How many calories does it burn

Originally developed in the early 20th century, it was revamped in and again in to help improve its accuracy. The Harris-Benedict formula is a relatively simple process in which a person multiplies their basal metabolic rate BMR by their average daily activity level. BMR is the number of calories a person burns by simply existing.

BMR varies based on age, sex, size, and genetics. To calculate BMR, a person uses inches for height, pounds for weight, and years for age in the following formulas:. The results of the BMR calculation are then used to multiply against the average daily activity of the person.

Points are awarded based on how active a person is. When the BMR is calculated and the activities points are determined, the two scores are multiplied. The total is the number of calories burned on an average day. For example, to calculate how many calories a year-old, 6-foot-tall, and pound man who is moderately active burns, the formula would look like:. This figure shows that a man of this age, height, weight, and activity level can consume 2, calories and maintain his current weight.

He could increase or decrease weight by consuming more or less than this amount over the course of several days. For those who do not wish to make the calculations themselves, there are a range of calorie calculators available online. Most use a similar formula to work out calories burned. A doctor or nutritionist should also be able to help people work out how many calories they burn each day.

Many factors affect how many calories a person burns each day. Calorie counts for exercise and activity will vary from person to person. Age, sex, body type, and size influence how many calories an individual will burn doing a physical activity. In general, more intense or strenuous activity will burn more calories than lighter effort exercise.

The following calorie counts are based on a pound person doing the following exercise or activity for 30 minutes:. Anyone that wants to figure out how many calories they burn can input their statistics into a calorie calculator and find personalized results. The only way to get a truly accurate number is to go to a lab and have them hook you up to machines that measure everything from your VO2 max maximum oxygen uptake to your maximum heart rate. Since most people will not go to such lengths, use your estimate of calories burned as a base point to track your workouts.

If you typically burn a certain number of calories during a certain type of workout, you can increase that number to burn more calories or decrease it if you're feeling burned out or overtrained. Most cardio machines will give you a general number of calories burned, but keep in mind that's just an estimate as well.

The machine doesn't take into account all of the factors that influence exercise intensity such as:. Your best option is to use these numbers as kind of a baseline. Maybe they're not totally accurate, but you at least get a sense of which activities tend to burn more calories and you can tweak your workouts each week to get a little more out of your exercise time. For example, if you usually walk at 3 miles per hour, try bumping up your speed to the next level or raise your incline.

Even doing that just a few times throughout the workout can increase how many calories you burn. Just like counting calories in your food can help you reach your weight loss goals, so can knowing how many calories you're burning during exercise. Remember to keep it simple and only worry about the estimates for exercises you're actually doing. There's no need to overwhelm yourself with numbers right off the bat.

If you add something new, run it through the formula. Try to focus on the goals of staying active and eating healthy and you should notice some weight loss. Get exercise tips to make your workouts less work and more fun.

Assessment of physical activity and energy expenditure: an overview of objective measures. Front Nutr. Bushman B PhD. Complete Guide to Fitness and Health 2nd Edition. American College of Sports Medicine. Human Kinetics. The Compendium of Physical Trackings Guide. Aerobic fitness determines whole-body fat oxidation rate during exercise in the heat.

Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. A pound of fat is equal to about 3, calories, so everyone must burn 3, more calories than they consume each week to lose a pound of fat. Exactly how you do that depends on your preference and lifestyle.

The important thing to bear in mind is that it needs to fit easily into your life so you stick to it, says GP Dr Melanie Wynne-Jones. A 1,calorie a day diet should help you lose weight but still feel full and satisfied. But just making tweaks to how you eat can help with weight loss too.

And stick to three meals a day, says Dr Michael Mosley. Are you satisfied at the end? It may feel harder at first, but your stomach will start to shrink over two to three days and will quickly readjust to feel satisfied with a smaller amount of food.

Try smaller meals with just or calories for a tasty, light lunch. Protein is filling and helps to reduce your appetite, fighting off those food cravings. Plus, it actually increases your metabolic rate, meaning your body starts to burn through calories faster. That way you get those brilliant benefits for the whole day. For high protein foods, think eggs, tuna, nuts, chicken, fish, yoghurt, tofu, granola, even cheese and yes!

Protein keeps us fuller for longer, and post workout recovery, protein is essential to help support muscles. Sana adds that fizzy drinks and fruit juices can have lots of sugar and calories.

Aim for eight glasses a day. That alone can help you burn 96 more calories a day. This will help to fill you up and aid digestion. The NHS positively recommends them. Starchy foods, such as bread, rice, potatoes and pasta, provide slow and steady energy throughout the day.

But choose the whole grain versions — and enjoy potatoes with their skins on. This not only adds fibre to your diet to keep things moving; it also helps to make you feel full. Remember, when bread enters your system, it pretty much turns back into dough in your stomach. This is hard for your body to digest. Help it along with plenty of fresh fruit or veg. There is, however, quite a range in the number of calories in different fruits, so make sure you check them out. The Harris-Benedict equation is the most popular one.

It looks complicated but is actually pretty simple once you do the maths. You just need to plug in your age, height, and weight. The number you get at the end is the total number of calories you need each day to exist. Next, you need to work out your activity factor. Your activity factor is the amount of exercise you do on a daily basis.