I posted this on my blog a while ago, back when I first started writing. I thought I would update it now that I have more people reading it. It's about how many calories you burn while basically doing nothing all day but adds things in like bathrooms breaks and showers.
Healthy living
"A primarily sedentary person is one who doesn't exercise and performs
only the activities of daily life, such as showering, light chores and
walking around the house or office. An adult man who is 5 feet 10 inches
tall, weighs 154 pounds and is between 19 and 30 years old, burns about
2,400 to 2,600 calories daily.
Between the ages of 31 to 50 years, this
average man burns 2,200 to 2,400 calories daily and after age 51,
between 2,000 and 2,200 calories daily.
A woman who is 5 feet 4 inches
tall and weighs 126 pounds burns 1,800 to 2,000 calories daily when
between the ages of 19 and 30 years. From ages 31 to 50, this burn rate
averages about 1,800 calories daily and decreases to 1,600 calories per
day after age 51."
So on average men and women normally burn around 2000 calories sitting around all day.
I'll also add in this new study I found describing how many calories we burn while asleep at night.
As you likely expect, the number of calories you burn while sleeping is
low, with the exact amount depending on your weight. If you weigh 160
pounds, you burn 69 calories per hour while sleeping, the FitWatch
website calculates, which adds up to 552 calories burned during eight
hours of sleep.
A 120-pound person burns 51 calories per hour sleeping,
or 408 for eight hours; a 200-pound person burns 86 calories per hour,
or 688 for eight hours of sleep.
Body Temperature
You’ll burn more calories, several extra hundred each night, while
you sleep if you keep your body temperature cooler. When you bundle up in heavy blankets and wear thick
pajamas, your body does not have to work to supply natural body heat.
Sleeping with a cooler body temperature, sans excess blankets and cozy
pajamas, makes your body’s thermostat work to provide natural body heat.
So on an average 24-hour day with eight hours of sleep, men and women typically burn 2600 calories on average.
You would have to exceed this amount of calories to gain weight, but keep in mind that this is all while you are doing next to nothing, if you work at a physical job, exercise or even go shopping on a regular basis walking around is going to burn more calories.
If you moderate what you eat (It doesn't matter what you eat) and move around a little more than usual you will see a benefit to your health.
These scam diets and weight loss clinics that have you starving and drinking weird concoctions can disappear in my opinion. All you need is some knowledge and common sense and we will all be fine.
Eat what you like, fries and gravy, chicken wings, chocolate, whatever, but do it in moderation and keep your portions low.
Scott Goerz
