Treadmill Desk – 1 Month Later

It’s been a month since I setup my treadmill desk so I thought I’d share what I’ve learned so far.

Setup Changes with Cost and Height Updates

In the original setup, the monitors were too far away. So, I ordered a SurfShelf Treadmill Desk and Laptop Holder from Amazon and now, it’s much better. It only holds my laptop so I don’t have my second monitor. Surprisingly, I don’t miss it as much as I thought I would.

With the new surf shelf, I got to take everything back to Home Depot except the shelf for my keyboard. That made my total setup cost about $50, not including the treadmill.

A note about the right setup for you. I’m 5’1″ and the monitor and keyboard are at a perfect height for me. If you’re tall, this setup may not work for you. A 6’3″ friend used the desk and he was more comfortable using the keyboard on the laptop instead of  the one I use on the shelf across the treadmill handlebars. Of course, this meant he was looking down at the screen, which isn’t ideal. Also, the treadmill deck (mine is 55″) was a little short for him with the keyboard on a shelf across the handlebars. So, finding the right setup for you may take some adjustments.

Stats, including Weight Loss

In total, I walked 20 days out of the month. I logged a little over 65 miles which averages to 3.25 for each day that I walked. The least I walked one of those days was .6 miles. The most I walked in one day was 6.66. I almost always walk at 1 mph since I’ve found it’s the best rate for me.

I’m estimating that I burn about 125 calories per mile walked, therefore 65 miles is 8125 calories burned. Since 1 lb = 3500 calories, I should have lost about 2.3 lbs. I lost a little more than that, around 4 pounds. I think that’s because my cravings have changed so I’ve been eating differently. It’s weird but when I walk for a long time on the treadmill, I’m not as hungry that day. And when I am hungry, I crave meat and veggies instead of my normal sugar cravings.

Other Observations

Besides the change in my cravings, I’ve noticed a few other things that are interesting.

• My skin looks much healthier. I haven’t been wearing makeup as much lately because I don’t feel like I need to… and I’ve had men comment on how good my skin or makeup looks! Woot!
• I’m sleeping much better. I’ve always been a good sleeper but in the past month, I’ve noticed I feel ready to sleep at bedtime instead of staying up watching tv or reading. As a result, I wake up much more refreshed.
• I have more energy overall. That’s been really great.
• My knees don’t hurt as much as they did when I was sitting all day. Now, if I sit for too long, my bootie starts hurting!
• I shower more often.  Since I work from home, if I wasn’t meeting people, I might skip showing for the day. That doesn’t happen if I log several hours on the treadmill.

Overall, it’s been awesome! I really, really love my treadmill desk and recommend it to anyone that can do it.

FAQs

People have been asking me all kinds of questions so I’m going to answer them here. If you have more questions, write it in the comment and I’ll do my best to answer it.

How fast do you walk?

I’ve tried several speeds and 1 mph works well for me. At that pace, I don’t really notice that I’m walking and it doesn’t affect what I’m doing.

What is the fastest you can go and still actually do something?

2.5 mph is the fastest for me. Faster than that and I can’t read.

Aren’t you distracted by the walking?

Sometimes. I find that I can easily do stuff I have figured out but if I need to think or solve a serious problem, I have to stop the treadmill. Other than that, it’s not distracting at all.

How loud is it?

It’s not that loud. There’s a low hum the entire time, sorta like white noise. It’s not distracting and I don’t usually turn my music up any higher than I used to. I’ve also done speaker phone calls without a problem.

Does it make your electric bill go up?

If it does, it’s not significant. My electric bill for the month I had the treadmill was less than the previous month (and I was out of town for a full week the previous month). However, I haven’t been in this apartment for over a year so I can’t compare to last year’s bill.

Can you  really get work done or just surf the web?

You can really get stuff done. A lot of it actually. I’ve been very productive in this month, launching and supporting 3 different websites, one that was fully coded during that time. I think the treadmill desk helps with productivity.

 

That’s it for now! If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments.