How Much Calories Should I Burn A Day for Weight Loss
Updated · Dec 30, 2025
WHAT WE HAVE ON THIS PAGE
- Introduction
- What are Calories?
- What is The Relationship Between Calories and Exercise?
- What is a Calorie Deficit?
- How Many Calories Should I Eat in a Day?
- Estimated Burned Calories For Variants of Exercises
- Estimated Burned Calories For Various Yoga Styles
- Explanation of Different Yoga Styles
- Estimated Burned Calories For Daily Activities
- Conclusion
Introduction
If you are calculating the calorie intake, then you should also calculate the number of calories burned every day. Burning calories, in short, creates a calorie deficit to achieve weight loss. Considering our daily activities without exercise, our bodies naturally burn 1,300 to 2,000 calories, depending on gender and age.
If you are looking for an answer to how many calories you should burn a day, then you should initially check your fitness goal. On average, women should burn 2,000, and men should aim to burn 2,500 calories in a day.
What are Calories?
Calories are nothing but the amount of energy received by the body through food intake. The higher the number of calories in a food, the more energy your body gets. Excess calories in the body are stored as body fat, which leads to weight gain. Every food or drink that we consume has calories. Calories are built by protein, fats, and Carbohydrates. Protein is commonly found in poultry and dairy products, beans, meat, and eggs. Carbohydrates come from pasta, rice, beans, peas, grains, fruits and vegetables, and legumes. To maintain, reduce, or gain weight, it is always important to measure how many calories are in the food you are going to eat. Each food label comes with nutritional information on its package. You can read such information before making any purchase.
What is The Relationship Between Calories and Exercise?
The relationship between calories and exercise is that when you exercise more, you burn more calories, and vice versa. To achieve weight loss, a calorie deficit is created by eating fewer calories and doing more exercise every day. To burn more calories, you need to be active for at least 2 hours a day. Burning at least 500 calories will be sufficient to amount to 3,500 calories by the end of the week. This will help you to lose at least a pound of fat. Naturally, a person, depending on gender and age, loses around 1,300 to 2,000 calories a day without any exercise. But this is not sufficient, as you could be eating more calories than the ones you are losing. Therefore, exercising and managing the intake of calories will be sufficient to live a healthy life.
What is a Calorie Deficit?
In simple words, if you are consuming 500 calories in a day and burning 1000, then the difference between these two is called a calorie deficit. This results in weight loss. A calorie deficit is necessary for overall weight management. As we know, calories in food are simply the amount of energy that is needed for the body to perform regular functions. Your body needs to go through a calorie deficit to lose weight. Some of the ways to address calorie deficit are that an adult should do a moderate level of exercise for 150 to 300 minutes or 75 to 150 minutes of high-intensity exercise a week, plus reducing everyday calorie intake to the lowest amount. Eating healthy, focusing on salads, fruits, and vegetables, is the best possible way to achieve this.
How Many Calories Should I Eat in a Day?
The calorie intake depends on gender, age, and other factors such as medical history or any medications. Some amount of exercise every day is necessary to burn some extra calories to get into the game. Following is some information bifurcated according to age and gender on how many calories should be consumed in a day.
Female
| Age | Active | Moderately Active | Sedentary |
| 4 to 8 years | 1,400 to 1,800 calories | 1,400 to 1,600 calories | 1,200 to 1,400 calories |
| 9 to 13 years | 1,800 to 2,200 calories | 1,600 to 2,000 calories | 1,400 to 1,600 calories |
| 14 to 18 years | 2,400 calories | 2,000 calories | 1,800 calories |
| 19 to 30 years | 2,400 calories | 2,000 to 2,200 calories | 1,800 to 2,000 calories |
| 31 to 50 years | 2,200 calories | 2,000 calories | 1,800 calories |
| 50 years plus | 2,200 calories | 1,800 calories | 1,600 calories |
(Source: webmd.com)
Children
| Age | Active | Moderately Active | Sedentary |
| 2 to 3 years | 1,000 to 1,400 calories | 1,000 to 1,400 calorie | 1,000 calories |
(Source: webmd.com)
Male
| Age | Active | Moderately Active | Sedentary |
| 4 to 8 years | 1,600 to 2,000 calories | 1,400 to 1,600 calories | 1,200 to 1,400 calories |
| 9 to 13 years | 2,000 to 2,600 calories | 1,800 to 2,200 calories | 1,600 to 2,000 calories |
| 14 to 18 years | 2,800 to 3,200 calories | 2,400 to 2,800 calories | 2,000 to 2,400 calories |
