Is Kayaking A Good Way to Lose Weight?
Published July 28, 2011 | 
These days it seems everyone is looking for a good way lose weight. As a kayak coach and dare I say, an advocate for the sport, it’s a bit of a no-brainer that I would tell you that kayaking is indeed a good way to lose weight.. After all, any exercise that supports physical fitness, burns calories and keeps you interested is on its surface, a good way to lose weight. But is it really? Here are some thoughts…
According to the American Council on Exercise, a 125 lb person burns about 283 calories per hour while kayaking. A 200 lb person burns a whopping 454 calories. That’s logical since the heavier you are, the more energy you expend when you exercise. However, when you compare 1 hour of walking to 1 hour of kayaking you’ll find the difference (depending on weight and chart), is around 30-50 calories. So paddle an hour, or walk an hour and 20 minutes and you’ll end up in about the same place, calorie-wise. Hiking on mixed terrain for an hour will push you nearly 150 calories higher than paddling for that hour invested. (again, the number depends on weight and other factors).
Now when I paddled around Puerto Rico, it took almost a month and we paddled almost daily with a few off days here and there. At the end of the trip I had lost about 25lbs. That’s a lot of weight to lose in a month for sure, but again we put in hours & hours of paddling. Plus the fact that I was often too tired to eat certainly contributed to the weight loss. Other paddlers on even longer expeditions have lost even more weight. Thing is, most of us simply can’t do 2 expeditions a year just for the sake of weight management.
As a coach and paddling addict I paddle a lot, but like you I have a job, a family and life to contend with. I’m lucky to get an hour or two free, 4 or 5 days a week. In that limited time I have to decide how to get the most “out there” experience. Hiking means, just jumping in the jeep, driving to the destination and I’m instantly on the trail. It takes me only a few more minutes to load my bike. Heck, I can ride my bike right out of the driveway. Paddling takes more effort. Even if I leave my kayak on the roof as I often do in summer, I still have load up gear, unload gear at the beach and get my s*^T together before I actually get on the water and begin exercising..
Once on the water you have to again remember why you’re there. To burn those calories, you’ll need to keep up a sustained speed and do some distance. Stopping to watch the loons every few minutes won’t burn calories. Paddling for exercise and paddling for pleasure are not always the same thing. You need to maintain a good speed over a set duration to really get your calorie burn reward. What’s more, the better paddler you become, the more efficient, the less energy you’ll use and the less calories you’ll burn. Drat!
Feeling a little less excited about paddling to lose weight? Well, you shouldn’t, you simply can’t expect any exercise alone to do the job of getting you back into a tight pair paddling shorts. It’s as simple as “Calories in, Calories out”.
Here’s the thing, after I go paddling for an hour, real exercise paddling and I (being around 200 lbs) burn my 454 calories, I don’t dare reward myself with a coke and a snickers bar! A 16 oz bottle of coke, which is easier to find than a can these days, is about 200 calories. A snickers bar comes in at another 273 calories. There went my hour of paddling! Don’t even think about a handful of your favorite gorp.. some of thoes can be nearly 700 calories for about 6 oz! Heck even a cup of carrots will ding you to the tune of 50 calories… that means 1 hour paddling plus a cup of carrot slices equals an hour’s leisurely walk. Now there’s a downer if I ever heard one!
Don’t lose heart though, staying fit isn’t just about losing calories. You also need to build up your muscles and stay flexible as well. Kayaking will do that for you, and you do in fact, burn calories doing it. The thing is, you need to be realistic. Weight loss means not simply exercising, but also limiting your intake; “Calories in, Calories out.” Just taking the little plastic tub out to the lake once or twice a week isn’t going to do much for weight loss. On the other hand, it may do wonders for your soul.
More:
- Calories Burned While Kayaking (PDF)
- Health Benefits of Kayaking – From Kayaking Lake Mead.
- Calories Burned Per Hour of Kayaking – From LivingStrong.com
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13 Responses to Is Kayaking A Good Way to Lose Weight?
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Nice post. I lost 15 lbs. this spring and summer while kayaking, but it took 45 days of 22 miles per day on average. On the other hand, on my last bike tour, which was about two weeks long of 45 miles per day on average, I actually gained weight. I’d guess it was the massive burgers that I ate for lunch at a restaurants everyday and the easy access to grocery stores and potato chips.
For exercise, I’d rather jump on my bike. It’s so much easier than getting into the wetsuit and heading to Superior. Plus, I burn 726 calories in an hour riding between 12 and 13 mph. That means I get to eat that snickers bar and still lose weight.
Thanks. Yeah I get that.. I rarely paddle for exercise.. I hike our hilly trails or bike.. Right now I’m also living on 1000 calories a day Sun-Friday.. so I still don’t get the snickers bar!
I have found a balance of exercise and diet that has kept the weight off, toned my body, raised my energy levels and I do not starve everyday. “Calories in, Calories out” may indeed work, but it is far more important to pay attention to the source of those calories. 30 calories of twinky is not the same calories as 30 calories of spinach.
