Blog Weight Loss Weight Management Calories Burned Calculator: A Simple Way To Find Out How Many Calories You Burn Daily

Calories Burned Calculator: A Simple Way To Find Out How Many Calories You Burn Daily

What is calorie burn?

When it comes to fitness, you will often hear the term ‘calorie burn’. Let’s understand what this phrase means. 

Scientifically known as energy expenditure, calorie burn is the amount of energy that is utilized by the body during various activities that is required to maintain vital functions and perform tasks. This process plays an important role in weight management and maintaining overall health. 

Let’s break down what calorie burn includes (6):

  1. Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR): A significant portion of calorie burn occurs while you’re at rest, driven by the body’s baseline functions such as breathing, circulation, and cell production. BMR varies between individuals based on factors such as age, gender, genetics, and body composition.
  2. Physical Activity: Another component is engaging in exercise or daily activities, which significantly contributes to calorie burn. High-intensity workouts increase the post-exercise calorie consumption due to the energy required for muscle repair and recovery.
  3. Thermic Effect of Food (TEF): Digesting and metabolizing food also use energy and are ways in which calorie burn occurs. Proteins, for example, have a higher TEF than fats and carbohydrates, which implies that the body expends more calories when it processes protein-rich meals.

What are some of the factors that affect calorie burn?  

  • Genetics
  • Age
  • Body composition
  • Fitness levels 
  • Hormones 
  • Diet 

Understanding calorie burn is essential for creating effective fitness and dietary strategies. (1)

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Does calories burned mean fat loss?

While calories burned is linked to fat loss, it’s important to understand that not all calories burned directly translates to fat loss. The sources of calories consumed and the type of exercise that is undertaken also have an impact on the outcome. 

Let’s understand the relationship between the two concepts of calorie burning and fat loss:

  • Fat loss is primarily dependent on achieving a caloric deficit, which means that the calories burned exceed those that are consumed. This deficit prompts your body to tap into stored fat for energy, which leads to weight loss.
  • The total calories burned include those from fat, carbohydrates, and proteins. Engaging in exercises that target fat, such as aerobic activities like walking, cycling, and swimming, can enhance fat loss.  
  • Despite burning calories through exercise, the synergy between diet and physical activity is essential. Consuming nutrient-dense, balanced meals helps optimize the fat-loss process by fostering a sustainable caloric deficit. (2)
  • Effective fat-loss strategies emphasize the preservation of lean muscle mass. Strength training, coupled with adequate protein intake, plays a crucial role in maintaining muscle, which influences the overall composition of weight loss.

How do I calculate calories burned?

If you’re looking to calculate the number of calories you’ve burned, there’s a simple formula you can apply. It requires you to incorporate both the basal metabolic rate (BMR) and activity-related expenditure.

  1. Determine Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR): To calculate this, utilize any online calculator that considers causal factors such as age, gender, weight, and height to estimate the calories burned at rest.
  2. Factor in Physical Activity: Add the calories burned during exercise to this figure by multiplying the BMR by an ‘Activity Factor’ that takes into account your weekly amount of physical activity.
  3. Sum Up BMR and Activity Calories: Finally, you must combine the calories burned at rest (BMR) with those expended during physical activities to get a comprehensive estimate of your daily caloric expenditure. 

This method provides a foundational understanding, although individual variations may exist.

What Is the Main Requirement of Any Weight Loss Process?

The common principle of weight loss is that all diets share a common foundation, despite their diversity. Successful weight loss can only be successful when the body achieves a caloric deficit (19).

Before we proceed, let’s understand what a caloric deficit is. 

As previously mentioned, a caloric deficit occurs when you burn more calories than you consume (18). 

  • Challenges Without Adjustments:

Achieving caloric deficit can be challenging without making any adjustments to your nutritional plan and habits, and is impacted by your lifestyle and current diet.

  • The Role of Healthy Diet and Activity:

A healthy diet and additional physical activity contribute significantly to achieving aching weight loss goals.

  • The Importance of Determining Caloric Needs:

Knowing how many calories to consume requires a good understanding of the factors that influence daily calorie expenditure, which are specific to each individual.

