Trendy diets will come and go, but using a calorie deficit (expending more calories than you consume) is one piece of weight loss advice that has stood the test of time. If losing weight is one of your health goals, you’re likely already paying attention to calorie amounts on nutrition panels and may even be amping up your activity level to up your calories “burned.” But at this point, you’re probably wondering: How many calories do I burn a day? As you can imagine, this depends on a whole range of factors, including what your activity level is. You may also be wondering if all calories are created equal: Is consuming a nutrient-rich food with 500 calories the same as consuming a donut? Understanding calories and figuring out how to think about them in terms of healthy weight loss is confusing. Fortunately, nutritionists are more than happy to set the record straight.
What are calories, anyway?
Before getting into how many calories are burned each day, it’s important to know what they even are. “Calories are a unit of energy, and they are important to measure how much energy the body is receiving from food sources,” explains registered dietitianMeredith Bechac MS, RD, LDN. The fact that calories are important is, well, important to keep in mind; calories are not the enemy. In fact, they’re vital. “Every cell in our body requires energy to function and food—fats, proteins, and carbohydrates—provides us with the calories, or energy, we need to live and function every day,” says nutrition coach Nicole Hagen, MS MPH. Here’s what else both nutrition experts want everyone to know about calories: Not all of them are created equal. “It’s important to consider the carbohydrate, protein, and fat quality in each food item,” Bechac says. This, she explains, is because different foods have different components. “A cookie and a side salad may have the same number of calories, but only the salad would be considered nutrient-dense,” she says. “Neither are bad choices and both are delicious. Yet, it is always important to be mindful of the benefits of your food choices outside of caloric value.” Bechac also explains that while the calorie content is the same, your body will benefit more from the salad because it has vitamins the body needs to function, such as fiber (key for good digestion) and antioxidants (which benefits the brain and heart). Hagen says different foods require different energy amounts to be digested, too. “Some of the calories in the food we eat are burned off as heat during digestion in a process called the Thermic Effect of Food (TEF), she says. She explains that the energy required to digest each macronutrient varies: Fat and carbs both have a TEF of between 5 and 10 percent while protein has a TEF of between 20 and 30 percent. “Along that same vein, meals high in fiber may also increase the TEF, while meals made mostly of highly refined processed foods may produce a lower TEF. [This is why] not all calories are created equal and why different foods affect how we feel,” Hagen says.
How many calories do you burn per day?
Okay, now you know what calories are. So how many of them do you burn on an average day? Both experts say there are a lot of factors that go into this number—besides a food’s nutrient density, which they already touched on. These factors include:
Genetics:Scientific studies have shown that our genes play a role in how fast we metabolize calories, which is why some people have an easier time losing weight than others. A slow metabolism burns fewer calories while a fast metabolism burns calories at a quicker rate.Your body type: Sex, weight, and height all play a role in how many calories are burned per day. According to scientific studies, people who are bigger burn more calories than people who are smaller. Also, people with more muscle burn more calories than people with less muscle.Sleep:Sleep can also affect metabolism, which in turn affects how quickly the body is burning calories. Not getting enough sleep can slow down metabolism.Menstruation:Metabolism speeds up in the third quarter of a 28-day cycle. So if you find yourself feeling hungrier around this time, this could be why.Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT):NEAT refers to the amount of calories burned by doing anything that’s not either physical activity or sleep. Things like walking to the kitchen to fill up your water glass, gardening, and fidgeting are all under this umbrella. “Even at rest, the body needs energy for all its unseen functions, such as breathing, circulation, and growing and repairing cells,” Hagen says.Physical activity: If you hit the gym during the day, you’ll burn more calories than if you didn’t.
