Calories Burned Calculator

How the calculator estimates calories

Every activity in the list has a MET value, short for metabolic equivalent of task. One MET is the energy you use sitting quietly, roughly 1 kcal per kilogram of body weight per hour. An activity rated 8 METs costs about eight times that.

The values come from the Compendium of Physical Activities, a reference maintained by exercise scientists that pulls together measured energy costs for hundreds of activities. It is the same source behind most fitness apps and research questionnaires.

Using the calculator

Choose the activity closest to what you did, enter your body weight and the number of minutes you were actually moving. For lifting, that is the length of the session. For intervals, use the whole session including recoveries, because the MET value for circuit training already accounts for them.

Heavier people burn more for the same activity because they move more mass, so keep your weight current. If two activities are close, pick the lower one. You will rarely regret underestimating.

The formula

Calories (kcal) = MET × body weight (kg) × duration (hours)

Example: a 75 kg person running at 10 km/h (9.8 METs) for 30 minutes burns about 9.8 × 75 × 0.5 = 368 kcal.

The same person lifting at a general pace (3.5 METs) for an hour burns about 263 kcal. That surprises a lot of people: lifting builds muscle and strength, but as a calorie burner it is modest.

MET values used

Everyday movement matters more than you think

Formal exercise is only one part of the calories you burn. The rest, called non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT), covers walking, standing, fidgeting, housework and everything else you do outside the gym. Research by James Levine and colleagues showed that NEAT can differ by hundreds of calories a day between people of similar size.

That has a practical consequence. A one-hour gym session at 3.5-6 METs might burn 250-450 kcal. Adding 5,000 extra steps over the day, roughly 45-50 minutes of normal walking, burns a similar amount for most people, and costs far less recovery.

NEAT also tends to drop when you diet. People move less without noticing when food is low, which is one of the main reasons weight loss slows. Tracking a daily step count is a simple way to keep it steady. Many people find 8,000-10,000 steps a realistic target that makes a calorie deficit noticeably easier to hold.

Gross vs net calories

The formula gives gross calories: everything you burned during the session, including the roughly 1 MET you would have burned sitting on the sofa anyway. The extra calories caused by the exercise, the net figure, are about MET minus 1.

For a long, easy walk that difference is a big share of the total. For a hard run it is small. If you add exercise calories back into a diet, the net figure is the more honest one, and your TDEE may already include your usual training through the activity multiplier, so be careful not to count it twice.

Why your watch says something different

Fitness trackers and gym machines often report higher numbers than this calculator. Independent tests of wrist wearables have found energy expenditure errors commonly in the 20-40% range or more, even when heart rate is measured well, and cardio machines often assume a default body weight.

Neither source is exact. Individual fitness, technique, terrain and how hard you actually pushed all change the real cost. Use these numbers to compare activities and plan your week, not to justify an extra dessert.

Putting the number to use

Exercise helps with fat loss, but diet sets the pace. A 30-minute run might burn 300-400 kcal, about the same as one large coffee drink and a pastry. Set your intake with the calorie calculator and use training to build fitness and keep muscle.

For a plan that combines both, see the fat loss workout plan and the guide to calculating calories for weight loss.