Walking aide.

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2/5/13 7:04 P

Don't worry too much about calories burned. Unless you're talking a difference between 100 and 500, it's not really going to make enough difference to matter.

Firstly, because weight loss is mostly diet. Exercise contributes only a very small part of your total daily calorie burn, so a marginal increase or decrease in it doesn't have a very significant effect on your results.

And secondly because everything's an estimate. From your BMR to how much is in the foods you eat, to your exercise burn, everything is only an estimate. Every one of us is likely to be 'wrong' by a couple of hundred calories every day no matter how exactly we try to track things, and the figure we're 'wrong' from may even be not the right figure for us personally because the goal is an estimation.

Actually, you probably burn more calories walking around day to day in everything else you do with a limp or the stick than you save by using the stick to support your weight a little during exercise. I'm not sure about stick-supported-walking, but I know that when I'm injured and I limp - boy does that work it more than just plain walking! :)

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2/5/13 6:48 P

Thanks so much for the feedback. I just wanted to know if I was lessening my calories burned, so that I could add more walking if needed.

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2/5/13 6:44 P

Most likely it'll be some immeasureably small value.

I was looking for a new experiment to do ... this could be it. Don't have a cane, though. Hmmmm

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2/5/13 6:18 P

I wouldn't really be all that concerned. Leaning while walking does reduce calorie burn (it happens on treadmills, and the same physics apply here) but I don't think there's any way to guess, and I don't know that the difference would be substantial enough to fret over.

The important thing is that you ARE walking, and the calorie burn is a nice side bonus. :)

Edited by: DRAGONCHILDE at: 2/5/2013 (18:18)

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2/5/13 6:03 P

Hi,

I am not aware of a cane or walking stick leading to a greater calorie burn, although studies have reported that for those using Nordic poles, there is a slight increase. Remember calories burn is based on the amount of oxygen your body consumes in relation to large muscle activation which leads to a increase in heart rate and respirations.

Coach Nancy

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2/5/13 5:47 P

Does it change the amount of calories burned if you use an aide such as a cane or walking stick during your walking routine? Do I need to up my total time to compensate for any difference? I have severe hip disability (my left femoral hip ball is missing and 1 5/8 inches shorter than my right leg.) and need the help of an aide in walking any log distance or extended period of time.