How many calories did that walk, ride or lifting session burn? This calculator estimates it from three things: your body weight, how long you were active, and the activity’s MET value from the Compendium of Physical Activities. Choose from 48 common activities or enter any MET value you find in the Compendium.
How to use the calories burned calculator
- Choose pounds or kilograms and enter your body weight.
- Enter the duration in minutes.
- Pick the activity. Speeds for walking, running and cycling are listed so you can choose the closest match. For anything else, choose Other and type a MET value.
- Read total calories, calories per hour and per minute, and the net calories above rest. The table shows the same duration for every activity in the list.
Calories burned formula
The Compendium defines one MET as about 1 kcal per kilogram per hour, which gives a simple formula:
Some exercise texts use the ACSM version, MET × 3.5 × kg ÷ 200 per minute, which comes out about 5% higher. The difference is far smaller than the natural variation between people.
Worked example
A 150-lb runner covers 45 minutes at 6 mph (a 10-minute mile), which the Compendium rates at 9.8 METs:
Weight = 150 × 0.4536 = 68.0 kg; time = 45 ÷ 60 = 0.75 h.
Calories = 9.8 × 68.0 × 0.75 = 500 kcal, or about 667 kcal per hour and 11.1 kcal per minute.
Net of resting energy: (9.8 − 1) × 68.0 × 0.75 ≈ 449 kcal.
Sample MET values
| Activity | METs | 30 min at 160 lb |
|---|---|---|
| Walking, 3.0 mph | 3.5 | about 127 kcal |
| Walking, 3.5 mph, brisk | 4.3 | about 156 kcal |
| Cycling, 12–13.9 mph | 8.0 | about 290 kcal |
| Running, 6 mph | 9.8 | about 356 kcal |
| Swimming laps, moderate | 5.8 | about 210 kcal |
| Weight lifting, moderate | 3.5 | about 127 kcal |
| Yoga, hatha | 2.5 | about 91 kcal |
| Gardening | 3.8 | about 138 kcal |
How accurate is a MET estimate?
MET values are averages measured in groups of adults, so they describe a typical person, not you specifically. Several things push your real number up or down:
- Fitness and skill. Trained runners and swimmers move more efficiently and can burn less than the average at the same speed.
- Terrain and conditions. Hills, wind, sand and heat raise energy cost; a treadmill with handrails lowers it.
- Effort within a category. “Weight lifting, moderate” covers a wide range of rest periods and loads.
- Body composition. The formula scales with total weight, while muscle and fat differ in their energy cost.
Expect individual errors of 10–20% or more. That is fine for planning and for comparing activities, but avoid treating exercise calories as an exact credit to eat back.
Using the result
To see how activity fits into your full day, compare the result with your total daily energy expenditure from the calorie calculator. Walkers can turn a step count into distance with the steps to miles calculator, runners can set pace with the running pace calculator, and anyone working toward a goal weight can plan a realistic timeline with the weight loss calculator.
Informational only — not medical advice. If you have a heart condition, are pregnant or are starting exercise after a long break, check with a healthcare professional about safe intensity.
Frequently asked questions
What is a MET?
A MET, or metabolic equivalent of task, compares an activity's energy cost with sitting quietly. One MET is roughly 1 kcal per kilogram of body weight per hour, so a 4-MET activity burns about four times your resting rate.
Why do heavier people burn more calories doing the same activity?
Moving a heavier body takes more energy, and the MET method scales calories in direct proportion to body weight. A 200-lb person walking briskly for 30 minutes burns about a third more than a 150-lb person at the same pace.
Are fitness tracker calorie numbers more accurate?
Not necessarily. Studies of wrist-worn trackers often find energy-expenditure errors of 20% or more, even when heart rate is measured well. Trackers and MET estimates are both useful for comparing days, not for exact accounting.
What does net calories mean?
Net calories subtract the 1 MET you would have burned anyway by sitting still. If you are adding exercise calories to a food budget that already counts your resting metabolism, the net figure avoids counting that baseline twice.
Where do the MET values come from?
They are representative values from the Adult Compendium of Physical Activities (Ainsworth and colleagues, 2011), a reference that lists measured energy costs for hundreds of activities. A 2024 update revised some values slightly.