If you’re trying to lose, maintain, or gain weight, being aware of the active calories vs total calories “debate” is definitely something you need to take into consideration. These two metrics are very important in determining whether or not you are actually meeting your daily burning calorie goals. 

Whether you are interested in determining your basal metabolic rate, energy expenditure, or even how the total number of calories you’re consuming are comprised of active and total calories, we’ve got you covered in our discussion below.

Calories: What Are They?

The amount of energy that a food has and the amount of energy that your body expends is what we call “calories”. There are two types of calorie sub-categories we’ll discuss today: active calories and total calories. Both types work in different ways. Let’s take a look at each in great detail.

What are Active Calories?

The easiest way to remember what active calorie burn is of when you are doing “activities” or exercises. All forms of exercises, whether light (ex. walking) or heavy (ex. resistance training), that increase your heart rate fall into this category.

Another thing to remember is that active calories are the calories that you intentionally burn while working out. You can usually measure your active calorie burn by using a smartwatch, fitness tracker, or other equipment that monitors your heart rate and calories burned.

How About Total Calories?

Now, let’s go over to the next category of calorie burn, which is the total calorie burn. As the name implies, total calorie burn includes the total amount of calories that your body burns which is comprised of both active calorie burn and resting/passive calorie burn. 

…but…what are resting calories? Our bodies burn calories even when we are not exercising or even moving and this is what we call resting calories or resting metabolic rate (RMR). Throughout the day, our bodies require calories to maintain natural bodily functions like breathing, digestion, blood circulation, and maintenance of our normal body temperature. 

With that being said, the total caloric expenditure is what your body burns off while you are resting and working out. 

The Difference Between Active Calorie and Total Calorie Burn

Knowing the difference between active calories vs total calories can help you understand how many calories you are burning throughout the day. By understanding how these two calorie burn types differ, you can better manage your overall weight by adjusting your calorie counts accordingly.

For example, if weight loss is your current priority, you should increase your active calorie burn by increasing your physical activity (while also reducing the amount of calories you consume).

Since we’re talking about increasing physical activity and increasing the active calories burned, you might be asking yourself, “How can I track that by knowing the difference between active and total calories?”

To answer this question, setting a goal (preferably, a daily goal) is paramount. You should designate a specific number of active calories that you want to burn off during the day. Beginners can shoot for 200-500 active calories burned per day.

Pro tip: it’s very easy to calculate your calories through a smartwatch or any fitness applications on your smartphone! Make sure to set realistic goals so you won’t get overwhelmed in tracking your calories. Also, you have to count the calories that you have been taking in from your food too (counting macronutrients is very closely related to counting types of calorie burn); having healthy and nutrient-dense meals will always be the biggest part of your fitness journey.

What Are The Factors Affecting Active Calorie Burn?

Just like the saying that “each body is built differently”, this also applies to the active calories that each one of us burns. Certain people may burn more calories than others; this is determined by the following factors:

Duration of Physical Activity

The length of your workouts largely determine how many active calories you burn. Generally, the longer you engage in physical activity, the more calories you burn. If you perform cardio exercises and endurance workouts for longer periods of time, you can expect to have a higher active calorie expenditure throughout the day.

Intensity of Workouts

Engaging in more vigorous physical activity like resistance training, sprinting, and high intensity interval training (HIIT) can help you burn more active calories.

Age and Gender

Younger individuals tend to have higher metabolic rates which allows them to burn more calories than older people. Additionally, men can typically burn more calories compared to women due to differences in muscle mass and hormones.

Body Weight

People with higher body weight will expend ore active calories compared to those with lower body weights. This generally applies when performing the same exercises or workouts (assuming similar intensity levels).

What Are The Factors Affecting Total Calorie Burn?

We have initially learned that active calorie burn focuses on the amount of energy expended during dedicated training/workouts and total calorie expenditure encompasses the combination of resting calorie burn and active calorie burn throughout the day. But what are the specific factors affecting your total calorie burn? Let’s take a look:

Dietary Habits

Dietary habits can significantly affect the total calories expended in a day. Each food item ingested has a significant Thermic Effect of Food (TEF). TEF is the energy expended while the food is being digested and absorbed inside the body. Consuming more protein rich foods may result in a higher TEF than other macronutrients.

Current Health Condition

If you’re constantly stressed and you’ve been experiencing hormonal imbalances, it may impact your metabolism and total caloric expenditure. Other types of medical conditions can also affect total caloric output.

Body Composition

If you have a leaner body composition (which means you have more muscle than fat tissue) your total calorie expenditure is usually higher compared to people with higher body fat percentages.

Physical Activity Level

I have mentioned that increased physical activity levels and intensive workouts can contribute to higher active calorie burn. This can also be applied to total calorie burn. The more physical activity you engage in, the more total calories your body will burn.

How Do I Calculate My Active and Total Calorie Burn?

As previously stated, the use of smart watches and equipment can help you monitor and track your current active and total calorie expenditures throughout the day. However, only tracking the amount of time spent working out will not provide you with the more precise numbers that you need to track your calories. As a dietitian, I would like to help you make use of innovative technology and tools to help you monitor your calories on a daily basis!

Smartwatches (ex. Apple Watch)

Almost all smartphone companies now have their smartwatches that easily pair with your phone. These smartwatches, most notably, the Apple Watch, are equipped with heart rate monitors and sensors that can track your overall daily calorie expenditure. 

The best part of these watches is that they can provide you with real-time data on the active calories that you are burning during your workouts! After the day has ended, you can check your smartphone for close estimates of the total and active calories that you have expended.

Fitness Applications

There are a lot of fitness and health applications that allow you to record your daily caloric intake from food while also tracking your current active and total calorie burn. Regularly monitoring your caloric intake and checking if you’re expending more energy than you consume can help you track your fitness goals. 

Online Nutrition Calculators

Since diet plays a huge role in your active and total calorie burn, it’s vital to gain insights on how much you are eating as well as the types of foods you’re eating. As a dietitian I understand how challenging it can be to familiarize yourself with the amounts of calories different food items have.

Thankfully, online nutrition calculators allow you to record the specific food items you have consumed, providing information regarding its caloric and macronutrient profile.

Active Calories vs Total Calories…or Active Calories and Total Calories?

Learning how to navigate through your active and total calorie burn can help you set realistic body composition goals. Once you have mastered the art of tracking and monitoring your caloric consumption and expenditure, focusing on your diet and physical activity, you will start to experience real results.

Of course, if you are able to be more precise with your tracking, such as learning the “art” of counting macronutrients or by applying this tracking to a more specific endeavor (such as counting macros for CrossFit or another sport/fitness endeavor), you will achieve even better results. However, getting active and total calorie burn sorted is a very commendable goal for beginners and can be a good starting point for those who want to take more control in their fitness and dietary journeys.