Stairs

Many people will be surprised to read that I’ve been losing weight lately.  The surprising part is my workout consists of nursing, chasing Morgan/Shelby, cooking, going on a few walks a week and the main weight loss factor, the stairs.

As I ran up our 12 steps to the second floor for the 15th time since I woke up this morning, and it was only noon, I couldn’t help but laugh at the fact that this two-story business is getting my calves and butt muscles in shape…slowly, but surely. With that, I was curious how many steps I hiked up daily.

Between Greg’s tonsillectamy (aka me playing Nurse Sarah), tending to the girls, and tending to Shelby’s inability to go to bed the moment I put her in her room (wandering around), I bet you I go up and down those stairs roughly 40 times a day, easy. Whether someone needs shoes, left their baby, can’t sleep, wants a drink…it never fails that as soon as I get upstairs/downstairs, I have forgotten something and have to make the trip again.

So, the accountant/business part of my brain quickly wondered how many steps am I going up and down each day?  Here goes:

• 12 steps x 40 times = 480 steps a day
• That’s 1.6 times up and down the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
• That’s 2.7 times up and down Holy Hill.
• That’s 1.4 times up and down Big Ben.
  
• 10 calories are burned for 1 minute of ascending and 7 calories are burned for 1 minute of descending stairs.  On average, it takes me 10 seconds to go up and down the stairs. So, that’s 2.83 calories per route for me.
• 2.83 calories per route x 40 times = 113 calories.

After calculating that, I realize it is not much…but it warrants that piece of chocolate I give myself each day