Every time I travel to major cities {London especially} and ditch the car in favor of public transportation or my own two feet {buses, subways, trains, bikes, walking, etc.}, I always clock tons of steps on my pedometer. {Like this winter while walking in Paris, I clocked a solid 29,000 steps in just one day.} Not only do the steps add up, but so does the weight loss. It always baffles me that I can totally enjoy a pastry {or four} for breakfast, and still lose weight on vacations that require me to walk a bit more.
Apparently, I’m not alone, a recent article on treehugger, cited a study that found that in the UK, people who are “‘commuting by public or active transport modes was significantly and independently predictive of lower BMI for both men and women.’ Men who take transit are about seven pounds lighter; women, about 5.5 pound lighter.” It’s actually kind of scary to think that we spend that much time in our cars, sitting on our backsides that it equates to a full 5-7 pound difference. I totally believe it, though. Travelling on public transport requires you to walk to central locations to get to the transportation, and it rarely drops you off right in the parking lot of your destination. Driving my car requires me to walk to my garage, and then a couple hundred feet from the parking lot to the building of my destination.
I personally would LOVE to trade in my car for a solid public transportation system. I can read, knit, etc. while I commute, I get a little fresh air and exercise, and best of all, I can really cut down on my cussing, because other drivers are not my problem :).
Have you noticed you lose weight on vacations where you trade in a car for tennis shoes?
~Mavis
Anke Pietsch says
Yes, I love public transportation and the choices many places in Europe offer. We enjoyed public transportation and a lot of exercise in Vienna for a very low-priced weeklong-ticket. And in Germany, where my family lives we bike and walk a lot. I wish that would be an option where I live in Ohio. And no, I didn’t gain any wait, even though I ate lots of great food, pastries and candy… 🙂
Niki says
I noticed that when I lived in Ann Arbor and didn’t drive (took the bus, walked, rode a bike), I was tons healthier and had way more energy. Living in a city that is not bike-friendly and the public transportation runs on 40 minute cycles is extremely inconvenient, so driving is the only logical choice (and I hate it!).
Susan says
Hm, this is interesting to me. I got a fit bit for my birthday about two months ago (the clip-on one that is basically a pedometer). I swear I have changed nothing else in my diet and exercise (I go to the gym 4 times a week and eat pretty healthily). Anyway, I’ve noticed that I’ve slowly been shedding a few pounds since I got it and have been just a bit obsessed with making my 10,000 steps a day. Many of these steps are not hard-core fast walking, but I’ve just been more careful about adding walking to my daily life. Usually this involves dragging my husband out for a walk at 10:30 p.m. when I notice that I’m still down 2000 steps — the added bonus is some great conversations!
Renay says
The main problem with public transportation in an area such as Seattle, is that we do not have the density to make it work. In areas like NY, or DC, you have a density of people per square mile that makes a train system work well, and a large amount of people who will use and pay for it. Our density is much less here. We could use a good rapid transit system, like a bullet/rapid train, but it needs to be in tunnels, not on the roads (like is South Seattle and proposed in Bellevue/Redmond). The problems with this are endless, and the cost is astronomical. Tunneling would be CHEAPER than any surface option.
Having said that, our topography and abundance of water/wetlands/underground streams, make tunneling more of a challenge, but it can be done. Hey, look at the Chunnel!
To make matters worse, we spend over 60% of our transportation dollars on transit and on a good day, get about 6% of the traveling public, and this is less than we used to get. I am not opposed to spending that much on transit, but it is pretty obvious that THE WAY IN WHICH WE SPEND IT IS NOT WORKING.
Unfortunately we have a large amount of folks making money off this antiquated train system. Fortunately, we have future thinking folks out there working on new ways to travel that don’t pollute the environment, don’t use gas, and could provide many and varied different good jobs for our economy. The political will is what needs to be altered. Let us hope that is it sooner rather than later.
