigorous” exercise and the rest was moderate (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.)

Monday I went for a 30 minute jog around my neighborhood and burned 250 calories.  All of that time was marked as “vigorous” exercise, so clearly outdoor jogging keeps the body active throughout.

Wednesday I did 45 minutes at the gym, which included about 25 minutes cardio (seated bike and elliptical machine) and 20 minutes weight lifting.  I burned 270 calories; 170 from my cardio and the rest from my weights.  Most of my cardio time was considered “vigorous.”

Today I did 45 minutes at the gym, including 25 minutes of jogging on a treadmill with the final 5 minutes doing a fast paced walk at an 8% incline.  The other 20 minutes was some leg weights.  I burned 375 calories and my cardio was vigorous (even the fast paced walking.)  It looks like 245 of that was my cardio and the rest was from the weights.  (Interesting because the treadmill said I burned 300 calories…they are never going to be accurate so don’t pin your hopes on what they tell you!)

And just for fun I’ll add in my walk at lunchtime today, which was about a 10 minute walk to/from the town center, and walking around Waterstone’s looking for a book.  I burned 150 calories, all moderate.

What does it mean?

Based on the above, I can see that jogging is definitely my highest calorie burning activity (which is great because I love it!)  The yoga class didn’t burn as many calories as I thought but because of all the other benefits (flexibility, core strength, toning, etc) I would not give it up….I’ve only done three classes, by the way, but I’m already feeling more flexible.

Besides, it isn’t all about burning as many calories as possible.  Anyone with fitness/health/natural weight loss goals should consider exercise, but it doesn’t have to be vigorous, no pain no gain, gym related exercise.  You can just do general housework, gardening, walking with friends, sports, or many other things.  Whatever works for you and keeps you motivated is what you should do.

Additionally, when you know that you’ve burned calories, you should think about what that means: it means you’ve got your heart pumping, your joints moving, and your muscles are getting a workout.   These are all good things!

Anyway, back on track.  What else can I take away from my information above?

I find it interesting, and great, that my lunchtime walk burned 150 calories.  That definitely wasn’t “exercise” in my mind, but it still was a good thing for my body and my metabolism.

And something I didn’t list above, but I always notice when reviewing my Body Media data is that first thing in the morning, when I’m racing around the house getting ready for work, I usually burn about 150 calories.  That’s another 150 gone that I didn’t even have to think about.  Cool.

Remember that each person’s body burns calories at a different rate, so the above won’t necessarily apply to you, but hopefully you still found it interesting.

To your health,

Kimberly

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