Calories Burned Driving

How exactly does one burn calories while sitting down and slightly moving their arms? And I seriously mean that in a non-sarcastic way....

I am skeptical about adding calories for driving. It seems as sedentary as an office job. What do others think?

I agree I only log gym/excercise or if i am working in the yard and it is really hard work than i will count that. I don't count mowing the lawn (mine is not huge though) and i don't count the half mile walk to and from work either. I also down play my calories burned to the nearest hundred. If my HRM says 658 I only count 600.

That is just my opinion though and so far it seems to be working.

Those calories are already factored into your daily calorie burning, your bmr, which is how many calories you burn each day sitting around doing nothing, which is about what driving is! :laugh:

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:

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Actually, you do burn calories while remaining idle, although it is not much. I wear a GoWearFit armband daily and I burn on average anywhere from one to 1.3 calories a minute while simply sitting or being inactive, same thing when sleeping. It's different for everyone, but if you want to know exactly how many calories a day you are burning then get yourself a calorie counter but I would recommend either the BodyBugg or the GoWearFIt!

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:

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Thanks for that!! :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

My hubby drives truck and judging from the size of his and most trucker's bellies...trust me don't count it. :laugh:

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!

What kind of driving are we talking about?

If it's straight across the prairie driving, and you have time to play with your radio presets...no I wouldn't log that.

However, if it's on a knarly road in the mountains, you have to be alert to everything around you, and you have to tighten up your core to stay in your seat, and hang onto the steering wheel for dear life.....I would consider it. Just one hour of that and you'd be pretty damn tired.

I'm opening a can of worms here. But there's a reason Sprint Cup drivers have implemented proffessional athlete type work outs in the past 10 years.

Yes, I count it if it falls outside the normal driving I do. I drove 4 hours to another city and counted it.

Here's where the good sense enters into the equation. Don't use that burn as an excuse to stuff a hostess bar in your face. If you get hungry, EAT. Get some whole grain carbs. I had some bread with chickpeas curry. Did that exceed my normal calorie intake? Yes. Do I care? No. My body knows better than any tool how much food I need.

I suggest: Stop obsessing over numbers and scales. Use the tools for guidance and record but listen to your body for definitive advice.

Logging "Driving" makes about as much sense to me as logging "Watching TV". You're only deluding yourself and your body certainly won't be fooled.

(Actually having driven for 12 hrs a day on Saturday as well as getting out of the car and running into the doctor's offices and hospitals to pick up lab specimens should count!) You are using your brain the entire time you drive, which requires calories to operate. And heck if I can find the energy after driving for twelve hours straight for anything other than dinner and a bath before bed. Especially here in Arizona when it is 120 degrees out and you have that sweat pouring from your body, your body has to burn extra calories to keep the sweat coming so you stay cool. I can understand not counting driving calories if you are only maybe doing an hour a day, but if it is more than that, you should count them, in my opinion. Here is a good article I came across regarding calories burned while driving. www.ehow.com/about_5452973_calories-burned-driving.html

I was about to remark that maybe none of you drive in/around LA county - I'm in the car for up to 3 hours a day, and I'm definitely tireder when I finally get where I'm going. Stop&Go driving is mentally and physically strenuous. if you're on I-10 in Arizona on a Tuesday at midnight, it might be casual, but on I-10 in L.A. on a Tuesday at 5:30pm, it's BRUTAL. Just try to relax - I dare you.

Don't know about driving. A regular passenger car in normal conditions is probably not that much more taxing than a desk job. But there are activities that seem stationary that actually are burning energy. I am a musician by profession. I play wind instruments, classical and jazz music. When I play, I am standing but stationary. But, playing a wind instrument engages the lungs and the diaphragm (a large smooth muscle), the heat rate increases, etc. I mark my activity level sedentary and log all my activity. It acts as a better motivator than assuming that certain activities are just "part of my normal activity". So, between references and my HRM, I have found that I can burn up to 200 net kcals per hour playing my instruments. My son is a violinist, which is also done while standing still, but burns even more energy per hour. So there are some things that athletes might assume are "non-active" things that actually use energy.