Calories Burned Driving

JmBlck

I have to disagree with many of the posts I've seen today on this topic. I spend 8 to 15 sometimes 18 hours a day behind the wheel as an over the road truck driver. It is NOT the same at all as driving a car, listening to the radio and taking it easy. It's easily one of the most exhausting, mentally and physically, jobs I've ever had. (Much worse in heavy traffic and winter driving)
I don't know if it equals some of the caloric counts I've seen on line, but do know it works for cardio to some extent, as evidenced by the pounding heart and heavy breathing.
When you add to the driving, getting up and down, in and out of the truck 15-20 times a day, climbing in and out of the trailer multiple times, winding up and down landing gear, dropping and hooking multiple trailers it all begins to add up. Have no idea how much, but it all adds to something.

Dancaruso56

I think the point is if your driving more then you normally would. If you sit behind a desk most of the time, and then for whatever reason find yourself driving for a given amount of time, that is out of the ordinary and therefore counts as something. I do believe however that the number of calories they show for driving seems excessive. I do log it but I log it as about half of the actual time.

phjorg1

I think the point is if your driving more then you normally would. If you sit behind a desk most of the time, and then for whatever reason find yourself driving for a given amount of time, that is out of the ordinary and therefore counts as something. I do believe however that the number of calories they show for driving seems excessive. I do log it but I log it as about half of the actual time.

o.O

it counts as something. driving. which counts the same as sitting on your *kitten*.... If you don't go to work and instead sit on your *kitten* all day, do you log that as it's out of the ordinary too??

KANGOOJUMPS

hmm, I took this kinda sexual,,,,

Mail_Girl1009

I count driving... but I deliver mail on the side of a mountain out of a left hand drive jeep. So I stay alert, back straight, lots of twisting and pulling trays over seats, walking packages to doors, etc. But I count it as 4 hours even though I do it for 5 so all the extra moving and lifting is just a bonus. In the summer I count it as 4.5 because of the oven my jeep becomes. I think it's all about what your doing while your driving and how alert you have to be.... : )

teamAmelia

in my opinion no because driving isn't exercise unless your fred flinstone and using your feet

:laugh:

When ppl enter calories for ridiculous things like cleaning, I think that they are desperate to see their daily calorie burn be higher (possibly bc they didn't work out that day). It would be easier for you to just work out instead of counting silly things like driving and vacuuming. Those things are not going to help you lose weight, so it's pointless to even add them to your log, IMO.

I count driving... but I deliver mail on the side of a mountain out of a left hand drive jeep. So I stay alert, back straight, lots of twisting and pulling trays over seats, walking packages to doors, etc. But I count it as 4 hours even though I do it for 5 so all the extra moving and lifting is just a bonus. In the summer I count it as 4.5 because of the oven my jeep becomes. I think it's all about what your doing while your driving and how alert you have to be.... : )

Shouldn't you just include that in your profile by stating that you have a strenuous job? That would be like a waitress saying that she walked for hours a day.

GOTTHEALTH

Has anyone considered that the size of truckers bellies could be due to the fact that they don't have much choice when it comes to eating healthy. .... Since I have started watching my calories I have lost almost 20 lbs since the beginning of the year (thanks largely to the fact that I have a fridge in my truck and can keep healthier food) and I do not exercise at all. Maybe my metabolism is high or maybe it's because I am DRIVING 11 hours a day.

<ha ha> This is a unfriendly truck driving environment. Long Haul persecution LOL

Maybe those websites were wrong about the amount of calories burned. :ohwell: How often do you see long-haul truck drivers who look as fantastic as Tami or Banks? :bigsmile:

Wow, that was an unexpected little shot in the arm today! :flowerforyou:

Thanks!

We'll start a new nonprofit organization; we'll call it **The MAHLT Shop** (MAHLT : Mother's Against Hating Long distance Truckers) <ha ha> :-)

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Ok, now to get back to be serious here, and the reason I visited this thread. I'm going to absolutely ! log some form of calorie burning during days that I go out because I live in a third world country, and driving here is a "far cry" from anything sedentary LOL. When I typically go out for a few errands (two hours or more), I come back sore and tired, and often want to rest.

