Calories Burned Calculator

MET Values Explained

MET stands for 'Metabolic Equivalent of Task' — a standardised number that expresses the energy cost of an activity relative to resting metabolism. A MET of 1.0 = resting metabolic rate, roughly 1 kcal per kg of body weight per hour. Any activity is rated by how many times that resting rate it costs. A MET of 3 = sitting and reading triples to walking briskly (5 km/h). A MET of 8 = running at 10 km/h, eight times resting. The standard formula: calories burned per minute = (METs × weight in kg × 3.5) ÷ 200, or equivalently kcal/hour ≈ MET × weight in kg. Common MET values: sleeping 0.95, sitting quietly 1.3, light office work 1.5, walking slowly (3 km/h) 2.5, walking briskly (5 km/h) 3.8, light gardening 3.5, vigorous gardening 5, light cycling (15 km/h) 6, moderate swimming 6, running at 8 km/h 8, running at 10 km/h 10, fast running (16 km/h) 16. The MET concept lets you compare wildly different activities on a single scale: an hour of intense cycling at MET 12 burns the same as 90 minutes of brisk walking at MET 4.5 (for the same person). MET values come from large research databases (the Compendium of Physical Activities), but they're population averages — your personal energy cost varies with fitness level (fitter people are more efficient and burn slightly less), age, body composition (more muscle increases burn), and individual metabolism. Treat MET-based calorie figures as ballpark estimates accurate to within 15–25%, not precise measurements.

Why Your Weight Matters

Calorie burn scales linearly with body weight for most activities — heavier people burn more calories doing the same activity because more energy is needed to move more mass. A 90 kg person doing the same 30-minute jog as a 70 kg person burns roughly 29% more calories (in proportion to the weight difference). The relationship is close to linear for weight-bearing activities (walking, running, climbing stairs, hiking with a pack) because most of the energy goes into moving body mass against gravity and inertia. For non-weight-bearing activities (cycling on flat ground, swimming, rowing) the relationship is weaker — a heavier cyclist burns somewhat more on flats due to higher rolling resistance and air drag, but the difference is smaller than for running. On hill climbing it's strongly weight-dependent again (gravity work scales with mass). The implication: a heavier person trying to lose weight has a 'metabolic advantage' for cardio in that they burn more calories per session, but they also generally have lower aerobic fitness, so they can't sustain high MET intensities as long. As you lose weight, your calorie burn at the same effort decreases — which is part of why weight loss tends to plateau without further adjustments. Calorie burn formulas should use current weight, not a goal weight, for accuracy. This calculator uses weight as a key input — if you're tracking burn over time as you lose weight, update the weight value as you go.

Don't Eat Back Exercise Calories

Calorie burn estimates — whether from this calculator, a fitness watch, gym machine, or app — are routinely off by 25–50%, almost always overestimating. Fitness trackers in particular have been independently tested and found to overestimate cycling and walking calories by 30–50%, sometimes more. Gym cardio machines exaggerate even more (treadmills, ellipticals, and bikes can be 20–40% high on their calorie displays). The reasons: machines use generic body assumptions; trackers can't accurately distinguish activity types; movement-based estimates miss the variation in efficiency between fit and unfit people; and there's no incentive for manufacturers to lowball the numbers. The practical implication for weight management: if you're in a calorie deficit and 'eat back' all the exercise calories you've supposedly burned, you'll likely cancel most of your deficit and wonder why progress has stalled. A common-sense rule: don't eat back more than about 50% of estimated exercise calories when trying to lose weight, and rely on actual scale and measurement trends over weeks, not daily calorie maths. Many successful dieters find it easier to set a daily intake target that already accounts for typical activity, without 'earning' extra food through exercise — this removes the unreliable estimation step entirely. For maintenance and athletic performance, fuelling exercise more generously is reasonable and often necessary; for fat loss, treat estimated burn figures with healthy scepticism. This calculator gives a reasonable ballpark — believe the trend over weeks rather than the precision of any single session's number. As with any calorie discussion, this is general information rather than advice for any specific medical or dietary situation.

Exercise and Weight Management

Exercise is essential for health but less effective for weight loss in isolation than most people expect. The compensation effect: increased exercise often increases appetite and reduces spontaneous activity (NEAT), partially offsetting the calorie deficit created. Research shows combining exercise with calorie tracking is approximately 3 times more effective than exercise alone for weight loss. The most important role of exercise in weight management is preservation of muscle mass during a calo