Counting calories is important when you’re trying to lose weight, but the most rewarding part is subtracting the calories you’ve burned off through exercise. This helpful chart from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tells you how many calories common physical activities burn, from hiking to swimming to chopping wood in the yard.
This chart is divided into either vigorous-intensity physical activity or moderate-intensity physical activity. The most common physical activities for losing weight are traditional exercise activities, whether they’re performed in a gym or outdoors. Vigorous exercises like running, bicycling, and swimming burn the most calories, and the longer you do them, the more calories you’ll burn. However, on the days you’re feeling tired or worn down, even simple walking, stretching, or easy bike riding is better than sitting at home.
Many everyday tasks that you would never consider calorie-burning activities do, in fact, help you to lose weight as well. Gardening or pulling weeds in your own backyard burns approximately 330 calories in an hour for the average person, much more than most people expect. Even an enjoyable afternoon of golfing or hiking will help you drop calories and, in turn, shed pounds.
For people who want to lose weight, it’s helpful to know that people who weigh more than 154 pounds burn more calories per hour than those who weigh less. You’ll see results quickly as soon as you start doing a few physical activities per week, and then it’s just a matter of sticking with it!
How many calories are used in physical activities? [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]
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