What Is a Calories Burned Calculator?
This calculator estimates how many calories you burn during exercise, using MET (Metabolic Equivalent of Task) values — a standard measure of how intense an activity is relative to resting metabolism — combined with your body weight and duration.
How to Use the Calories Burned Calculator
- Enter your body weight.
- Select your activity from the list.
- Enter how long you did the activity.
- View your estimated calories burned instantly.
Calories Burned Formula
Worked Example
Weight: 160 lb ≈ 72.6 kg
Duration: 30 minutes = 0.5 hours
Calories = 8.0 × 72.6 × 0.5 ≈ 290 calories
Understanding Your Results
MET values represent how many times more energy an activity requires compared to sitting quietly (1 MET). Higher MET activities burn more calories per minute. This is an estimate — actual calorie burn varies based on fitness level, exact intensity, terrain, and individual metabolism.
Common MET Values Reference
| Activity | MET Value |
|---|---|
| Walking (moderate) | 3.8 |
| Cycling (moderate) | 7.5 |
| Running (6 mph) | 8.0 |
| Swimming (moderate) | 8.0 |
| Weight Training | 6.0 |
| Jump Rope | 10.0 |
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Treating the estimate as exact — actual calorie burn varies by individual fitness level and effort.
- Choosing an activity intensity level that doesn't match your actual pace or effort.
- Using calories burned alone to justify large amounts of extra eating — exercise calorie burn is often smaller than people expect relative to food calories.
Frequently Asked Questions
MET (Metabolic Equivalent of Task) measures how many times more energy an activity uses compared to resting. A MET of 8 means the activity burns roughly 8 times more energy than sitting quietly.
They're reasonable estimates based on population averages, but individual factors like fitness level, exact intensity, and body composition can cause actual burn to vary meaningfully.
Yes, generally — the MET formula scales with body weight, since moving a heavier body requires more energy for the same activity.
Different MET tables and fitness trackers use slightly different assumptions and measurement methods, which is why estimates can vary between sources — treat any single number as an approximation.
This depends on your goals — for weight loss, most guidelines suggest not fully "eating back" burned calories, since calorie burn estimates tend to run high compared to actual expenditure.