  • Check a Calories Burned Calculator:

Such calculators help determine daily calorie expenditure for easier and more effective weight management. 

Calories Burned Calculator  

What Are Calories?

  • In simple scientific terms, one calorie is the amount of energy that is required to heat one gram of water by one degree Celsius. 
  • When it comes to food and nutrition, the term is used to indicate the energy that is required for the body to function. 
  • Counting calories is essential for weight loss and requires the use of a specialized calculator.
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The calories contained in food are comprised of 3 macronutrients:

  • Proteins
  • Fats
  • Carbohydrates

Let’s take a closer look at these macros.

Carbohydrates:

  • Role: Carbohydrates are the main energy source for the body. They are converted into glucose for energy.
  • Importance: Carbs affect the nervous system, muscles, brain function, mood, and overall health. 
  • Impact: Overconsumption can lead to weight gain, but excluding them entirely is unnecessary.
  • Types: They are differentiated into simple (e.g., white bread) and complex (e.g., whole grains) carbs.
  • Caloric Content: 4 calories per 1 gram of carbohydrates

Fats:

  • Importance: Fats are essential for cell wall integrity, improving vitamin absorption, and the overall health of an individual.
  • Misconception: It is often claimed that a high-calorie content leads to unwarranted weight gain, but this is dependent on the kind and amount of fats you consume. 
  • Types: Fats can be classified as:
  • Trans fats: They are harmful and are found in processed foods such as pizzas, cakes, etc.
  • Saturated fats: They are found in meat and dairy and should be consumed in moderation. 
  • Unsaturated fats: They are the healthiest fats and are found in plant foods and oily fish.
  • Health Implications: Of these 3, trans fats have been linked to heart disease; while moderation is emphasized for saturated fats.
  • Caloric Content: 9 calories per 1 gram of fat.

Proteins:

  • Role: Proteins are the building blocks of the body and are essential for cell creation, immune system function, and growth.
  • Importance: Proteins support overall body structure – from bones to nails.
  • Sources: Animal-based (complete protein source) includes meat; plant-based (incomplete protein source) includes quinoa, seitan, soy, and buckwheat.
  • Types: Proteins can be divided into 2 types: 
  • Complete: They provide all essential amino acids and are mostly animal-based. 
  • Incomplete: They are mainly plant-based and necessitate combining sources to fulfill the amino acid content that is required by the body.
  • Caloric Content: 4 calories per 1 gram of protein.

Now, let’s look at the main elements of the calories burned calculator.

Which Aspects Make up Your Total Energy Expenditure?

To determine how many calories you burn in a day, you need to calculate your total energy expenditure (TEE), which consists of 3 aspects: 

  1. Physical activity-related energy expenditure (PEE): This includes non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) and exercise activity thermogenesis (EAT) 
  2. Basal metabolic rate (BMR)
  3. Diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT) (15)

Let’s start with the easiest concept of the calories burned calculator  – NEAT and EAT.

NEAT And EAT

Your body is always working and never rests completely. Even when you’re asleep, it uses energy to support all the vital processes, such as breathing and heartbeat. This means that it’s always burning calories, even when you think you’re not doing anything. 

Even if you lead a mostly sedentary lifestyle and don’t exercise in the gym, you still use calories when walking, sitting down, standing up, or lifting your hands while following your routine.

For example, a person who weighs 155 pounds (70kg) can burn the following calories in half an hour when they perform the following daily routine activities(5):

  • Computer work – 50 calories 
  • Cooking – 93 calories
  • Reading while sitting – 42 calories
  • Standing in line – 47 calories
  • Food shopping with a cart – 130 calories
  • Mowing the lawn – 205 calories
  • Sleeping – 23 calories
  • Watching TV  – 28 calories

The number of calories spent performing such types of activities compiles NEAT (14) with EAT, adding up to PEE, which makes up 15-30% of your total energy expenditure.

Read more: Kimchi: Calories, Nutrition, and Health Benefits

BMR And DIT

Two other components of the TEE include your resting or basal metabolic rate (BMR)  and diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT) (12). The BMR, which is considered when using a calories burned calculator, makes up approximately 60% of the TEE, and the DIT accounts for approximately 10-15% (15). 

