Our Bodies - Super Fuel Efficient

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dougstevens
dougstevens Posts: 208 Member
in Chit-Chat
I was just thinking about my weight loss goals, and going for 2 lbs per week; which equates to 1,000 calorie deficit.

Then thought about calories being a unit of measure for energy. Doing a quick internet search, learned that
1,000 Calories [nutritional] = 0.031 gallon [U.S.] of automotive gasoline.

Imagine how far you can go on 1,000 calories; or how far you would have to walk to burn a 1,000 calories.
According to the online Exercise Database, for me, I would have to Walk at 5.0 mph for 69 minutes to burn approximately 1,000 calories. Which in turn would equate to about 5.75 miles.

Now a high efficiency car, let's say the Nissan Leaf gets about 106 MPG. So, 106 MPG * 0.031 gallons is about 3.3 miles.

Since 5.75 miles is greater than 3.3 miles, it clear that evolution has made our bodies much more efficient than the most fuel efficient cars on the road.


No wonder why weight loss is a challenge.

Replies

  • rainbowbuggy
    rainbowbuggy Posts: 320
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    Ok I am totally confused BUT I will read this again after my first cup of coffee...LOL...thanks for sharing! :-)
  • Li_Willi
    Li_Willi Posts: 96 Member
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    Interesting......:smile:
  • lustyrusty
    lustyrusty Posts: 46
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    I love this! Thanks for posting (and for doing the math!)
  • momma_roo
    momma_roo Posts: 146 Member
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    Too bad we can't fill our gas tanks with our burned calories. Some engineers need to look into that ;)
  • lindsaylove07
    lindsaylove07 Posts: 444 Member
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    Must drink more coffee for this to make sense, but I think I get the gist of it...
  • hemlock2010
    hemlock2010 Posts: 422 Member
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    Thanks for doing that math!! I've often wondered. Now if someone would just invent a body-fat-based charging station for cell phone, i-pod, and laptop, life would be perfect.

    You would think that would be the most obvious thing in the world for a nation that has such a wealth of both body fat and portable electronics. Where is innovation when you need it?
  • beckyinma
    beckyinma Posts: 1,433 Member
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    Auto industry could take a real lesson in efficiency if they took a close look at the human body.

    Thanks for sharing. Interesting morning musings. :)
  • dougstevens
    dougstevens Posts: 208 Member
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    I love this! Thanks for posting (and for doing the math!)
    Wow, Everyone thank you for the comments and input.
    Glad the post was appreciated.

    Must drink more coffee for this to make sense, but I think I get the gist of it...
    I'm a bit of a geek; I don't even make sense to myself at time. *smile*

    Too bad we can't fill our gas tanks with our burned calories. Some engineers need to look into that ;)
    Good news is that there is a machine that is very efficient, and its solely human powered.

    images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRCaVUKajOZ0oXi0JWfRDKDITNIpYY7MJc3v_KIG27UV6TwXaQd
  • BillyC96
    BillyC96 Posts: 7,560 Member
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    The Flintstone's car is therefore the most efficient car made so far? :tongue:
  • h3h8m3
    h3h8m3 Posts: 455 Member
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    That's a pretty fun fact. Thanks for figuring it out and sharing. And think, the lighter we get, and the better shape we're in, the more efficiently we can travel.

    Too bad food costs so much... gas might still be cheaper.

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