Ever wonder the real effects of walking up the Million Dollar Stairs? Obviously it’s a real mission, but have you ever calculated it out? On average, a walk up the Million Dollar Stairs will burn 21.76 calories and a walk down the Million Dollar Stairs will burn 6.4 calories.
The Million Dollar Stairs has 128 steps and according to Google (the most reputable of sources), 0.17 calories are burned walking up one step and 0.05 calories are burned walking down one step. Of course, this fluctuates depending on the person’s age, sex, height, weight, fitness level, etc…
Are you starting to see the absurdity of these numbers? How nothing really means anything conclusively? This is just one example using a prized Boston College site. What’s really important here is the absurdity of calorie counts.
A Calorie is a unit equal to “the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1,000 grams of water by one degree Celsius.” This measures the release of energy when the body digests food. This measurement has nothing to do with the health and nutrition of each Calorie depending on what food it is from. For instance, 300 Calories from White Mountain is much different than 300 Calories from whole, unprocessed foods.
With summer approaching, some people become obsessive about counting calories consumed and burned. In this instance, it’s more important to take a big picture approach and focus on improving overall health. Work hard and eat healthy, wholesome foods. Instead of looking at the numbers on exercise machines and food labels, focus on how you feel and the ingredient list. It will drive you less crazy and make you feel better, more fulfilled and healthier for summer and for life.
Sources:
www.stepjockey.com/content/docs/Stair_Climbing_Facts_StepJockey.pdf
www.dictionary.com/browse/calorie
http://mobihealthnews.com/sites/default/files/wp-content/uploads/2014/09…
http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m7haj1twYE1rqwa56.jpg
http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1217951/images/o-HEALTHY-FOOD-facebook.jpg