You can also calculate your BMR using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation. Equations for calculating BMR date back to 1918 with the Harris-Benedict equation, but the 1990 Mifflin-St Jeor equation is the most recent and potentially the most accurate.

Here’s how the Mifflin-St Jeor equation works(4):

  • Your BMR if you’re a woman = 10 × your weight in kg + 6.25 × your height in cm – 5 × your age in years – 161
  • Your BMR if you’re a man = 10 × your weight in kg + 6.25 × your height in cm – 5 × your age in years + 5

Or the original Harris-Benedict from 1918:

  • Your BMR if you’re a woman = 655 + 4.35 × your weight in lbs + 4.7 × your height in inches – 4.7 × your age
  • Your BMR if you’re a man = 66 + 6.2 × your weight in lbs + 12.7 × your height in inches – 6.76 × your age
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Thanks to these fairly simple formulas, a calories-burned calculator is possible. Let’s move on and count your TEE.

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Calculating the TEE

To calculate the TEE, you need to use the BMR you calculated using the Mifflin-St Jeor or Harris-Benedict equation and multiply your BMR by your physical activity level (PAL). It looks like this:

TEE = your BMR × your PAL.

Every level of physical activity has its number equivalent that is determined by the amount and intensity of the physical activity you perform regularly in your everyday life. 

Physical activity levels and their numeric value are classified as follows :

Sedentary or Light Activity Lifestyle: 1.2

A sedentary or light activity lifestyle means you don’t perform any additional physical activity during the day and your occupation doesn’t involve physical work. You generally use vehicles for transportation and don’t walk long distances. Such a lifestyle also includes little to no regular exercise, and leisure spent sitting or standing with few movements such as talking, reading, watching TV, or using a laptop. 

An example of someone who leads such a lifestyle is an office worker who can occasionally be engaged in additional physical activities outside work. Another is a housewife or househusband who spends the majority of their time doing household chores and caring for children. 

Many people lead this kind of lifestyle and unfortunately, it contributes to various health problems due to the low physical activity levels. If you become more physically active, your calorie expenditure will increase and your ideal body will turn from a dream to a reality.

Calories Burned Calculator  

Active or Moderately Active Lifestyle: 1.375-1.55

These types of lifestyle involve having an occupation that includes a certain amount of physical work and more energy expenditure than those described in the previous point, but they’re still not that strenuous in terms of energy demands. It also includes those who lead mostly sedentary lifestyles but spend a certain amount of time performing moderate to vigorous physical activity. 

For example, if you lead a sedentary lifestyle with a PAL of 1.2 but regularly spend one hour running, cycling, swimming, or doing sports, your PAL can increase to 1.375, which means that you belong to the category of people who lead a moderately active lifestyle. 

Other examples of moderately active lifestyles include people with occupations such as construction workers and farmers who walk long distances. This lifestyle is something to strive for if you want to lose weight and improve your health without becoming an athlete. Moderate exercise is optimal for most people as it burns extra calories, keeps you fit, and improves your well-being.

Vigorous or Vigorously Active Lifestyle: 1.725

These types of lifestyle are the most active and burn a great number of calories. People who lead such a lifestyle engage in regular strenuous work or strenuous leisure activities for several hours. 

Examples include farmers in the wild who work with a machete, hoe, or ax for several hours daily and regularly walk long distances while carrying heavy loads, or athletes and dancers who spend a lot of time vigorously practicing. 

Most people do not lead this kind of lifestyle and such calorie expenditures are characteristic only of athletes and certain professions. Most likely, if you lead such a lifestyle, you either already use the calories burned calculator or you simply don’t need it, as you’re already keeping yourself in good physical shape.

Therefore, for a woman aged 32, who weighs 155 pounds, is 67 inches tall, works at the office, and doesn’t perform any additional physical activity in her leisure time, the required daily number of calories can be calculated as follows: 

(655 + 4.35 × 155 + 4.7 × 67 – 4.7 × 32) × 1.2 = TEE = 1,737 calories.

