Do any of you guys use scooters?

beautifulsparkles

I'm thinking of getting one and commuting with my niece in the mornings and afternoons to and from school, for exercise and bonding time. I feel a bit embarrassed, as I have only seen one adult in New Zealand with a scooter, although apparently its quite common in Wellington. I always wanted a scooter as a kid, but my parents never got me one, and after seeing a magazine article about a woman losing 30-40 kilos after using one for a while, I started wanting one again. I might put my headphones in while scooting alone to drown out any critics.

beautifulsparkles

Also, would you wear a pedometer while using your scooter?

Machka9

What kind of scooter?

beautifulsparkles

@Machka9 One that you push along with your feet

DavPul

1. Do your thing
2. Wear a helmet
3. If I wore a pedometer normally I wouldn't take it off but I wouldn't put one on if I was about to ride a bike, so......

Bluepegasus

I'm in the UK, but when I take my kids to school, I have seen other parents walking with their kid who is on a scooter to school, and after dropping the child off, the parent uses the scooter to go home!

Packerjohn

Don't see them where I'm at, but if you want to fine.

PS, the woman who lost the 30-40 kilos didn't because she used a scooter unless she was very inactive. I have never seen a calorie burn estimate for these, but would guess it is less than walking a a moderate pace. She lost the weight due to eating less and moving more.

beautifulsparkles

@Packerjohn

She would have lost weight if she didn't increase the amount of calories she was eating, in effect creating a deficit that wasn't there before.

If I use the scooter for an hour a day, that should burn about 300 calories, based on my current weight. Every little bit counts! I wouldn't necessarily consider it exercise either, just a play thing, unless I go really fast.

LazSommer

I bought one to use with my son while he bike rides. Still a fun as it was when I was 10. Mine was a cheap razor scooter - weight limit isn't a huge deal if you're not doing crazy jumps (I still jump it). I'm sure the ones you have pictured are better for actual travel, though.

Machka9

beautifulsparkles wrote: »

If I use the scooter for an hour a day, that should burn about 300 calories, based on my current weight.

Probably not. Maybe half that.


Oh and be sure to do your research before you get one. Some of them are pretty lightweight and not particularly durable.

beautifulsparkles

Machka9 wrote: »

beautifulsparkles wrote: »

If I use the scooter for an hour a day, that should burn about 300 calories, based on my current weight.

Probably not. Maybe half that.

Better than nothing. And that's an hour that I won't be stuffing my face.

DavPul

beautifulsparkles wrote: »

@Packerjohn

She would have lost weight if she didn't increase the amount of calories she was eating, in effect creating a deficit that wasn't there before.

If I use the scooter for an hour a day, that should burn about 300 calories, based on my current weight. Every little bit counts! I wouldn't necessarily consider it exercise either, just a play thing, unless I go really fast.

beautifulsparkles wrote: »

Machka9 wrote: »

beautifulsparkles wrote: »

If I use the scooter for an hour a day, that should burn about 300 calories, based on my current weight.

Probably not. Maybe half that.

Better than nothing. And that's an hour that I won't be stuffing my face.

Are you going to be using the scooter for an hour a day? That seems like a stretch to me. Are you already walking your niece to school? Because a scooter is more efficient than walking the same distance (read: burns less calories). And if a person burns 300 additional calories per day it would have taken your friends 80 weeks to lose 40 pounds. Did it take her almost 2 years? Nothing wrong with that, just not magical.

Use the scooter. Enjoy yourself. Don't expect miracles. Make sure you're eating the correct amount of calories for your goals.

beautifulsparkles

DavPul wrote: »

beautifulsparkles wrote: »

@Packerjohn

She would have lost weight if she didn't increase the amount of calories she was eating, in effect creating a deficit that wasn't there before.

If I use the scooter for an hour a day, that should burn about 300 calories, based on my current weight. Every little bit counts! I wouldn't necessarily consider it exercise either, just a play thing, unless I go really fast.

beautifulsparkles wrote: »

Machka9 wrote: »

beautifulsparkles wrote: »

If I use the scooter for an hour a day, that should burn about 300 calories, based on my current weight.

Probably not. Maybe half that.

Better than nothing. And that's an hour that I won't be stuffing my face.

Are you going to be using the scooter for an hour a day? That seems like a stretch to me. Are you already walking your niece to school? Because a scooter is more efficient than walking the same distance (read: burns less calories). And if a person burns 300 additional calories per day it would have taken your friends 80 weeks to lose 40 pounds. Did it take her almost 2 years? Nothing wrong with that, just not magical.

Use the scooter. Enjoy yourself. Don't expect miracles. Make sure you're eating the correct amount of calories for your goals.

I don't actually know her, she is a stranger. I was wrongs about her amount of weightloss, I found her story on Google, apparently she lost 14kg in 7 weeks which is pretty impressive, unless there was a typo.

It would be extra exercise because I'm not walking her to school at this stage. It takes about twenty or thirty minutes to walk to her house then another ten to fifteen minutes to get to her school from there. I think it would be at least thirty minutes to get her to school and back on a scooter, and I would be doing it twice a day.

mgookin1

If it's something you would like to do, I would do it! Regardless of the amount of calorie burned, it's getting you out of the house and active, plus the bonding time with the niece will be an added benefit.

hill8570

The best exercises are the ones you look forward to.
And worrying about what other people think (pro or con) is just silly.
Go for it! And have fun!

meritage4

When I bought my children scooters I did get one for me too. We enjoyed it as a family activity.

jimmmer

Anything that gets you out and about and being active is good. Enjoyment is key.

Magical stories on the internet/in magazines are irrelevant. Unless you were standing by the lady and measuring all she was eating, then you can't be sure that taking up scooting (scootering?) led her to a lifestyle change that altered the way she was eating. And in fact the behaviour modification and subsequent change in eating habits were 95% of the weight loss rather than the activity of scooting itself....

TL;DR: Get out there, move more and have fun while you do it (while realistically watching your calorie intake). Sounds like a win-win.

meritage4

Start gently maybe just scoot to school the first week as both you and neice need to develop those muscles.

jimmmer

Also, not a scooter. But I was hoping to take my daughter to the skate park on her scooter this summer. I would have taken my skateboard, rather than a scooter though. I'm 41 3/4 and concerns about what others may think sounds like the kind of thing that stops you enjoying life and getting the most out of it. And that sounds dull...