Wednesday, May 6, 2009

HRM stats

bonjour. i have some info for "y'all." yesterday i wore my heart rate monitor from 7am until 6:30am - that's 23.5 hours, almost a whole day. i couldn't leave it on for 24 because i had to shower before work. you know how it is. anyway. i recorded my calorie burn almost every hour on the hour. here are the gory details:

total calorie burn: 1930

average calorie burn while awake: 72 per hour

average calorie burn while asleep: 58 per hour

calories burned during my 3-mile/32:24 minute (in the heart rate zone) run: 300

**** more stats ****

at the end of my awake day (7am to 11pm) including running, i burned 1494 calories.

on lazy days where i do nothing, sleep for 7 hours and am awake for 17 hours, i burn 1630 calories.

on days that i run 3-miles, i burn 1930 calories.

if i run three times per week, i have to eat an average of 1762 calories per day to maintain my weight.

now, of course i really should wear it for more days to have a more accurate average. and i will, but i needed a break from that chest strap. throughout the day, i didn't do too much. i sat on my bum at work and after dinner went out for dinner and then to the movies, which involved more sitting, which is somewhat atypical for most of my evenings (usually i am cleaning or doing something around my apartment).

**** to conclude ****

i was a bit maddened to find out that i only burned 1500 calories on a day that i burned 300 calories running, but i didn't think to add in the calories burned in sleep. i always knew that i didn't burn 2000-2500 calories a day, like the average woman (apparently, according to tv). i feel like my eyes are more opened. obviously i can't change the way my body works but now i can eat with the knowledge of when to ABSOLUTELY STOP. i could work out more or every day but that's unrealistic as well.



i am feeling pretty motivated. i am counting points in a little notebook (online subscription cancelled - do not need it), running three times a week and now i am more aware about what's going on in my own body. i am really inspired by my boyfriend's brother's girlfriend, who recently lost about 40 or 50 pounds by counting ww points herself, without the help of meetings or online resources. she said she was up about six pounds so is tracking again to get back down and avoiding alcohol. it's very inspiring - i can do that too. i really don't need to be drinking any of my calories on the weekend while i'm trying to reach my summer weight. if i just stay strict for a couple of weeks, i'll be there and then i can enjoy the summer and fit into my short shorts again. one of my friend's mottos is: tomorrow is a new day. that used to be my motto too until i got too comfortable with things. when the calories (or points or whatever) are eaten, it's time to stop even if you are still a bit hungry. a little bit of hunger isn't the end of the world and tomorrow is a new day to start again - preferably with delicious oatmeal.

13 comments:

Jen said...

Wow, those are some pretty interesting numbers!!! I REALLY need to do this for a few days out of curiosity!!!

Did you have to keep moistening the strap????

I agree, Tomorrow is a new day - SOMETIMES!!! Sometimes you just need to stop right then and there!!!!

Randi said...

This is fascinating! What a good idea.

You CAN change how much you burn in a day by increasing your lean mass. Start lifting heavy weights.

Why do you think your daily burn is less than the average woman?

Anonymous said...

Hmmm...I should try this one of these days!

Anonymous said...

at 27 you probs should not be wearing short shorts

eurydice said...

Anonymous ... how rude!

Shelley said...

OMG - that was rude! They obviously haven't seen the pictures of how cute you are...

fittingbackin said...

This post is awesome!! I love that you've just got it down to such a science - that's AMAZING! I'm so jealous of your HRM - these stats are just so interesting!! Good for you for tracking and taking the time to figure out yur magic #.

Um, anon sucks... I turn 27 in July and FULLY INTEND to wear short shorts. What a hooker.

Shirls said...

now that is interesting, I'm thinking of wearing mine overnight to get an idea of what I burn for sleeping hours, I think I got the day stuff figured out after my 5 day experiment but I'd like to figure out the overnight stuff..

I like you was surprised and yet not surprised at the numbers..

Amanda said...

Those stats are really interesting. Makes me want to invest in an HRM to test my own.

Oh, and Anonymous over there is obviously just jealous because she is unable to wear short shorts.

Fatinah said...

I'm sorry - I'm too shocked at finding out 27 is too old to wear short shorts (thanks to Anon) to even digest your stats..... I guess at 43 I shouldn't even be leaving the house!!

I always do better at counting points when I'm writing it down in a book vs. online - I find it way easier to be sure that everything is accounted for if I can write it down right away!

Angela Power said...

I wore my HRM for 24 hours and was ASTOUNDED at how many cals I burned. All the settings were correct and for 24 hours I burned something like 2400 cals! I actually didn't believe it because it my Active Metabolic Rate was supposed to be 1750 and that day I wore it I did nothing but sleep and work (where I sit on a chair all day). It doesn't get more accurate than a HRM so what does that mean that my AMR is higher than the calculators that base it just on my weight, height, age, sex etc.?

What's with the short short comment? If I had legs like you I'd be wearin them! Pfffft!

(Glad I'm not the only geek who wore mine all day :-D)

Shelley said...

I just started reading Jillian Michaels "Master Your Metabolism." She talks about how she struggled for years with a lower metabolism and in order to maintain her weight she had to be very diligent in her calorie counting - 1200 per day, and exercise 7-9 hours per week. After visiting an endocrinologist she was diagnosed with hypothyroid...the book is about eliminating a lot of the toxins from your diet/life to normalize your hormones and metabolism. She says she now is able to consume a lot more calories (2,000), not be so diligent, AND works out less...I think she said like 5 hours a week. It is an interesting read.

P.O.M. said...

Hello - if you a rockin' body (which you do) sport the short shorts. I can totally see you in a cute vintage looking pair.

Ahhhhh, if I could stop wtih the drinking empty calories i would be able to get to my happy weight too. Something to consider over here...