Calories Burned Calculator

How calories burned is worked out

This calculator uses the MET method — the standard behind most online calorie counters. A MET, or metabolic equivalent, is how many times more energy an activity uses than sitting quietly: walking briskly is about 5 METs, running at 6 mph about 9.8. The energy you burn is simply MET × your weight in kilograms × hours of activity. Because it multiplies by bodyweight, a heavier person burns more for the same workout, and the same session burns a little less as you lose weight. Pick your activity, enter your weight and time, and the figure updates as you type.

Why it is an estimate

MET values are averages measured across many people, so treat the result as a good ballpark rather than a precise reading. Your actual burn shifts with fitness, effort, hills, heat and how efficiently you move — two people doing the "same" run can differ by a fair margin. A chest-strap heart-rate monitor is the most accurate consumer option; a wrist tracker is closer than a formula but still estimates. For comparing activities or rough daily tracking, the MET method is plenty.

Using it with your calorie goal

Exercise calories are one side of the energy balance; what you eat is the other. If you are dieting, be cautious about "eating back" everything you burn, since estimates tend to run high and can quietly erase your deficit. Use the calorie deficit calculator to set how much to eat to lose weight, and the TDEE calculator for your total daily maintenance calories including everyday movement. For runs and walks, the running pace calculator turns a distance and time into the pace and duration you need here, and the target heart rate calculator shows which zone that effort sits in.