How to use the Calories Burned Calculator
- Enter your body weight in kilograms — energy cost scales almost linearly with mass.
- Enter how long you actually moved, excluding rest between sets or waiting at lights.
- Pick the activity closest to what you did; intensity matters more than the exact sport name.
- Read total calories, the per-minute rate and the per-hour rate for planning longer sessions.
- Treat the fat-equivalent figure as arithmetic, not a promise — appetite compensation usually eats part of any deficit.
How the calculation works
One MET is defined as resting oxygen consumption, 3.5 millilitres of oxygen per kilogram per minute. An activity rated at 8 METs costs eight times resting metabolism. Converting oxygen uptake to energy at roughly 5 kcal per litre of oxygen gives the standard working formula: kcal per minute = MET × 3.5 × kg ÷ 200.
MET values come from the Compendium of Physical Activities, which catalogues several hundred activities from measured oxygen uptake in laboratory and field studies. The values here are the compendium's central estimates for common activities. They embed an intensity assumption, which is why the list separates running at 8 km/h from running at 12 km/h rather than offering a single 'running' entry.
Two caveats keep the number honest. First, MET values are population averages: trained athletes are more economical and burn slightly less at the same speed, while beginners burn more. Second, the formula returns gross energy expenditure, including the resting calories you would have burned anyway — roughly 1 MET's worth, or about one kcal per kg per hour. For weight-management arithmetic, subtracting that resting baseline gives the more meaningful net figure.
kcal/min = MET × 3.5 × body mass (kg) ÷ 200; total = kcal/min × minutesSource: Ainsworth BE et al., '2011 Compendium of Physical Activities', Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 43(8); ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, 11th edition.
Worked example
A 75 kg runner covering 45 minutes at 8 km/h (8.3 METs).
- kcal per minute = 8.3 × 3.5 × 75 ÷ 200 = 10.9.
- Total = 10.9 × 45 = about 490 kcal.
- Resting baseline over the same 45 minutes is roughly 59 kcal, so net cost is about 431 kcal.
Around 490 gross calories, or about 430 net calories above rest.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my watch show a different number?+
Wrist devices estimate from heart rate and personal calibration, MET tables from measured oxygen uptake in a lab. Both carry 10–20% error; neither is ground truth.
Does running burn more per kilometre if I go faster?+
Barely. The energy cost of running is roughly one kcal per kg per kilometre at any speed — going faster mostly compresses the same total into less time.
Should I eat back the calories I burned?+
Only partly. Estimates run high and hunger already adjusts, so eating back everything commonly erases the deficit.
Does weight training count?+
Yes, but the session cost is modest. Its real value is preserving lean mass, which keeps resting metabolism higher while you diet.
Last reviewed September 1, 2026. We review this page whenever the underlying formula, tax year, published rate or standard changes.