How Many Calories Do You Burn Daily Without Exercise?

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Discover how rest and simple activities burn calories
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Burning calories isn’t just something that happens when you exercise—it’s the process your body uses to function. That means you’re always burning calories, even when you’re resting or not doing anything. So, if you want to know exactly what that means for you, you’ve come to the right place. Read on for an overview of how many calories you burn in a day doing nothing, with expert advice from physical trainer Dean Theriot.

Things You Should Know

  • The average person burns between 1,300 and 2,000 calories daily while doing nothing, but the exact number depends on age, sex, weight, and height.
  • Women can calculate their daily metabolic rate with the formula: 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years).
  • Men can calculate their daily metabolic rate with the formula: 66 + (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years).
Section 1 of 4:

Calories Burnt in a Day

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    The exact number varies by person, but overall, your body never stops burning calories—even when you’re not doing anything. That’s because burning calories enables your body to function (from pumping blood to breathing).
    • The constant calorie burn happening inside your body is called your metabolism. Thus, your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the minimum number of calories your body needs to consume (and burn) to run smoothly. [1]
    • Keep in mind that the energy your body makes while not doing anything is consumed in the food you eat. Although you naturally burn calories, exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle!
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    The actual number of calories you burn in a day without doing anything is subjective. Still, it’s possible to find approximate values with the average height and weight of a male, which is 5 feet, 9 inches tall (175 centimeters) and 199.8 pounds (90.5 kilograms). [2] Thus, in a day, depending on their age, men burn:
    • Age 20: 2,020 calories
    • Age 30: 1,964 calories
    • Age 40: 1,907 calories
    • Age 50: 1,850 calories
    • Age 60: 1,793 calories
    • Age 70: 1,737 calories
    • Age 80: 1,680 calories
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    However, keep in mind that the average woman—5 feet, 2 1/2 inches tall (157 cm) and 170.8 pounds (77.4 kg)—also tends to be shorter and weigh less than the average male, so the number of calories they burn while doing nothing is naturally lower. [3] In a day, depending on their age, women burn:
    • Age 20: 1,559 calories
    • Age 30: 1,516 calories
    • Age 40: 1,473 calories
    • Age 50: 1,429 calories
    • Age 60: 1,386 calories
    • Age 70: 1,343 calories
    • Age 80: 1,300 calories
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Section 2 of 4:

How to Calculate Metabolic Rates

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    For women, the formula is 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years). For men, the formula is 66 + (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years). Plug your weight, height, and age into the formula to find your BMR.
    • For example, a woman who’s 150 pounds (68 kg), 63 inches (160 cm) tall, and 20 years old would use the formula: 655 + 652.5 + 296.1 - 94.
      • The result is 1,506.6, which means she’d burn that many calories daily without doing anything.
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    Your BMR accounts for roughly 60% to 70% of your daily calorie burn, and the rest is from activities! So, use the formula (MET x your weight in Kg x 3.5) ÷ 200 to calculate your metabolic rate per minute for a specific activity. Then, to find your hourly BMR, multiply the result by 60.
    • “MET” (Metabolic Equivalent Task) is the energy cost of an activity. Activities like standing, walking a dog, raking leaves, and gardening all have different MET values—so they burn calories at different rates. Check the Compendium of Physical Activities online for a complete list of MET values. [4] So, using an average weight of 175 lbs (79.4 kg), daily activities burn roughly:
      • Resting, sitting, or sleeping: 108 calories per hour (1.3 MET)
      • Standing: 208 calories per hour (2.5 MET)
      • Walking a dog: 250 calories per hour (3 MET)
      • Raking: 333 calories per hour (4 MET)
      • Gardening: 417 calories per hour (5 MET)
      • Mowing: 500 calories per hour (6 MET)
      • Climbing stairs: 733 calories per hour (8.8 MET)
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    Everyone has a metabolic rate, but your specific BMR (and, therefore, the number of calories you burn in a day) is unique because it depends entirely on you. Finding your exact BMR means taking your height, weight, sex, muscle-to-fat ratio, and even genetics into account. [5]
    • That’s why you might find it helpful to use an online BMR calculator to figure out how many calories your body burns per day.
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Section 3 of 4:

Burning Calories for Weight Loss

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    If your goal is to lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you eat (or eat fewer calories than you burn). An effective weight-loss deficit is usually between 400 to 500 calories.
    • That means your goal should be to burn 400 to 500 more calories than you consume in a day or eat 400 to 500 fewer calories than your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). If you need to find your TDEE, try using an online calculator .
    • However, “Calories can’t be restricted too dramatically in a safe manner,” cautions physical trainer Dean Theriot. “Everyone has an individual amount they need…going significantly below that caloric intake isn’t healthy.” Generally, men need at least 1,500 calories per day, and women need at least 1,300. [6]
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    If you want to keep your current weight rather than gaining or losing any, try consuming roughly the same number of calories that your body burns for energy each day. So, for example, if your body burns 2,000 calories per day, that’s exactly as many calories as you should consume. [7]
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Section 4 of 4:

How to Change Your Metabolic Rate

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    Want to burn more calories with a higher metabolism? It’s very possible to change your metabolic rate through simple lifestyle changes—the foremost of which is exercise. That’s because exercise builds muscle mass, and more muscle mass requires your body to use more energy, even while resting.
    • Losing muscle actually slows down your metabolic rate (the speed at which your body burns calories), which is counterproductive for weight loss—so maintain a daily (or weekly) exercise routine that lets you preserve your muscle while still losing weight if that’s your goal. [8]
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    Protein helps you build muscle, so a nutritious and protein-rich diet is also an important part of raising your metabolism and burning more calories per day. [9] A healthy diet generally emphasizes lots of fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free milk products while also including protein foods such as:
    • Seafood
    • Lean meats and poultry
    • Eggs
    • Legumes (beans and peas)
    • Soy products
    • Nuts
    • Seeds
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    In terms of your metabolic rate, sleep actually helps you build muscle and maintain your level of fitness. Without time to rest, it might be harder for your body to recover after intensive exercise. The average adult needs 7 to 9 hours of sleep to be fully rested, so be sure to get at least that much each night! [10]
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      Expert Interview

      Thanks for reading our article! If you’d like to learn more about personal training, check out our in-depth interview with Dean Theriot .

      References

      1. ↑ https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/burning-calories-without-exercise
      2. ↑ https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/metabolism/art-20046508
      3. ↑ https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/metabolism/art-20046508
      4. ↑ https://sites.google.com/site/compendiumofphysicalactivities/Activity-Categories/home-activity
      5. ↑ https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/metabolism/art-20046508
      6. ↑ https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/calorie-counting-made-easy
      7. ↑ https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/calorie-counting-made-easy
      8. ↑ https://www.health.harvard.edu/diet-and-weight-loss/does-metabolism-matter-in-weight-loss
      9. ↑ https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/healthy_eating/index.html
      1. ↑ https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/sleep/how-much-sleep

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