Sedentary to standing all day: calorie allowance increase

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yirara
yirara Posts: 9,443 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Normally, my TDEE is at around 1700kcal (169cm, 56kg, TDEE slightly higher than calculators suggest), So far I've had a sitting job. Now every now and then I'll be working differently for probably 5-14 days at a time, mostly standing for 9 hours in a row with little sitting breaks, bending over rows of samples to examine. Some stretching breaks, to prevent cramped muscles. Well... this is usually a 7-8 hours flight away and I'll have to stay in hotels and eat there. I don't want to gain weight again. How much extra calories do you think this job will give me? 100kcal, a bit more, less?

Replies

  • _runnerbean_
    _runnerbean_ Posts: 640 Member
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    I think less. Unless you are doing a lot of extra walking there isn't much diffference between standing still and sitting (apart from sore feet).
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,443 Member
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    _runnerbean_ wrote: »
    I think less. Unless you are doing a lot of extra walking there isn't much diffference between standing still and sitting (apart from sore feet).

    Yeah, I thought so. I do get really hungry doing this. But no, it doesn't involve a lot of walking. Rather bending over samples in uncomfortable positions, making drawings, picking them up and finding a ceiling light source that is good enough for closer examination. Phew.. why am I doing this :open_mouth:
  • schaadnc
    schaadnc Posts: 1 Member
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    http://www.juststand.org/tabid/637/default.aspx This link would give you a proper estimate. Just enter weight, hours per day, etc. and you'll get three numbers:
    Calories burned while sitting
    Calories burned while standing
    The difference

    If you want a direct comparison, this is the best resource I've seen.
  • Clobern80
    Clobern80 Posts: 714 Member
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    Take it with a grain of salt, but Dr John Buckley and a team of researchers from the University of Chester found that those who stand burn an average of .7 calories more per minute than those sitting. This adds up to about 50 calories per hour which could be 400 calories in an average workday.

    It appeared to be a very, VERY small group he tested so again... grain of salt. But I personally believe it may be slightly better (as implied by the Dr.) due to having to use different (and more) muscles. But not enough to go from sedentary to lightly active or anything.

    http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24532996
  • iimitz
    iimitz Posts: 6 Member
    edited January 2016
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    I don't believe that's true. There's quite a few articles that say that standing does change your rate (which would make sense). One study showed that the increased heart rates of the participants showed the equivalent to 50~ more calories burned an hour. There is also a website dedicated to this notion and it has a calculator. While I can't comment on this particular websites studies, it's calculator would show for myself that if I swapped my desk job with one that I was standing at, I'd burn 2220 more in a regular work week (40h a week).

    http://www.juststand.org/tabid/637/default.aspx

    My personal perspective is however that you should view it as extra weight loss if that's what you're in the middle of doing :) By not including them as calories burned it can be an extra little savings you have for yourself incase you're ever near your personal threshold.

    EDIT: Apparently people beat me to the reply. Woops.
  • lilawolf
    lilawolf Posts: 1,690 Member
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    http://www.juststand.org/tabid/637/default.aspx
    http://paindatabase.com/standing-desk-calories/

    30ish extra calories an hour depending on weight, but also think about how many times that you stood up and moved around at your desk job compared to your new circumstance. It's definitely something.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,443 Member
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    Thanks a lot guys. I don't want to lose weight (no, really! My face gets too thin), but mainly I don't want to regain weight as I've been maintaining successfully for nearly a year now and I've just build up a fitting wardrobe. I'll have a read through all those links though I doubt there's some numbers explaining how the researchers came to their conclusions. *thinking aloud* Maybe the METs table has something. I found it to be very useful and very much in line with my calorie usage for running and swimming.

    At this moment I have no idea whether I gained a bit of weight again or not. My working pants are 2-3 sizes too big, and I only have a second pair of those with me - and no scale in my hotel room.

  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,443 Member
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    Ok, the METs table gives a value of 1.3 for sitting, fidgeting and 1.8 for standing fidgeting.
    Comparing an 8 hours day sitting and fidgeting to standing and fidgeting seems to get me an extra of about 250kcal. Hmm.. ok, that's something.
  • evileen99
    evileen99 Posts: 1,564 Member
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    _runnerbean_ wrote: »
    I think less. Unless you are doing a lot of extra walking there isn't much diffference between standing still and sitting (apart from sore feet).

    Standing uses far more muscles than sitting, so it burns more calories. Not much difference in 5 minutes of standing vs 5 minutes of sitting, but hours? You bet there's a difference.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,443 Member
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    Still don't have a definite answer, but it seems like I was burning quite a few extra cals as my diet during those two weeks wasn't great. Returned to the hotel at 17:30, being really, really hungry (not used to being without food for hours) and ordered something on the room, which was either an Arab lentil soup or a vegetarian curry with too much cream, papadums and naan. And during lunch I only got take away stuff, mainly falafel, bread and houmus. By the look of it I didn't really gain any weight. :smile:

    On the plus side I for the first time ever ran 10k, and improved my running speed over 5-nearly 9km. And hurt my wrists and knee and ruined my running pants on the first run, stumbling over some rebar steel bar randonly sticking out of a sidewalk - which I didn't see in the dark.
  • srecupid
    srecupid Posts: 660 Member
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    For me 1lb a week at sedentary is 1850 and 1.5 pounds a week at lightly active is like 1910. I just set it at 1lb a week and sedentary and if I lose more great. Maybe set your goal lower and be pleasantly surprised when you lose weight quicker?
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,443 Member
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    Ehm.. maybe read this thread? I'm into maintaining, for about a year already. First business trip though with completely irregular eating, no way of even estimating how much calcs I consumed, and unfamiliar working standing/walking.

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