Driving in places like India, the Philippines, and many other countries is in the very least a moderate exercise. Dodging bicycles, motorcycles, constantly on the break peddle, and not to mention I drive a stick so shifting gears in all of that traffic and all that turning leaves my arms often sore and tired also. <ha ha> I need therapy just thinking about it :-)

Qski

When ppl enter calories for ridiculous things like cleaning, I think that they are desperate to see their daily calorie burn be higher (possibly bc they didn't work out that day). It would be easier for you to just work out instead of counting silly things like driving and vacuuming. Those things are not going to help you lose weight, so it's pointless to even add them to your log, IMO.

I count driving... but I deliver mail on the side of a mountain out of a left hand drive jeep. So I stay alert, back straight, lots of twisting and pulling trays over seats, walking packages to doors, etc. But I count it as 4 hours even though I do it for 5 so all the extra moving and lifting is just a bonus. In the summer I count it as 4.5 because of the oven my jeep becomes. I think it's all about what your doing while your driving and how alert you have to be.... : )

Shouldn't you just include that in your profile by stating that you have a strenuous job? That would be like a waitress saying that she walked for hours a day.

I definitely am logging cleaning or any other work that makes me drip sweat and my chest pound because of the amount of effort I am putting in. If I hurt from it and sweat from it, it's exercise. Granted it hurts or makes me sweat because I usually don't do anything but sit on my butt and hit pay in my internet banking for whoever is cleaning my house or weeding my garden, but that doesn't mean because they do it without breaking a sweat day in and day out, I am not going to be exerting myself if I do it? If cleaning or "ridiculous things" are easy for you, then no --- you can't log it cos it makes no sense; but it makes a lot of sense for someone who is very overweight and very unfit and not used to doing any of those ridiculous things.

And yes, if a waitress has selected sedentary to calculate her calories burned, she is perfectly entitled to add her hours of walking, as is the driver above to add the driving....
If you don't add it into what you are burning as part of your job, then add it as exercise, if you do add it to what you are burning as part of your job then you dont add it as exercise.

No need to be self-righteous about what you choose to do or not, it adds nothing to the discussion other than pointing out your self-righteousness.

The more G's you pull when driving; the more you need to concentrate, the more turns you have to make, the amount of traffic you have to contend with, the type of traffic you have to contend with and your own sensitivity to stress or anxiety under certain traffic conditions would all play a part in how much calories are burned when driving. If you know you're working it, then add it.

Be honest with yourself your choices will only effect you.

ryanknowles17777

Chewing gum burns roughly 11 calories an hour.
If you're a nervous leg bouncer or pencil tapper, you're in luck. On average, fidgeting can burn between 300-350 extra calories per day.
And for you dirty mofos. 300 calories an hour during sex....if ya last 2 hours, thats 600! for me,,,,300 divided by 60 and boo yah! yay 5 calories! Winning

ryanknowles17777

So driving a vehicle, especially standard, does count as calories, and it depends on how accurate you want to be. Me....anal. every move i make, and every bite i take. :P

countingdownthekilosx

I wouldn't bother counting that as a workout. I'm sorry but like other people have said on this post It's just like you putting Watching Tv as exercise.

ChrisM8971

I suggest if your activity level is set to sedentary, then driving is out of the normal and ok to log.

I disagree, I drive for up to 8 hours a day, so thats 8 hours of sitting on my backside being slightly stressed from time to time. Wearing a chest strap HRM on the way to a workout once showed my heart rate as about as low as I have ever seen it when I am relaxed and driving.

So driving is a cause of a sedentary lifestyle not an exercise within a sedentary lifestyle

Edited to say and therefore should not be logged

TamaraKat

I would stay away from logging it it's not reallllly active is it?

EdTheGinge

I sit at my desk typing and using my brain for about 8hrs a day, there must be calories there for me to record surely ???

sel2504

Has anyone considered that the size of truckers bellies could be due to the fact that they don't have much choice when it comes to eating healthy. I am a truck driver and I just recently started watching my calorie intake and I never realized how much crap there is at truck stops. Even the meals that you would think are healthy are still 700 to 1000 calories. Since I have started watching my calories I have lost almost 20 lbs since the beginning of the year (thanks largely to the fact that I have a fridge in my truck and can keep healthier food) and I do not excersise at all. Maybe my metabolism is high or maybe it's because I am DRIVING 11 hours a day.