Calories Burned Calculator: Exercise

It’s only natural that different amounts of activities of different intensities burn a different number of calories. That’s why each activity has its particular metabolic equivalent for a task (MET).

It is determined by how much energy the body uses during the performance of a certain physical activity. This number is standardized so it can be effectively used by different people. It is also easier to compare different types of exercises to each other using such a method.

One MET can be defined as either 1 kcal per kg of body weight per hour and is approximately equivalent to the energy you use when sitting at rest or in the form of oxygen uptake, where 1 MET equals 3.5 ml per kg per minute (3).

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As with physical activity lifestyles, which have their numeric equivalent, there are different groups of physical activities that are divided according to their METs, including (16):

Calories Burned Calculator: Vigorous-Intensity Activity

This type of activity involves vigorous exercising and requires 6.0 or greater METs. Some examples include walking with a speed of 4.5 to 5 mph ( 7.2 to 8 km/h), running, doing aerobics, carrying heavy loads upstairs, or shoveling snow or soil by hand.

Calories Burned Calculator: Moderate-Intensity Activity

This type of activity requires fewer METs than the vigorous-intensity activity, but it is still quite energy-consuming. It requires from 3.0 up to 6.0 METs. Walking at the speed of 3 to 4 mph (4.8 to 6.4 km/h) and cleaning by mopping or vacuuming belong to this group.

Calories Burned Calculator: Light-Intensity Activity

This requires 1.6 and up to 3.0 MET and light-intensity activity examples include walking at a speed of 2 or less mph (3.2 or less km/h), standing in line, and cooking.

Calories Burned Calculator: Low-Intensity Activity

The least vigorous physical activity requires a mere 1.0 to 1.5 METs and is often called “sedentary activity”. This type of activity is incredibly common and may make up more than 50% of the waking time of most adults. It includes sitting, lying, and reclining. Standing still also belongs in this category, with an energy expenditure of 1.5.

Now you know all the things you need to know about METs, it’s time to get back to counting calories.

The equation for the Exercise Calories Burned Calculator is:

Duration of physical activity in minutes × (MET × 3.5 × your weight in kg) / 200 = Total calories burned.

Take the following activities as examples:

Calories Burned Calculator: Biking

There are different types of biking with different intensity and longevity. A table published in the Harvard Heart Letter, from Harvard Medical School provides the following data on how many calories people of different weights burn during 30 minutes performing this activity (5):

Type of activity 125lb (56kg) 155lb (70kg) 185lb (84kg)
Bicycling: 12-13.9 mph (20-22 km/h) 240 298 355
Bicycling: BMX or mountain 255 316 377
Bicycling: 14-15.9 mph (22-25 km/h) 300 372 444
Bicycling: 16-19 mph (25-30 km/h) 360 446 533
Bicycling: > 20 mph (>32 km/h) 495 614 733

However, if you want to know the exact number of calories you burn individually, you should use the above equation, inserting the MET of the type of activity you’re performing, which are (17): 

  • Bicycling: 12-13.9 mph (20-22 km/h) – 8 METs
  • Bicycling: BMX or mountain – 8.5 METs
  • Cycling: 14-15.9 mph (22-25 km/h) – 10.0 METs
  • Bicycling: 16-19 mph (25-30 km/h) – 12.0 METs
  • Bicycling: > 20 mph (>32 km/h) – 16.0 METs

Calories Burned Calculator  

Calories Burned Calculator: Stationary Bike 

Here is the data from the Harvard Heart Letter:

Type of activity 125lb (56kg) 155lb (70kg) 185lb (84kg)
Bicycling, stationary: moderate 210 260 311
Bicycling, stationary: vigorous 315 391 466

Here are the METs for types of stationary bicycling (17):

Conditioning exercise bicycling, stationary, 150 watts, moderate effort – 7.0 METs

Conditioning exercise bicycling, stationary, 200 watts, vigorous effort – 10.5 METs

Calories Burned Calculator: Yoga

Yoga is more static than bicycling and requires less energy. Harvard Medical School states the following ():

Type of activity 125lb (56kg) 155lb (70kg) 185lb (84kg)
Stretching, hatha yoga 120 149 178

And here are its METs:

Stretching, hatha yoga – 2.5 METs (17).

