Live MET session estimates with a gross/net split - so resting burn is not mistaken for a free workout bonus or a 1:1 snack coupon.
Educational estimate only. Not medical advice or a fat-loss guarantee.
By Ahmet C. Toplutaş·Site owner & editor · Health & fitness tools
Last updated May 21, 2026 · Reviewed May 21, 2026 · Planning estimates only - not tax, medical, or investment advice
01
Fitness trackers, cardio machines, and many online calculators report gross calories: the total energy your body spent during the session, including what you would have burned sitting still for those same minutes. That resting slice is not a workout bonus - you would have spent it anyway. Net calories approximate only the surplus above rest: the incremental cost of moving instead of sitting.
Confusing gross and net is one of the most common ways a 400 kcal machine readout becomes a 400 kcal dessert. The gross/net split meter in the panel makes that gap visible: the muted resting band is what you would have burned on the couch; the green net segment is what the activity actually added. Neither number is a fat-loss forecast - deficit math lives at the day level, not in a single session line.
Decision framing: “How much did this session cost above resting?” - not “I earned this snack 1:1.” If gross says 300 kcal and net says 210 kcal, budgeting food against gross over-credits the workout by roughly a third.
02
One MET ≈ resting metabolism. Compendia assign higher METs to harder work: brisk walk ~3.5–4.3, easy cycle ~6.8, run ~9–10. Panel presets are planning averages, not a promise your watch or terrain matched that tag today. Pace, grade, wind, heat, and fitness move the real number; custom MET lets you paste a research value while holding weight and minutes fixed to isolate intensity.
MET-based estimates assume steady-state aerobic work. Stop-start sports, heavy lifting with long rests, and interval sessions can diverge from a single average MET. Treat the output as a planning band, then tighten with heart-rate data or lab testing if precision matters for clinical or performance goals.
03
Both gross and net scale linearly with body mass in kilograms. A 90 kg person and a 60 kg person doing the same MET for the same duration will show different absolute kcal - not because exercise “works better” for one size, but because moving a larger mass costs more energy. Relative intensity (MET) can be identical while absolute numbers diverge.
Compare your own sessions with a consistent weight entry and method. Weight differences often explain most of “my friend burned more on the same run” before fitness enters.
Example: 30 minutes at MET 3.5. At 60 kg → gross ≈ 105 kcal, net ≈ 75 kcal. At 80 kg → gross ≈ 140 kcal, net ≈ 100 kcal. Same walk, same MET tag - different absolute totals.
04
The panel also shows a same-duration walk at MET 3.5 so a run, ride, or swim is not floating in isolation. The “vs walk” line is gross minus that walk gross - a quick intensity check, not a claim that walking is inferior. Walking is often the highest return activity for general health; the comparison simply anchors how much harder today’s session was than an easy walk for equal clock time.
A negative vs-walk value means your chosen activity burned less gross energy than walking would have for those minutes - common for gentle yoga or slow mobility work. A large positive gap signals a substantially harder session. Use it to rank sessions within a week, not to pick a “best” exercise for life.
Pair this with the pace calculator when running: pace drives MET more than duration alone. Thirty slow jog minutes and thirty tempo minutes share a clock but not the same intensity tag.
05
Tap each preset in the panel to reproduce these cases. Numbers round for readability; your live panel may show one decimal.
Example A · Lunch walk. 70 kg · 30 min · walk MET 3.5 (preset: Lunch walk).
Hours = 0.5 · Gross = 3.5 × 70 × 0.5 = 122.5 kcal · Net = 2.5 × 70 × 0.5 = 87.5 kcal · Resting slice ≈ 35 kcal. The muted band is more than a quarter of gross - easy to miss if you only read the big number.
Example B · Tempo run. 75 kg · 40 min · run MET 9.8 (preset: Tempo run).
Hours ≈ 0.667 · Gross ≈ 9.8 × 75 × 0.667 ≈ 490 kcal · Net ≈ 8.8 × 75 × 0.667 ≈ 440 kcal · Same-time walk gross ≈ 175 kcal → vs walk ≈ +315 kcal. Net is still the line to pair with food if you eat back exercise calories.
Example C · Custom MET. 80 kg · 60 min · custom MET 6.0 (easy ride compendium value).
Gross = 6.0 × 80 × 1.0 = 480 kcal · Net = 5.0 × 80 × 1.0 = 400 kcal. Change only MET while holding weight and minutes fixed to see intensity - not duration - drive the split.
Common mistakes. Logging gross against a food diary; ignoring net when “eating back” exercise; assuming machine kcal match Compendium MET; treating session burn as automatic fat loss without a day-level deficit; comparing sessions logged at different body weights.
06
Session burn answers “what did this block cost above rest?” It does not, by itself, answer maintenance calories, macro grams, race pacing, or medical exercise prescription.
07
Gross uses the standard MET formula (MET × kg × hours) and includes the energy you would have used anyway while resting for that same time. Net approximates the extra cost of the activity by subtracting a resting MET of ~1: (MET − 1) × kg × hours. Watches and gym machines often quote something closer to gross; fat-loss math cares more about net - and even net is only an estimate.
A metabolic equivalent of task. 1 MET ≈ resting energy use. Brisk walking is often ~3–4 MET; easy jogging higher. Values come from activity compendia averages - your pace, terrain, fitness, and form can differ. Custom MET lets you paste a research value when you have one.
No. Session estimates do not equal fat loss. Appetite, recovery, non-exercise activity, and weekly energy balance dominate. Treat the number as a planning sketch for workouts - not a permission slip to out-eat the session.
The MET equation scales with kilograms. Two people doing the same activity for the same time do not burn the same absolute calories. That is a feature of the model, not proof that heavier people “should” exercise more.
Sometimes for heart-rate-linked cardio, often not for strength or stop-and-go sports. Watches also mix resting burn into daily totals differently than this session calculator. Prefer the same method when comparing days.
No. It is an educational MET estimator. Clear new exercise with a clinician if you have cardiovascular, metabolic, or orthopedic conditions.
LIVE SESSION BURN
Gross ≠ net ↓Session presets
Activity (MET)
Updates live. Gross MET ≠ net exercise cost ≠ fat loss. Planning estimate only.
Net session cost
88 kcal
Gross 123 · resting slice ~35 · MET 3.5 · 30 min · 70.0 kg
GROSS / NET SPLIT
NET (ABOVE REST)
88
(MET − 1) × kg × hr
GROSS (MET TOTAL)
123
MET × kg × hr
The muted segment is roughly what you would have burned resting for the same 30 minutes. Many treadmills quote closer to gross; weekly fat-loss math should not treat that whole bar as “free food.”
Copy the link to save or share your results.