A calorie is a measure of how much energy the body needs for proper functioning. Different foods have different amounts of calories. The question, how to calculate the calories you burn during exercise must be circulating in your mind. The number of calories burnt each day is linked to weight loss, weight gain, and weight maintenance. The calorie breakdown per gram per food type is:
Carbohydrate: 4 calories per gram
Protein: 4 calories per gram
Fat: 9 calories per gram
The daily calorie burn calculator will help you know the number of calories you burn during exercise.
How Many Calories Should We Burn A Day?
Let’s understand how to calculate the calories you burn during exercise.
The amount of calories you burn per day when exercising depends on your weight, height, the intensity of the workout, and the time you spend doing the activity. An ideal target for most people is around 200-400 calories per day. This target is achieved chiefly through movement about six days per week. The daily activity of your body ensures that you are providing your muscles and skeleton with the motion necessary for good health.
Still, wondering how many calories do we burn a day? The Harris-Benedict formula can help you determine the number of calories you burn a day. This formula will help you calculate the BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate). It is the number of calories your body needs to function while you are at rest. The calculation will determine the number of calories your body needs. You must remember that apart from your weight and intensity of the workout, hormones also play a vital role in helping you lose calories.
Without much calculation, we can answer the question – “how many calories should I burn a day”:
- Daily calories burned: 15-16 calories/pound of your body weight
- Calories required for weight loss: 12-13 calories/pound of body weight
- Calories required for weight gain: 18-19 calories/pound of body weight
How Many Calories Does The Average Person Burn A Day?
Here are the steps to calculate the calories an average person burns a day and get to know how to calculate the calories you burn during exercise.
Steps to how to calculate calories burned in a day:
1. Calculate BMR
To calculate your BMR, you need primary personal data such as sex, age, and weight to adjust the formula.
The original formula for calculating is:
For males:
BMR = 66 + (6.2 x weight) + (12.7 x height) – (6.76 x age)
For females:
BMR = 655.1 + (4.35 x weight) + (4.7 x height) – (4.7 x age)
2. Work out your activity level
You must calculate your activity level. The activity level used in the equation is as follows:
- 1.2 or sedentary (little to no exercise)
- 1.375 or very lightly active (light workouts for 1–3 days a week)
- 1.55 or moderately active (moderate workouts for 3–5 days a week)
- 1.725 or very active (strenuous workouts 6–7 days a week)
- 1.9 or extra active (arduous exercise, training, or a physical job)
3. Using the complete equation
Put the numbers together. The Harris-Benedict equation is as follows:
BMR x activity level = calories required for weight maintenance
The list of activities that you can perform per day and get to know how much calories you can burn by these activities:
- Aerobics: 211 calories
- Stationary bike (light effort): 176 calories
- Stationary bike (moderate effort): 247 calories
- Dusting: 70 calories
- Gardening: 176 calories
- Grocery shopping: 106 calories
- Hiking: 211 calories
- House dusting and cleaning: 106 calories
- Jogging: 247 calories
- Running 12-minute miles: 282 calories
- Running 10-minute miles: 352 calories
- Running 7.5-minute miles: 428 calories
- Laundry, including folding clothes: 70 calories
- Mowing the lawn (no riding mowers): 141 calories
- Playing with kids at the playground: 141 calories
- Cooking: 70 calories
- Raking: 141 calories
- Shoveling snow: 211 calories
- Tennis (singles): 282 calories
- Vacuuming: 70 calories
- Brisk walking: 141 calories
- Walking while pushing a stroller: 70 calories
- Weightlifting: 106 calories
- Yoga: 141 calories
Things you should know to burn more calories
Workout slow and long: If you are not into running, then go for brisk walking. When working at lower intensities, the muscles burn a higher percentage of fat than carbohydrates.
Try to stay active: Constant activity is needed to keep fit and active. Sitting idle for hours reduces life expectancy. It would be best if you kept doing some simple exercises to keep the muscles working.
Relieve stress and sleep well: Stress leads your body to gain more calories. Try to stay calm and stress relieved to lead a healthy life. Sound sleep is very crucial to maintain proper weight.
Bottom line
A calorie is the measurement of energy. Our body needs optimum energy to perform bodily functions. It is vital to understand how many calories we should burn a day. The accuracy will lead to a healthy lifestyle. Calculate the number of calories you should burn with the help of a daily calorie burn calculator and begin your workout sessions. Keep track of the calories burning and never overdo the workouts.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q.1 How many calories can we burn during a workout?
How many calories you burn a day depends on your age, weight, sex, and other specific factors. As a general rule, you must aim to burn 400-500 calories by exercising five days a week.
Q.2 What are the simple workouts that can help me burn calories at home?
You can burn calories at home with simple and effective tips such as:
- Climbing stairs
- Dancing
- Aerobics
- Daily household chores
- Rope jumping
- Brisk walking
Q.3 Are the calorie calculators accurate?
The calorie calculators are mostly accurate. But the calorie consumption depends upon the food you intake. The calories listed on the food are not always exact. The companies are allowed to use any of the five different methods to count on the calorie meter. The various techniques produce inaccuracies in the range of +/-20%.
Q.4 How many calories can we burn with sit-ups?
Fifty sit-ups burn around ten calories.
Q.5 What are the factors that contribute to calorie burning?
Several factors contribute to how many calories you burn a day.
- The intensity of an activity done by you is one of them. With the increasing intensity of your workout, the calories you burn also increases.
- People who weigh more burn more calories.
- Body composition is another vital factor. People with more muscles tend to burn more calories as protein requires more energy than fat to maintain.