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List of METs for the Most Popular Exercises

As with the three above-stated activities, you can count how many calories you individually burn during your workout.

To do this, you simply need the formula and the METs. Here is the list of METs for the most popular exercises (17):

  • Calisthenics (e.g. pushups, sit-ups, pull-ups, jumping jacks), heavy, vigorous effort – 8.0
  • Circuit training, including some aerobic movement with minimal rest, general – 8.0
  • Weightlifting (free weight, nautilus or universal-type), powerlifting or bodybuilding, vigorous effort – 6.0
  • Stair-treadmill ergometer, general – 9.0
  • Mild stretching – 2.5
  • Jog/walk combination (jogging component of less than 10 minutes) – 6.0
  • Jogging, on the spot or 5 mph (8 km/h) – 8.0  
  • Running, 8 mph (around 13 km/h) – 13.5
  • Running, 10 mph (16 km/h) – 16.0
  • Fast running, 10.9 mph (17.5 km/h) – 18.0
  • Running, stairs, up – 15.0
  • Basketball, game – 8.0
  • Boxing, in the ring, general – 12.0
  • Football, competitive – 9.0
  • Judo, jujitsu, karate, kickboxing, taekwondo – 10.0
  • Rope jumping, fast – 12.0
  • Rope jumping, moderate, general – 10.0
  • Soccer, casual, general – 7.0
  • Softball or baseball, fast or slow pitch, general – 5.0
  • Tennis, general – 7.0
  • Volleyball – 4.0
  • Volleyball, beach – 8.0
  • Wrestling (one match = 5 minutes) – 6.0
  • Walking for pleasure – 3.5
  • Moderate walking, 3.5 mph, (5.6 km/h) uphill – 6.0
  • Walking, 4.0 mph, ( 6.5 km/h) level, firm surface, very brisk pace – 5.0
  • Walking, 5.0 mph (8 km/h) – 8.0
  • Swimming laps, freestyle, fast, vigorous effort – 10.0
  • Swimming, laps, freestyle, slow, moderate, or light effort – 7.0
  • Swimming, leisurely, not lap swimming, general – 6.0
  • Swimming, sidestroke, general – 8.0
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The way you organize your workout will have a significant impact on how effective you are at burning calories. If you want to burn the maximum amount of calories, you need to use the maximum amount of muscle fibers at the same time. The more muscle fibers you activate, the more energy your body needs to contract those muscles. As a result, you’ll burn more calories. You can use this calories burned calculator to achieve the best results.

Calories Burned Calculator

Which Other Factors Affect How Many Calories You Burn During Training?

You may have noticed how people who follow the same diet and perform the same amount of physical activity have different results.

This happens due to a variety of factors that affect the number of calories you burn during the workout, including:

Age

People who are a bit older find it more difficult to perform the same physical activity they easily performed during the days of their youth. With age, you spend more effort to reach a higher intensity level of activity (13).

Another important aspect of age is linked to metabolism. As you get older, your metabolism slows down. This is a natural process that is associated with the proportion of muscle mass in your body. During adolescence and in your twenties, you have more muscles in your body that require more energy. As you get older, you gradually lose muscle mass and put on extra pounds of fat due to greater inactivity. This may be an invisible process at first, but it ultimately becomes an unpleasant surprise. You exercise and consume calories as before, but still gain weight. This is why it’s recommended to gradually reduce your calorie intake as you age or increase your activity, or you may start to gain weight. Calories burned calculators adjusted for age can help you in this respect.

Body Composition

This partially explains why buff people eat a lot without gaining weight. The more muscle mass you have, the more calories certain activities burn (7).

This is why training recommendations differ for the three basic body types. 

Thin ectomorphs have a narrow bone structure, a small rib cage, narrow shoulders, and long thin limbs. Ectomorphs may not be visually muscular, but their proportion of fat to muscle is low due to their rapid metabolism. Therefore, for ectomorphs, the main problem is often gaining muscle mass and weight, rather than losing it, and they’re generally encouraged to consume more healthy calories. 

