Calories burned calculator

Pick an activity, enter your weight and how long you moved, and get a reasonable estimate of the energy the session used. It uses published MET values, and this page shows which ones.

Free to useMetric unitsNothing stored

Estimate a session

Estimated energy used

185±35kcal

A typical pace for an average body. Your terrain, speed, and fitness move the real number.

Behind the number

What a MET is

A MET, or metabolic equivalent of task, expresses how hard an activity works your body compared with sitting at rest. Sitting quietly is 1 MET, defined as an oxygen uptake of about 3.5 ml per kilogram of body weight per minute. An activity rated 6 METs uses roughly six times your resting energy while you do it. Researchers have catalogued MET values for hundreds of activities in the Compendium of Physical Activities.

How the estimate is calculated

The standard formula is: calories = MET × 3.5 × weight in kg / 200 × minutes. This calculator uses typical Compendium-style values for each option: moderate walking at 3.3 METs, general running at 8.3, moderate cycling at 7.5, general swimming at 6, strength training at 5, and yoga at 2.5. A 70 kg person running for 30 minutes gets 8.3 × 3.5 × 70 / 200 × 30, which is about 305 kcal.

Why the real number differs

MET values describe a typical pace for an average person. Your speed, the terrain, your fitness, and your technique all move the real figure. A hard hilly ride is not 'cycling, moderate'. The estimate also includes the energy you would have used resting during that time, so the extra cost of the exercise itself is somewhat smaller than the headline number.

Using the estimate sensibly

Exercise estimates are the least certain numbers in the calorie picture. Eating back every estimated calorie can erase a deficit. Use the figure to compare sessions and see roughly what movement contributes. Keep food grounded in what you actually ate. CaloriSpy tracks that part from your purchases.

Questions people ask

Why is this lower than my watch or treadmill says?

Different devices use different formulas, and many are generous. This calculator uses the plain MET formula with published values and no flattery. None of the numbers, ours included, are measurements; they are estimates built from averages.

Does the result include the calories I would have burned anyway?

Yes. MET-based totals include your resting energy for the duration, so the additional cost of the session is the total minus roughly your resting burn for that time. For a 45-minute session that difference is usually 50–80 kcal.

Should I eat back the calories I burn?

Be careful with that habit. Because exercise estimates run imprecise and often high, eating back the full figure regularly cancels out deficits. If you are managing intake, it is safer to treat training as a bonus rather than a voucher.

Why are there only six activities?

These six cover common sessions and have well-established MET values. Adding obscure activities would give you more choices but no more accurate result. MET estimates have limits either way.

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