Calories Burned Calculator
Every activity has a measured energy cost. Pick yours, tell us your weight and how long you went, and see what it actually burned.
How the maths works
Each activity carries a MET value — a multiple of resting metabolism taken from the Compendium of Physical Activities, the standard reference researchers use. Running at 10 km/h is about 9.8 METs: nearly ten times the energy of sitting still. The formula is METs × 3.5 × weight in kg ÷ 200, per minute.
Heavier bodies burn more at every activity — moving more mass costs more energy. That is why any calculator that does not ask your weight is guessing.
What surprises people
- Exercise burns less than it feels like. A hard 30-minute run for a 75 kg person is roughly 370 kcal — one generous muffin. Training is superb for fitness and muscle; the calorie deficit is easier to build in the kitchen.
- Walking adds up quietly. 8,000 extra steps costs around 250–300 kcal, every single day, with no recovery cost. Over a month that outruns most gym schedules.
- Watch trackers flatter you. Wrist devices routinely overestimate workout burn by 20–40%. Eating back those calories is how a real deficit disappears.
Do not eat back exercise calories if your daily target already includes an activity level — that counts the same workout twice. It is the most common tracking error there is.
Using this with a fat-loss plan
Get your daily target from the calorie calculator first. Use this page to compare activities and decide where your training time buys the most — then let consistency, not any single session, do the work.
Frequently asked questions
Are these numbers exact?
They are honest estimates — MET values are averages across many people. Efficiency, fitness and technique move individual burn by 10–20% either way.
Which cardio burns the most?
Per minute: jump rope, fast running and stair climbing top the table. But the best cardio is the one you will actually repeat three times a week for a year.
Does lifting weights burn calories?
During the session, a moderate amount. Its real value is the muscle it builds, which raises what you burn around the clock and decides how a diet reshapes your body.