Mesomorphs are considered genetically fortunate as it is easier for them to both gain and lose weight. It is also often easy for mesomorphs to gain muscle mass. At the same time, mesomorphs may get fat if they don’t play sports and eat a balanced diet. This is why they need to keep track of the calories they consume. 

Endomorphs are characterized by a wide bone structure and problems keeping a good shape as it is very easy for them to gain both fat and muscle mass. Endomorphs often have a slower metabolism, which interferes with weight loss. 

This makes training very important for all types. The more muscle mass you gain, the more efficiently you will lose excess fat.

Intensity Of Breathing

Your oxygen intake may help identify how difficult it is for you to perform certain exercises and how much effort you spend. If you breathe heavily and fast, you’ll burn more calories, and every liter of oxygen you breathe in makes your body burn more calories.

When it comes to weight loss, progress is made in inches, not miles, so it’s much harder to track and a lot easier to give up. The BetterMe app is your personal trainer, nutritionist, and support system all in one. Start using our app to stay on track and hold yourself accountable!

Fitness Level

This aspect partially explains why you should always increase the amount or the difficulty of your workout gradually. The higher your fitness level, the fewer calories you’ll burn performing the same activity. This is why you may hit a plateau at some point – a state when you can’t seem to progress despite performing all the same things you did before. This is why it’s important to gradually increase physical activity.

Rest period

The rest period between exercises plays an important role in how many calories you burn during your workout. You’ll need to try to find a balance between the weight and load you can handle and the rest period between exercises. Unless you simply don’t put in enough effort during your workout, you’ll need to reduce the amount of weight you can lift slightly if you decide to shorten your rest time. You’ll achieve a balanced situation when your rest period is short (approximately 45-60 seconds) and you’ll feel tension and fatigue. In this way, you can maximize the numbers displayed on the calories burned running calculator without sacrificing muscle growth. 

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Amount of Sleep

A healthy diet and regular exercise are the main factors for effective weight loss. However, due to the focus on these two elements, one important factor is often overlooked – healthy sleep. Intuitively, the relationship between sleep and weight loss is more difficult to understand than the obvious effects of exercise and diet. It’s time to clarify this.

Firstly, there is a significant relationship between sleep, stress, and weight loss success. People who sleep for less than six hours a day perform worse in terms of weight loss than those who sleep for about eight hours. In addition, people with high levels of stress and lack of sleep are half as likely to lose weight as those who get enough sleep. 

Secondly, lack of sleep increases your appetite. Poor sleep increases hunger cravings as your body requires energy from another source. Those who don’t sleep enough are more likely to be fatigued and resort to snacking in an attempt to seek out more energy, choosing the most carbohydrate-rich and fatty foods.

Lack of sleep can significantly worsen your wellness by causing insulin resistance, thereby increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes and obesity, and it can also reduce your metabolism (10) and make your body burn fewer calories (11). 

Which Other Factors DO NOT Affect How Many Calories You Burn During Training?

Although there are many factors that affect how many calories burned you’ll see on your calories burned running calculator, calories burned walking calculator, or general calories burned calculator, some of the widely circulating recommendations for maximizing calorie burn aren’t entirely substantiated. Here are two factors that are widely perceived as affecting calorie burn that actually don’t: 

Eating before a workout

Many people try not to eat before exercise in the belief that it will increase the number of calories burned. This is not the case and the number on your calories burned running calculator won’t change significantly. In fact, if you don’t eat anything before you exercise, it is more likely that you won’t be able to exercise intensely enough. As a result, the number of calories burned may even decrease.

There is no research showing that eating, not eating, or reducing the amount of food before exercise has any effect on how many calories you burn during your workout. You will likely burn the same number of calories, if not less, if you skip breakfast. 

Therefore, you shouldn’t skip meals before exercising. Conversely, a good and healthy breakfast will energize you and enable you to exercise longer and harder. It’s best to eat your breakfast an hour or more before your workout and if you have less time, you should opt for lighter options such as banana and yogurt. It’s also important to eat within two hours after working out to give your muscles energy to grow. Snacks and meals that are high in protein are best. 

