Counting my activities

I was taking a break at work one day and decided to go for a walk.  I bring my shoes because they are already contained in my gym bag, it's easier that way. As I was about to head out, a co-worker pointed out to me that walking "is for fat people, and you're not fat." I'm like, "what do you mean?" He said, "when you walk, you don't burn as many calories as a larger person, so you're better off getting on a bike." I'm thinking to myself that can't be true.  The bikes at the gym are stationary.  All I do is move my legs, I certainly don't feel like I'm burning as many calories as when I go for a walk. Besides I just invested in a treadmill for the house, and jogging is not really in my vocabulary.

So, I decided to do some research.  It's true, the more you weigh the more calories you burn if you are walking.  Or doing anything else for that matter. I have to credit http://www.primusweb.com/fitnesspartner/jumpsite/calculat.htm because I certainly didn't come up with this myself.  For instance, the weight lifting I did on my lunch hour only burned 153 calories.  I worked on my arms, chest and shoulder muscles, doing 2 reps of 10 each on several different exercises.  My arms were shaking when I was done. And all that for a measley 153 calories. My walking break at work eats up 89 calories.  If I weighed twice as much I'd burn twice as many calories. And if I rode a bike for the same amount of time it would burn a little more than twice as much.

In summation, the less you weigh the harder you have to work to burn the same amount of calories.  And you can burn more calories sitting on your bum than walking around, provided you still move your legs!