Both Bechac and Hagen emphasize that the amount of calories someone burns daily varies greatly from person-to-person. With that in mind, the average person burns roughly 2,000 calories a day through NEAT. That’s why nutrition labels list calories based on a 2,000 per day diet. Different athletic activity levels also burn different amounts of calories. Below are some common forms of exercise and the average amount of calories burned (which again, varies significantly) doing them for 30 minutes, according to Harvard Health:
Walking 3.5 mph: Between 107 and 159 caloriesRunning 5 mph: Between 240 and 336 caloriesWeight lifting: Between 90 and 126 caloriesYoga: Between 120 and 168 caloriesLow-impact aerobics: Between 165 and 231 caloriesBiking: Between 210 and 294 caloriesRowing: Between 244 and 440 caloriesElliptical machine: Between 270 and 278 caloriesTai Chi: Between 120 and 168 caloriesSoccer: Between 210 and 294 caloriesTennis: Between 210 and 294 caloriesBasketball: Between 240 and 336 caloriesFootball: Between 240 and 336 caloriesHockey: Between 240 and 336 calories
In terms of how exactly the body is burning those calories—whether it’s during physical activity or rest—Bechac explains it this way: “As the body moves, heart rate increases, muscles are moving, breathing deepens, and calories are being burned. During this process fat is converted to carbon dioxide and water. Your body exhales extra carbon dioxide during times of physical activity as well as perspires to assist in fat or ‘weight’ loss.” While it’s good to know how the science works, both experts say there are other factors people who are trying to lose weight in a healthy way should keep in mind. Otherwise, you could put yourself in danger.
What people trying to lose weight should keep in mind when it comes to calories
Both experts emphasize that it isn’t healthy—mentally or physically—to obsess about calories. This can lead to disordered eating or excessive exercising, both of which are dangerous. “Calorie counting and calorie awareness is one way to create fat loss, but it is not the only way. And for some of us, it’s not a healthy way,” Hagen says. “Calories are a tool we can use to monitor our energy intake and energy expenditure, but if focusing on calories feels compulsive or obsessive, it’s best to choose another tool.” For example, she says some of her clients rely on hand-size portions or listening to their hunger and fullness cues instead of counting calories. If you do feel comfortable tracking your calorie intake and outtake as a weight loss tool, both experts say that creating a calorie deficit can lead to weight loss. “To put it simply, body fat is an energy storage depot,” Hagen says. “When the body receives more energy, or calories, than it needs, that energy gets stored as fat for future use, resulting in body fat gain.” Conversely, Hagen explains, when the body receives less calories than it needs, it uses stored fat. This results in fat loss. Hagen says that a conservative deficit is approximately 10 to 20 percent less than the number of calories an individual needs to maintain their body weight. In terms of creating a calorie deficit in a healthy way, Hagen says using calorie logging apps like MyFitnessPal and Lose It! can be helpful. But she also says they shouldn’t replace the signs and signals your body is sending you. In other words, if you’re hungry, eat. “To assist in burning excessive abdominal fat, an individual cannot focus too heavily or over-stress about counting calories,” Bechac says. “Instead, try putting a larger emphasis on selecting whole foods that nourish your body such as a variety of rich colored fruits and vegetables that are local and in season, choosing lean proteins such as chicken, fish, turkey or grass-fed beef, selecting whole grains, consuming fresh bone broths, drinking hydrating liquids, participating in moderate physical activity and exercise daily, and practicing mindful living.” Both experts also say it’s important to actually enjoy the foods you’re eating and the types of exercise you’re doing. Otherwise, you’re not going to stick with it. So if you hate to run, don’t feel like you have to go jogging three times a week just to burn calories. Try something else you like, such as an aerobics class or dancing. The bottom line is that it can certainly be helpful to know roughly how many calories the body burns a day—and how different types of activities can add to that burn. But calories aren’t the be-all end-all when it comes to losing weight—and they’re certainly nothing to obsess over. Next up, check out this science-backed list of 40 foods and drinks beneficial for weight loss.
Sources
Nicole Hagen, MS MPH, nutrition coach with a Masters degree in Nutrition Science and Public HealthMeredith Bechac MS, RD, LDN, registered dietitian at Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center