The time of the workout

Many also believe that the time of day they exercise affects the amount of calories they burn, but this is also not true. If you’re a night owl and don’t have the energy to work out intensely in the morning, there’s no point pushing yourself. Morning, afternoon, or evening will not affect the number of calories you can burn. Therefore, you should schedule your training sessions for when you’re most comfortable and energized for a vigorous workout. 

Read more: Intermittent Fasting Macros – Managing Calories the Smart Way!

Calories Burned Calculator  

FAQs

  • How many calories do I need to burn to lose 10 pounds?

1 pound (around 0.5 kg) equals approximately 3,500 calories. Cutting 500 to 1,000 calories a day will make you lose 1-2 pounds a week, which is a recommended amount and pace (8). Therefore, to lose 10 pounds, you need to burn 35,000 calories.

  • How many calories do I burn while I sleep?

Even when you’re asleep, your body requires energy for the maintenance of the proper functioning of all your organs. You burn calories to support breathing, heartbeat, and blood circulation. Sleeping equals 0.9 METs.

So, to find out how many calories you burn sleeping, you should use the following formula:

Duration of your sleep (in minutes) × (0.9 × 3.5 × your weight in kg) / 200 = Total calories burned

  • How can I increase the number of calories I burn in a day without going to the gym?

Firstly, you don’t need to go to the gym if you want to burn more calories. All you need is to add a bit more movement to your routine. Simple things such as taking the stairs instead of an elevator, going for a short walk after work, or using a bicycle to get to work rather than a car will make a significant difference in the number of your daily calories burned. Secondly, you can burn more calories even by periodically walking across the room while you’re on the phone, watching TV, reading a book, or shopping online.

The Bottom Line

Effective weight loss is reliant on burning more calories than you consume, a core principle that forms the crux of various nutritional plans. Using a calories burned calculator, you can determine the total energy expenditure (TEE) by multiplying basal metabolic rate (BMR) and physical activity level (PAL). 

Once your daily caloric needs are established, a reduction of 500 to 1,000 calories, paired with consistent exercise, is the most successful weight loss formula. You can minimize some inaccuracies by getting enough sleep, balancing out your rest time between exercises, and creating a healthy nutrition plan that includes complex carbohydrates, unsaturated fats, and protein. You should also consult a specialist before making any significant diet or training changes.

DISCLAIMER:

This article is intended for general informational purposes only and does not address individual circumstances. It is not a substitute for professional advice or help and should not be relied on to make decisions of any kind. Any action you take upon the information presented in this article is strictly at your own risk and responsibility!

SOURCES:

  1. 6 Factors That Can Affect How Many Calories You Burn (2023, everydayhealth.com
  2. 12 Ways to Promote Long-Term Fat Loss (2023, healthline.com)
  3. 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Scientific Report (2018, health.gov)
  4. A New Predictive Equation for Resting Energy Expenditure in Healthy Individuals (1990, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
  5. Calories burned in 30 minutes for people of three different weights (2004, health.harvard.edu) 
  6. Calculating how many calories are burned in a day (2023, medicalnewstoday.com)
  7. Can I boost my metabolism to lose weight? (2019, mayoclinic.org) 
  8. Counting calories: Get back to weight-loss basics (2018, mayoclinic.org)
  9. Human energy requirements: Energy Requirement of Adults (2018, fao.org)
  10. Impaired Insulin Signaling in Human Adipocytes After Experimental Sleep Restriction: A Randomized, Crossover Study (2014, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
  11. Is too little sleep a cause of weight gain? (2020, mayoclinic.org)
  12. Measuring Energy Expenditure in Clinical Populations: Rewards and Challenges (2013, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
  13. Metabolism and weight loss: How you burn calories (2017, mayoclinic.org)
  14. Non-exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) (2014, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
  15. Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT): a component of total daily energy expenditure (2018, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
  16. Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. 2nd ed. (2019, health.gov) 
  17. The Compendium of Physical Activities Tracking Guide (n.d., prevention.sph.sc.edu) 
  18. Weight-loss basics (2019, mayoclinic.org)
  19. Which is better for weight loss — cutting calories or increasing exercise? (2020, mayoclinic.org)