This ^ I used to drive 5 hours a day for work and used an HRM to see if I was actually burning calories consdering I'm bombing up and down the motorway trying to control a heavy machine. Turns out I was burning 400 calories a day and I'd set my profile to sedentary. I didn't log it but even after doing a "proper" workout at the end of the day, I used to go over my calories by about 200-250 a day and still lost weight so didn't do me any harm. Everyone's different and the OP should do what they want to do. The worst that can happen is you log it and don't lose as much weight this week and then you know not to log it again.

HealthyVitamins

That's the most hilarious thing I've seen on this site.

lauren3101

Ah, MFP in January is always hilarious.

DR2501

in my opinion no because driving isn't exercise unless your fred flinstone and using your feet

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

I wouldn't log it, there is no way anyone burns 420 calories from driving 2.5 hours, just by moving your arms and feet. I call bullsh*&t on that google page I'm afraid. By logging it you will throw out your figures.

DR2501

Has anyone considered that the size of truckers bellies could be due to the fact that they don't have much choice when it comes to eating healthy. I am a truck driver and I just recently started watching my calorie intake and I never realized how much crap there is at truck stops. Even the meals that you would think are healthy are still 700 to 1000 calories. Since I have started watching my calories I have lost almost 20 lbs since the beginning of the year (thanks largely to the fact that I have a fridge in my truck and can keep healthier food) and I do not excersise at all. Maybe my metabolism is high or maybe it's because I am DRIVING 11 hours a day.

This ^ I used to drive 5 hours a day for work and used an HRM to see if I was actually burning calories consdering I'm bombing up and down the motorway trying to control a heavy machine. Turns out I was burning 400 calories a day and I'd set my profile to sedentary. I didn't log it but even after doing a "proper" workout at the end of the day, I used to go over my calories by about 200-250 a day and still lost weight so didn't do me any harm. Everyone's different and the OP should do what they want to do. The worst that can happen is you log it and don't lose as much weight this week and then you know not to log it again.

Did you wear your heart rate monitor on a non-driving day when you were sat around? I bet you burnt about the same number of calories in the 5 hours just by fidgeting on the sofa.

Sorry, for me I say don't log it or your figures will be worthless.

darrensurrey

Isn't this how you lot all drive to work? http://youtu.be/5Z0jIltDIkE

ChrisM8971

Isn't this how you lot all drive to work? http://youtu.be/5Z0jIltDIkE

Well right up to the point where I get stuck behind the tractor, wonder how many extra calories ranting and raving burn :laugh:

TeaBea

Ah, MFP in January is always hilarious.

Aaahhh yes.................this thread comes back EVERY year!

QuietBloom

In the next few days I have to do a far amount of driving, should I enter this in the system? I googled it, and I would burn around 420 calories on my 2.5 hr drive (which I have to do both thursday and friday).

That is part of your BMR. Don't log it as exercise.

QuietBloom

I just drove 13 Hours j am counting that.. I did it when I should gave been sleeping

No.

erickirb

In the next few days I have to do a far amount of driving, should I enter this in the system? I googled it, and I would burn around 420 calories on my 2.5 hr drive (which I have to do both thursday and friday).

That is part of your BMR. Don't log it as exercise.

Not quite, it is part of NEAT (Non Exercise Activity) which is would be included in your maintenance cals as it is between BMR and maintenance cals.

HawksMissus81

i agree ... normal driving on normal roads shouldn't be counted. But as someone says if it is an abnormal drive on winding roads i would count half of the time spent. for example i would log the one hour drive as 30 mins

mike1622

Go to health status.com and it will calculate drive time and calories burned. And yes you even burn calories when you sleep. If you track your sleep it usually shows about 17- 20 calories per hr.

brianpperkins

Gross vs net calories.

brianpperkins

Go to health status.com and it will calculate drive time and calories burned. And yes you even burn calories when you sleep. If you track your sleep it usually shows about 17- 20 calories per hr.

20 cals per hour sleeping comes out to about 480 for BMR .... a laughably low total.

austepants

My Dad used to put cruise control on and run between mile markers... I see that being more of an exercise than just plain driving. If you won't be able to fit in a workout I say maybe do some running in place while driving see how long you can do it. If you stop at a rest stop or for gas get out and do some walking, jumping jacks, squats, pushups just something to get your HR up and you moving around a bit.