The Power of Moving Your Butt

This is just amazing.

According to my cycling software program, I’ve burned 76,000 calories so far this year. Thirty-seven weeks of 2005 have gone by, and I’ve blasted my way through 76,000 extra calories.

And that’s just on my bike. I’ve torched more calories than that, if you take my running, swimming, lifting, and everything else into account. Throw those in, and the total jumps to around 117,000 calories.

That really blows me away. I never thought to look at my cumulative total. 117,000 calories. Wow.

What is 117,000 calories, anyway?

• 117,000 calories is more than 33 pounds that I’ve NOT gained this year.


• 117,000 calories is 450 additional calories that I get to eat, every day. (Yeah!)


• 117,000 calories is 487 bags of M&Ms. (No, no, no . . . the little bags.)


• 117,000 calories is one extra meal a day, or 2-3 snacks a day.


• 117,000 calories is 130 sticks of butter . . . that are no longer sticking to me.


• 117,000 calories is one bookmark, 4 gold stars, and one “I’ve lost 25 pounds!” magnet. (You WW’ers know what I’m talking about.)


• 117,000 is 1,603 cups of oil-popped, buttered popcorn. (Or, 3774 cups of air-popped corn.)


• 117,000 calories is nearly half my total weight loss.

Behold, the power of moving your butt! It’s one of the most powerful forces on earth. ‘Tis far better, if you ask me, to burn an extra 450 calories a day, than to cut rations by that much. I may have mentioned before that I don’t do the deprivation thing. Keeping my butt in gear ensures that I get to eat enough to keep me happy.

So , please, do me a favor . . . The next time you think it’s not worth it to climb on the elliptical trainer for “only” 20 minutes or so, or you think it’s stupid to go out and do a 15-minute walk . . . Remember my 117,000 calories. Everything you do to move your butt adds up. Every single thing. No, you may not rack up the calories at the rate I do (it takes a true bicycling fanatic enthusiast to do that), but I assure you, it WILL make a difference. For example, if you’ve been earning a mere 2 Activity Points every day, you have burned an extra 50,000 calories so far this year. That’s more than 14 pounds.

Is that worth anything to ya?

Thought so.

What are you waiting for? Get moving.

More reading:

No Fat Chicks (from stumptuous.com)

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Comments

[Denise]

Another great essay!

Hmmmmm… I am NOT an exercise enthusiast. But, I AM one of those who gets on the elliptical or bike for 20-30 mins, 3-4 times a week. I go for a walk a couple times a week (not a power walk, not a jog… just a walk!) and I lift some weights. I’m guessing I “only” earn an extra 150 cals a day.

But still! That’s 38,850 cals so far… or about 11 lbs not gained.

And I’m with you… Those are 38,850 cals which have been eaten! I KNOW that those 150 calories a day are the difference between my weight maintenance success or failure. Those 150 cals are the difference between being hungry at 3pm or having a good, filling, healthy snack. They are a piece of cake on the weekends. Those 150 “extra” cals are the difference between being happy and satisfied or resentful and deprived.

[Debbie]

Denise, you said it! Exercise makes maintenance quite live-able!

[Pat Anderson]

Excellent perspective! I exercise 5-6 days/week, whether it is walking the golf course, biking, treadmill, elliptical &/or weights but have been on a plateau for a long time. I recently started interval training with the hope that it will start things moving again, but I still have 10-15 pounds to lose. I hadn't spent other than cursory time thinking about all that I "haven't" gained back-specifically the 50 pounds from my highest weight. And that I have kept this weight off for 4 years.

And like you, exercise helps balance out portion control issues. Insight over this lifetime has come in small increments. So, thank you.

Pat

[Leigh]

Amen, sister! I am absolutely in the "Move Your Butt" choir. What a great way to think about things. Long before I ever did WW, I started running so I could eat more. Unfortunately, I ended up going a little overboard, but at least I had the idea right. One of the things I like best about WW is the "trading" of activity points for food points. To me that really is motivation to get out there and move!

Thanks for another great essay. I'm looking forward to continuing to read them.

P.S. Crochet absolutely does count! One of these days I'm going to wax eloquent about the connection between physical activity and some form of creativity (writing, knitting, graphic arts, etc.) I'm convinced that the two go hand in hand.

[Pat]

Hi, Debbie,

I just visited and read your blog for the first time today. (A little bird named Jeff pointed it out to me yesterday at work.) It's inspiring and I intend to visit frequently.

I need to lose 25 pounds. That seems like an impossible goal to me. I'd settle for 15. For three years, while working from home, I exercised three to four days a week. I wasn't skinny, but I had lots more energy and I felt strong and good. Then I started commuting and working downtown again. This past summer I just kind of gave up on the gym--it seemed as though the net stress of trying to get there outweighed the benefits. I know that's not true, so why did I give up? I don't know. Because it was easy to give up? Probably. The bottom line: I've gained 8 to 10 pounds over the past year. I've just about tipped into a new and bigger size. This is not where I want to be, especially as I approach age 50.

I will begin journaling today. I did cardio yesterday and today I will do weights. I'm going to set up my free weights at home, and when I don't want to go to the gym (which I usually enjoy), I will work out at home.

Meantime, a question: It's fall, the days are getting shorter, and I crave carbs all the time, especially in the evening. Do you or any of your readers have any suggestions on how to handle this seasonal dilemma?

Pat E.