Marcia@Frugal Healthy Simple says
Hmm…I can’t say that I’ve noticed that. But it’s probably because of the age of my kids, that I haven’t had that kind of vacation in awhile.
I do know that when I lived in DC, and walked/ took the train + walked to work, that I was trimmer. Of course, I was 20 years younger too.
Before I had my second kid, I rode my bike to work 2x a week (10 miles, one way – husband and I split the biking, so I biked to work and he biked home). I was trimmer then. But it’s just too hard for us to accomplish that now with two kids who get dropped off at 2 different locations.
I really think we need to do more for public transportation in this country. The fact that we are “spread out” is a cop-out, and is a reason we need it MORE. Or so I say any time I have to drive in Los Angeles. Owning a car is expensive and public transport can make a HUGE difference in the life of the poor. The difference between having a job and not.
Marcia@Frugal Healthy Simple says
And another thing, now that you have me started…you mentioned being able to eat pastries on vacation. I recently read a book about our diet, written by the nutritionist in charge of making the food pyramid in the 1980s. She recommends 2 servings of grain PER DAY for a woman (of course her pyramid did not see the light of day). Luise Light, What to Eat, 2006.
Anyway, my point is – if you look at the type of food people USED to eat, and the exercise they got in their day, it made a lot of sense. Now, of course, most of us are sedentary (myself included), so we just can’t handle that much grain without gaining weight. Now, if we were Amish…
Patti says
Visited my son in Brooklyn last week. He was anxious to show my husband and I around the city, so we took the subway. Being a sunny day in August, I enjoyed our walk to the station, but once we walked down the stairs into the dark and in my opinion, depressing station and then got on the train, it would definitely not be my first choice of travel. I thought the same of the T when we lived in Boston. Of course, it didn’t help that our son informed us that there was rumor that one of the subway lines was infested with bed bugs. Not sure if there is any truth to that rumor or not. I have to admit I am definitely not a city girl. I couldn’t live with the crowds, noise, smells and so many buildings, but he loves it.
Jen Y says
Public transportation isn’t something we deal with in rural America, the wildlife just aren’t that interested in it. I live at the end of a gravel road & it’s a pretty good walk just to my mail box. But I do think about my health as I run errands. I park far from the door, take the stairs, ect.
When we were young, my husband used to ride his bicycle to work about 6 miles one way, down gravel roads, 2-lane highways with big rigs, tractors & everything in between(in the dark on the way there).
During vacations I don’t do well with my weight. All of our vacations are spent at home, sleeping in, taking walks, a lot of reading & all of our favorite foods.
Hanksdad says
We have BART where I live (San Francisco Bay Area), but unfortunately, its reach is limited. I live at the north end of one of the lines and commute 25 miles to Napa everyday (the opposite direction), so BART is not an option. Neither is walking, or a bus for that matter, as it would take at least five transfers to get to work!!! When I lived in Oakland, I didn’t own a car. I took BART and taxi cabs everywhere. That is, when I wasn’t walking or riding my bicycle. I often take public transportation when I am not commuting to work, and I see a tapestry of people. Many grossly overweight. Many gaunt and almost frail. And all points in between.
When it comes to vacation, I try to drive as little as possible. Even if I am having a “stay”cation. I hate being in the car. Ultimately, I believe that how we look and feel has more to do with the food choices we make and how active we are in everyday life.
Jo says
I live in Raleigh and recently looked up the time it would take to get to work by bus 16 miles away. It would take 2.25 hours and the bus would drive 41 miles. I can drive in 20 minutes with light traffic but it is all highway and the back roads are even too heavily trafficked and too narrow to bike or walk. Echoing others, until the governments invest in mass transportation infrastructure, there isn’t an option to be healthier or save energy. And if you want to read about a really sad example of political dysfunction, you should read up on the triangle area of NC light rail debacle. Maybe someday it will go through as I would love to be able to walk for part of my commute.