I paddle twice a week on average, one long day usually 20+ miles and another short evening paddle of 5 to 7 miles plus some play. I tend to take two or three multiple day kayaking trips a year, usually 4 to 5 days of constant paddling. I run twice a week, 3 miles or so each run. Most days I do a morning workout for about an hour focusing on stretching, yoga, pilates and strength training only using my own body weight. But all of this needs the proper diet to work well, keep me at an ideal weight and give me the energy to accomplish this.
I can not recommend more highly going to this website and following their 30 day plan:
http://whole9life.com/2011/06/whole-30-v4/
After following this strictly for 30 days, transition into the slightly less restrictive diet of (it is a long article but take the time to read, REALLY):
http://www.fitbomb.com/p/why-i-eat-paleo.html
I started this in January. I used to average about 160+ lbs and felt tired and fat. I am now 134 pounds (this mornings weigh in) , I feel light, energetic and am in the best shape of my life. I even “look” healthier as my completion and skin is clear, before I would always have the stray zit and tend to be on the pale side. No more.
Yes, it is a combination of diet and exercise, but this diet is not a “diet” but a lifestyle change. I pick and choose everything that goes into my body with care and with the mind set “is this good for me”. This is not a count the calories diet. I eat what I want, and how much of it I want to make me feel full. I do not over indulge and I stick to the mantra of the types of food I eat. I just live and eat healthier, on a daily basis.
It has changed my life, in the literal. I feel better, work better, play better.
Let me see – 9 mile run yesterday, a bit over 1000cal, didn’t even take one hour. Pass me that beer.
Is is rather amusing that I actually eat everything on that Whole30 prohibited items list (except for artificial sweeteners) , and yet feel quite light and fit
Oh, my weight is perfect for my height, which varies.
Hey, that’s good for you. Whatever fits your lifestyle. If it works, great. But for some people they need some guidance, they need a program. It gives them something to work for and a goal. After the 30 days they can choose how to move on and adjust their diet to their lifestyle, wants and personal needs. I lost almost 30 pounds in that month, broke an awful habit of drinking way to much way too often, got off of processed foods and too much sugar. It got me back on track to a better diet and a healthier me. If I did not have the program to follow with a set goal and the anticipation of coming out on the other side leaner and healthier I would be in the same shape now if not worse then I was when I started. Which is bad.
I now have the occasional beer and wine, I indulge in dark chocolate every now and then. I just try and stick with an overall plan of whole natural foods and what I have come to like after completing the 30. It works for me and it may work for some who do not have the will power to break bad habits.
All I am saying here is that the program works. I did it and lots of other people have to, all with the same results. Better health, better weight and a better feeling about yourself.
Looks as if you managed to change your lifestyle. Congratulations, and keep up the good work
Hey Lawrence, you make a good point that many people need a program. Either commercial or through their doctor, nutritionist or whomever… the biggest issue is always willpower.
Another point I try to make regularly is that some folks really struggle & we’re all different and live in different situations, so we can never take our own personal experience and apply it to everyone else. Regardless, I think we should certainly share every idea we can come up with in the hopes that it can help someone!
Kayaking to loose weight? are you kidding me?
)
I never have been chunkier since I took up sea kayaking.
The fault doesn’t exactly lay in paddling itself but what I have replaced it with.
Before becoming engrossed in sea kayaking I used to ride mountain bikes, in the dirt, on singletrack, steep, fast.
These days I just sit on my ass, paddle much less often than ride. As you mentioned it takes considerable more effort/time to go paddling; about an hour just to get to what I regard decent water.
I have chucked in MTB (it’s too hot where I live and I am NOT a morning person
I also used to backpack over the weekend at least every second one.
Much fitter before sea kayaking.
Well, the doughnuts aren’t helping
If you factored in portaging, loading and unloading boats, I’m sure the calories burned would go up. These are a big part in kayak, since must people don’t have a kayak sitting in the water they can easily jump in and out of. Great Article!
Good Point, Shlepping boats to and from might make up for the carrots.
although this likely does not apply to the people who have posted so far, casual paddling as done by the vast majority of kayakers is far from the best way to lose weight or “work out.” In the sense that such paddling is better than nothing, and may lead to interest in other sports, it’s a plus.
Done at a sustained pace, as Derrick suggests, it can provide good cardio (but again activities like cycling, running and cross country skiing are far better) and, for some body types, weight reduction results.
IMO the greatest benefit is toning and strengthening core muscles in the abs and back – which is very desirable, even if weight loss doesn’t accompany it, as this is a good platform for more exercise and other sports, as well as better performance in yoga, pilates, etc.
I don’t need to lose weight, I need to make the weight I have be stronger & more efficient!
Ditto to the person who advocated a balanced, clean diet. Crap in is crap out, in more ways than one.
thanks for posting this – I figure that kayaking is better than sitting on the sofa. I realize that the pace I normally keep won’t do it (cardio/weight loss), but I find myself paddling with folks who are much faster and so figure I get a little better workout that way.
I realize that if I want to be a better paddler then I need to exercise outside of the kayak too. ok, and for the weight loss thing, to quote a comic strip, you have to eat fewer calories than you expend – because “honey, there ain’t no other way!”
ok – I guess there’s liposuction, but let’s just say there’s no other natural way.
Cheers – I’m tired of being fat and 50 – so wish me luck with diet and exercise. Been having some foot problems so that limits exercise options a bit. Have been swimming at the pool.