Calories Burned: Cooking
Cooking is a light-intensity activity with a MET value of 2. A 155-lb (70 kg) person burns about 70 calories in 30 minutes and 141 in an hour. Adjust the weight and duration below for your exact number.
How to use this calculator
Cooking is pre-selected. Set your body weight and how long you exercised, and the calorie estimate updates instantly. You can also switch to any of 40+ other activities using the category buttons.
Understanding your cooking calorie burn
The estimate uses the MET formula: calories = MET × weight (kg) × hours. Cooking's MET of 2 means it burns 2× more energy than sitting at rest. It's classified as light intensity — actual burn varies with your effort, fitness level, and conditions.
Frequently asked questions
Calories burned: cooking by weight and duration
Calorie burn scales directly with body weight — the same session costs a heavier person more energy because they are moving more mass. All figures use cooking's MET value of 2.
| Duration | 125 lbs | 155 lbs | 185 lbs | 215 lbs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 min | 28 cal | 35 cal | 42 cal | 49 cal |
| 30 min | 57 cal | 70 cal | 84 cal | 98 cal |
| 45 min | 85 cal | 105 cal | 126 cal | 146 cal |
| 60 min | 113 cal | 141 cal | 168 cal | 195 cal |
Common calorie targets
How long a 155-lb person needs to do cooking to hit common burn targets:
- ·Burn 100 calories: about 43 minutes
- ·Burn 250 calories: about 107 minutes
- ·Burn 500 calories: about 213 minutes
How cooking compares to other daily life activities
Same duration, same 155-lb person — only the intensity (MET) changes:
| Activity | MET | 30 min at 155 lbs |
|---|---|---|
| Cooking | 2 | 70 cal |
| Cleaning house | 3.3 | 116 cal |
| Gardening | 3.5 | 123 cal |
| Mowing the lawn | 4.5 | 158 cal |
| Shoveling snow | 6 | 211 cal |
Related calculators
Calories burned in other daily life activities
Same calculator, different intensity — each page shows that activity's numbers by weight and duration.