How to Count Calories Based on an Activity

Use a calorie expenditure reference chart to count your calories per activity.

Tracking your daily caloric intake and expenditure is key to any weight management regimen. Though caloric expenditure can differ per activity based on your body weight and the intensity at which you perform the exercise, you can usually estimate the calories burned based on standardized charts for different activities and the length of time that you perform the activity.

Instructions

1. Use an exercise calorie expenditures resource to find the activity for which you would like to count calories.

2. Find the calories expended per 30 minutes for the particular activity at the weight closest to yours.

3. Multiply the calories expended per 30 minutes by the multiples of 30 minutes that you performed the activity (for instance, one hour of activity is two times 30 minutes).

Tips & Warnings

• If you use electronic exercise equipment, such as that at a gym, you can track your calories burned by entering your age and weight into the machine.

• You can also track calories expended per activity by using a heart rate monitor that takes your weight and age into consideration.

Resources

• Exercise Calorie Expenditures