| 19 to 30 years | 3,000 calories | 2,600 to 2,800 calories | 2,400 to 2,600 calories |
| 31 to 50 years | 2,800 to 3,000 calories | 2,400 to 2,600 calories | 2,200 to 2,400 calories |
| 50 years plus | 2,400 to 2,800 calories | 2,200 to 2,400 calories | 2,000 to 2,200 calories |
(Source: webmd.com)
Estimated Burned Calories For Variants of Exercises
The chart explains the burned calories for each exercise for 60 minutes of activity
| Activities | A person of 130 lbs/ 58.9kg weight | A person of 155 lbs/ 70.3 kg weight | A person of 180 lbs/ 81.6 kg weight |
| Cycling with a mountain bike (BMX) | 502 | 598 | 695 |
| Health Club Exercise | 325 | 387 | 449 |
| Playing Badminton | 266 | 317 | 368 |
| Playing cricket (including bowling and batting) | 295 | 352 | 409 |
| Bathing a dog | 207 | 246 | 286 |
| General Cleaning | 207 | 246 | 286 |
| Playing with animals, walking, or running | 236 | 281 | 327 |
| Leisurely swimming | 354 | 422 | 490 |
| Walking downstairs | 177 | 211 | 245 |
| Carrying small children | 177 | 211 | 245 |
| Moderate walking/running or playing with children | 236 | 281 | 327 |
| Playing soccer | 413 | 493 | 572 |
| Bowling | 177 | 211 | 245 |
| Competitive Basketball | 472 | 563 | 654 |
| non-competitive Basketball | 354 | 422 | 490 |
| Moderate running | 472 | 563 | 654 |
| Running at 5mph | 472 | 563 | 654 |
| Competitive football | 531 | 633 | 735 |
| Loading or unloading a car | 177 | 211 | 245 |
(Source: nutristrategy.com)
Estimated Burned Calories For Various Yoga Styles
| Type | Metabolic Equivalent of Task | 15 minutes | 30 minutes | 45 minutes | 60 minutes |
| Power Yoga | 4.2 | 90 | 180 | 270 | 360 |
| Hatha Yoga | 2.5 | 54 | 107 | 161 | 214 |
| Bikram Yoga | 5 | 107 | 214 | 321 | 429 |
| Hot Yoga | 5 | 107 | 214 | 321 | 429 |
| Vinyasa Yoga | 5.5 | 118 | 236 | 354 | 472 |
| Ashtanga Yoga | 4 | 86 | 171 | 257 | 343 |
(Source: sweatboxyoga.com)
Explanation of Different Yoga Styles
- Power Yoga – Power Yoga is a non-hot yoga style that has vigorous and energetic movements. It is important for improving strength and endurance.
- Hatha Yoga – Hatha Yoga consists of slow-paced as well as precise movements. It is designed to hold positions while breathing.
- Hot Yoga or Bikram Yoga – Bikram Yoga or Hot Yoga postures are performed in a heated room up to 105 degrees. The person is required to perform 26 poses in 90 minutes. In this way, it releases sweat, and thus, detoxification occurs.
- Vinyasa Yoga – Vinyasa Yoga styles support proper breathing and aligned positions. This supports cardiovascular workouts.
- Ashtanga Yoga – Ashtanga Yoga style refers to breathing exercises often called the ocean breath
Estimated Burned Calories For Daily Activities
(The calories burned in daily activities are estimated for 30 minutes of performing these tasks)
| Activity | A person with 83.9kg/ 185 pounds weight | A person with 70.3kg/ 155 pounds weight | A person with 56.7kg/ 125 pounds weight |
| Reading | 50 | 42 | 34 |
| Computer Work | 61 | 51 | 41 |
| Minor office work | 67 | 56 | 45 |
| Watching television | 33 | 28 | 23 |
| Sleeping | 28 | 23 | 19 |
| Grocery shopping with a cart | 155 | 130 | 105 |
| Sitting in meetings | 72 | 60 | 49 |
| Standing in a queue | 56 | 47 | 38 |
| Washing a car | 200 | 167 | 135 |
| Gardening | 200 | 167 | 135 |
| Cooking | 111 | 93 | 75 |
| Cleaning the gutters | 222 | 186 | 150 |
| Playing with kids, moderately level activities | 178 | 149 | 120 |
| Walking at 4mph | 200 | 167 | 135 |
| Moving lawn | 200 | 167 | 135 |
| Walking at 3.5 mph | 178 | 149 | 120 |
| Walking at 4.5 mph | 222 | 186 | 150 |
(Source: healthline.com)
Conclusion
Irrespective of your intentions of weight loss or gain or just maintenance, you are required to watch how many calories you consume and burn as well. Low-calorie food will help you maintain as well as lose weight, and high-calorie food will increase your weight. While you are gaining weight, you are also required to watch out for the exact needed calories, as excess calories are stored as body fat.
And it will result in unbalanced weight gain. Moreover, while focusing on how many calories you should burn every day, running is the best exercise you can do free of charge, which can give you maximum results. If you want to live a healthy life, start burning calories today!
Sources
Maitrayee, after completing her graduation in Electrical Engineering, transitioned into the world of writing following a series of technical roles. She specializes in technology and Artificial Intelligence, bringing her experience as an Academic Research Analyst and Freelance Writer, with a focus on education and healthcare under the Australian system. From an early age, writing and painting have been her passions, leading her to pursue a full-time career in writing. In addition to her professional endeavors, Maitrayee also manages a YouTube channel dedicated to cooking.
