How to Estimate Calories Burned in a Day

Your body burns calories without exercising. Breathing, digesting food and pumping blood through your veins takes energy and this burns calories. Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the amount of calories you would burn if you were to lie still all day. Physical activity beyond that burns more calories. These steps will help you estimate the number of calories you burn in a day.

Instructions

• 1

  Calculate your BMR. For women, the average BMR is between 1200 and 1700 calories. For men, it is between 1500 and 2000 calories. The rate varies based on age, weight and height. For example, a 5-foot-5-inch 35-year-old woman weighing 135 pounds has a BMR of 1308. She burns 1,308 calories a day by merely existing.

• 2

  Assess your light physical activity. This includes housework, gardening, light walking, bowling, light cycling, yoga and dancing. Low-impact activity burns approximately 4 calories per minute.

• 3

  Measure your moderate physical activity. This includes brisk walking, moderate cycling, light swimming, light weight training, playing low-impact sports, using the stairs and doing aerobics. Mid-level activities burn approximately 6 calories per minute.

• 4

  Determine your heavy physical activity. This includes power walking, vigorous cycling, strenuous swimming, heavy exercising and playing high-impact sports. Strenuous activities burn approximately 10 calories per minute.

• 5

  Add the number of estimated calories burned from all of your activities and then add your BMR to this number. The result is an estimate of the number of calories you burned in that particular day.