Calories Burned Calculator

MET: the dial behind the estimate

Exercise burn estimates stand on one number: the MET, the ratio of an activity's energy cost to sitting still. Walking at a moderate pace is 3.5 METs; a moderate run and moderate cycling both sit near 8.0; lap swimming is 5.8. This page takes your weight, an activity and minutes, and applies the standard equation — calories = MET × 3.5 × weight in kg ÷ 200 × minutes — printing the day's number and the per-minute rate, so a half session can be scaled by hand from the same panel.

Two honest limits before the first calculation. The equation is population average: two people of the same weight on the same run can differ by 20% in real burn as fitness, pace and hills differ. And MET values assume the named intensity, not the named workout — the activity you pick has to match the pace you actually held.

A worked example, step by step

Problem: a 70 kg walker wants the burn for an hour-long walk at a moderate pace.

1. Per-minute rate: 3.5 × 3.5 × 70 ÷ 200 = 4.2875 kcal per minute.
2. Total: 4.2875 × 60 = 257.25 → the panel prints 257 kcal.
3. Runner sub: a moderate run (8.0 MET) at the same hour burns 588 kcal — about 2.3 times the walk.
4. Swimmer: lap swimming's 5.8 MET gives 426 kcal for the same hour.
5. Yoga hour at 3.0 MET: 221 kcal — a real but modest block, at the low end of the family.

The per-minute rate is the number that turns a partial session into an estimate: 40 minutes of the walk above is 4.2875 × 40 ≈ 171 kcal, no second calculation needed.

One hour, 70 kg, six activities

The table's shape is the lesson: 80 kg instead of 70 pushes the walking hour from 257 to 294 kcal (+14%), while switching activity at the same weight multiplies the burn about 2.3 times — weight moves the estimate, choice of activity moves it more.

Using the estimate well

One mismatch dominates real-world complaints: tracker numbers that make meals "affordable" they never were. Burn estimates assume the named activity at moderate intensity, over the stated minutes, at the stated weight; eating back an exercise estimate often doubles rewards if the tracker counted standing around as steps. The defensible pattern is to use this page as the conservative reference, check it against the tracker for the same session, and let a week's trend — not a single session's readback — drive any food decision. Sustained habits beat optimised single days.

Mistakes that quietly inflate a burn figure

• Picking the MET from the label, not the pace. "Running" at three different paces spans 6 to 12 METs; the field names moderate for a reason.
• Using a stale weight. The equation is linear in weight, and a 10 kg error moves the whole answer by 14%.
• Counting warm-ups and chats as the activity. Minutes of standing inside the hour dilute the MET below the one you entered.
• Eating back the estimate. Burn figures are averages; portion decisions built on one-day figures do not survive the week.

Keep exploring

• BMI Calculator — the weight-and-height context the estimate sits inside.
• Daily Calorie Estimate — the intake side of the same ledger.
• Water Intake Estimator — hydration targets that scale with session length.
• Guide: BMI and Calorie Estimates Explained.