...that I saw a Please Give Blood sign and thought....Hmmmm I wonder how much a pint of blood weighs. LMAO

I hear ya...LOL...but seriously though...I read somewhere...(I think maybe it was on here even)...that donating blood burns like 400 some calories(don't quote me on the amount burned)....so...you'd not only lose a pint worth of weight but burn calories too

Hugs,
Liv

According to the Mayo Clinic:

"You burn about 650 calories by donating one pint of blood."

For some interesting information about blood donations:
http://www.mayoclinic.org/donateblood/know.html


Just one more excellent reason to donate blood! WOOHOO!

A pint a day?

Keeps the doctor away? hehehehe
errrr...probably not

I wonder if its okay to donate while nursing...

Okay, I'm donating blood!!! Knowing me though, I'd dump the whole plate of cookies in my bag and binge eat them on the way home

Elizabeth, since you are a nurse, do you know if long-time ED sufferers are even allowed to give blood? I know you can't be underweight, but I remember I heard something about ED sufferers not being able to give blood.

it's not wrong, it's the calorie/winning mentality...

too bad my tattoo is only 3 months old... I loved the mini-vacations that came from giving blood & plasma. An hour or better to lay back, work my wrist muscles and not be responsible for ANYTHING

Lol!

Holy Moley! 650 Calories!!!!!!

I can't give blood for another year my family Dr. said,,,he wanted me to have a full year of good iron solid blood before donating. 650 calories...and a mini vacation...I could do that!
Back in Feb, I had a hystorectomy and when I went in for my 6th week check up we talked about how I was feeling and any issues I had...I hadn't even opened my mouth when my Dr. told me what my uterus weighed...*snort I hadn't even thought to ask...but I guess she gets asked that all the time that she automatically thought I would want to know. And well I can't even remember what it was now,,,just shows how I just didn't care. Sorry that was off subject in away...lol

Am I the only on who thinks this is wrong on so many levels.

Ok, donating blood could burn 1000 cal- I am mostly donating blood at the Red Cross here, and the people are always trying to feed me. So, 650 cals lost, 700 cal from food you were forced to eat....

If burning a few cal could be a motivator for donating blood: fine. There are not enough people doing it and blood is a precious thing. Here in Germany a lot of people just donate blood because the get money for it.

HarpoChico: I was donatoing blood with a friend of mine. She is bulimic and hadnīt told that to the doctors. But they refused here most of the times because she had such a poor iron level in her blood. It was too dangerous.

Kate

Harpo~ Sorry, I don't know the answer to that. i've never worked in a blood donation facility---I've always worked on the other end, giving the donated blood to patients who need it. What Kate posted sounds logical---she is such a smart chickie!

Kokomo~Honestly, I was surprised when I read the post by Liv about it burning 400 calories. I did a web search to investigate and came across the mayo clinic web site which stated that 650 calories were "burned".
I don't understand the physiological aspects of the whole thing (HOW the calories are "burned") and the site doesn't explain them.

However, I DO believe that if it inspires people to donate blood--to share the information from a "reputable" website---then I am happy to do so. Plus, I found the whole concept to be interesting!

That's what I'm thinking - about my iron levels. It's just a good reminder about what kind of damage I'm doing to myself.

~~~

I find the concept amusing myself. But we are all taking it lightly. I'm sure if you told someone who received a blood donation that it came from a fat chick on a diet trying to burn some extra calories, they would laugh. I know I would.

But it is a serious issue, and I would donate myself if I was healthier.

I absolutely agree.

Even talking about it is a good thing.