Calories Burned Calculator
Calories burned for an activity by weight and duration.
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Knowing roughly how many calories an activity burns helps you plan exercise around a weight goal or simply understand the payoff of a workout. This tool uses MET values — a standardized measure of an activity's intensity relative to rest.
How it works
Calories = MET × body weight (kg) × hours. One MET is roughly resting metabolism.
One MET is your resting metabolic rate. An activity rated at 8 MET burns about eight times the energy of sitting still. Multiply that by your body weight in kilograms and the hours spent, and you get the calories burned.
Heavier people burn more for the same activity because moving more mass costs more energy. The MET values here are population averages, so your real burn shifts with intensity, fitness, and terrain.
Calories = MET × body weight(kg) × hours. Weight in pounds is converted to kilograms first (÷ 2.205).
Worked examples
A 175 lb (79.4 kg) person running 8 mph (8 MET) for 30 minutes. → About 318 calories (roughly 635 cal/hour).
8 × 79.4 × 0.5 = 317.5 calories.
The same person brisk-walking (4 MET) for 45 minutes. → About 238 calories.
4 × 79.4 × 0.75 = 238 calories.
Tips & gotchas
- Don't 'eat back' every calorie a tracker reports — MET estimates run high, so trust them loosely and let the scale confirm.
- Heavier intensity raises the MET value: jogging and sprinting are not the same activity even if both are 'running.'
- Strength training burns fewer calories per minute than cardio but builds muscle that raises your resting burn over time.
- For weight loss, diet moves the needle far more than exercise calories — use this to plan activity, not to justify overeating.
FAQ
How accurate are MET-based estimates?
They're solid averages but can be off by 10-20% for any individual, since fitness, technique, and effort all shift the real burn. Treat the number as a ballpark, not a precise count.
Why does my body weight change the calories burned?
Moving more mass requires more energy. A heavier person doing the identical activity burns more calories than a lighter one, which is why weight is in the formula.
Does this include the calories I'd burn anyway?
Yes — MET is measured against resting metabolism, so the figure is gross calories during the activity. Your true 'extra' burn is slightly lower because you'd burn some at rest regardless.
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