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MET-based estimates (metabolic equivalents), the standard method in exercise science; individual burn varies with fitness and intensity. Figures include your resting burn for the period. A general guide, not medical advice.
What The Calories Burned Calculator Works Out
- Calories burned: METs x bodyweight in kg x hours. Exercise science measures intensity in METs, multiples of resting metabolism, so half an hour of 6 mph running (9.8 METs) burns about 343 kcal for a 70 kg person while the same half hour of brisk walking burns around 120. Heavier people burn more for the same activity, which the formula captures and gym machines often do not unless you enter your weight.
- Per hour at this pace: METs x weight, the hourly rate for the chosen activity.
- In food terms: the burn in medium bananas (about 95 kcal) and standard chocolate bars (about 240 kcal). A 240 kcal bar undoes a 25-minute run, the classic illustration that weight management is easier defended in the kitchen than chased on the road.
- Weight entered in (advanced): enter stones (as a decimal) or pounds instead of kg.
- Custom MET value and effort (advanced): type any MET from the Compendium of Physical Activities (7.5 mph running is about 11.5, hard cycling 10 to 12, slow walking 2.5), or scale the standard figure up or down to match how hard you actually went. MET values are population averages: a fit person burns somewhat less at the same pace through efficiency.
- Exercise-only (net) burn (advanced): the headline figure includes the resting burn you would have had anyway, so the true surplus is 1 MET's worth less. This is the number that matters for weight change.
- Weekly total (advanced): the session burn multiplied by how many times a week you do it, gross and net.
- Fat-loss equivalent (advanced): the net calories over your chosen number of weeks divided by roughly 7,700 kcal per kg of body fat, assuming food intake does not rise to compensate (it often does, which is the usual reason exercise alone shifts less weight than the arithmetic promises).
- NHS weekly target (advanced): your weekly minutes as a share of the NHS target of 150 minutes of moderate activity (3 to 6 METs) or 75 minutes of vigorous activity (over 6 METs). That target is worth far more than its calorie arithmetic suggests: mood, sleep, heart health and strength all bank the same session.
- Caveats: the activity table compares every option at your weight and duration. Fitness trackers estimate the same quantity from heart rate with errors commonly around 20% to 40%, so calorie-burn readouts deserve a pinch of salt everywhere, including here. A general guide, not medical advice.
Source and further reading: NHS: exercise guidelines.