Calories burned working on a ward

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sharanranran
sharanranran Posts: 64 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So..I'm a midwife who works 12.5 hours and i wanted to know how to estimate how many calories i burn when working on a ward. I found this site and info..and i calculated if i walked for half the time, that i (weighing 81.5 kg) just over 2000 calories! Seems far too high for me! What does anyone else do to calculate this??

The formula for estimating the amount of calories burned while nursing is (METs x 3.5 x weight in kg) ÷ 200) x duration in minutes. Your MET, or metabolic equivalent, is a calculation that represents the energy exerted in a specific task compared to a sedentary state. Divide your weight in pounds by 2.2 to determine your weight in kilograms. If you weigh 160 lbs., your weight in kilograms is 72.7.
MET VALUES
If your job requires you to work in a lab and walk slowly, your MET value is 2.0. If you walk at a moderate speed and carry light objects or push wheelchairs, your MET value is 4.0. Using stairs on the job can increase your MET value to 5.0.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/316599-estimated-calories-burned-as-a-nurse/

Replies

  • ZoayZoay
    ZoayZoay Posts: 60 Member
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    There's something wrong with that nursing calories calculator, they've not taken into account the tins of Quality Street, lol.

    Can you just change you basal activity level on MVP (eg to active) so it works it out for you rather than trying to add it as activity each day? (or wear a hrm for a day and see?)
  • ejohndrow
    ejohndrow Posts: 1,399 Member
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    But are you truly 'active' all of the shift, or does it only equal out to lightly active? Better to put it down one lower and then be pleasantly surprised with weight loss than one higher and gain weight. There are a lot of us out there who work 12+hr shifts where we're on our feet and moving around for a lot of it but it doesn't mean we're burning calories at a rapid pace. If we did burn a ton of calories by standing up and walking around at work then we wouldn't be in the situations we are now-using a food diary and exercise log to look at the calories burned vs calories taken in.
    On top of that, our metabolisms change starting at the age of 30, I have to do a bit more than someone in their 20's if I want to maintain my weight or lose some, and beyond that a person in their 40's needs to do a bit more than someone in their 30's. To truly lose weight and keep it off you'll have to stick to a healthy diet (as in what you eat every day not what you 'go on') for the rest of your life and exercise 4 or 5 times a week as well.
  • sharanranran
    sharanranran Posts: 64 Member
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    Thanks ladies!! Hmmnn..tins of quality street lol! Love it!

    I thought about wearing a hrm but I only have one that goes on your wrist and that's against policy and Emily, you're right, I'm not so active as to not need MFP..

    I hadn't even thought about logging work cals till yesterday cos after my shift I was hungry and didn't have any cals left from food! I was really interested in this site but do feel I didn't deserve 2000 cals even though I did move a lot yesterday. I don't want to change my Basel level cos any activity I do I want to log. I've lost 22lb without exercise, and although I wouldn't recommend it as a lifestyle, it works for me.

    Thanks again ladies :)
  • Le_Joy
    Le_Joy Posts: 593 Member
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    I do OOH birth and when I got home from 2 births in a row at 5am (after being gone over 24 hours) I was wondering the same thing. I don't plan on adding it as exercise though.... I figure I burn more calories than when I am asleep but it seemed to complex to figure out.

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