# How many calories do I burn a day? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 26, 2003, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-calories-do-i-burn-a-day/184530 "2003-06-26T15:24:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![d12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/71c47a/32.png) [@d12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/d12)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-calories-do-i-burn-a-day/184530/1 "2003-06-26T15:24:08Z")
Hey gang, The other day I was doing my cardio at the gym (trying to get the 6-pack showing) and I noticed I had burnt 300 and some calories, I was just wondering, how many calories do we burn (I know its different for everyone, just a ballpark figure) just lounging around doing nothing but living our ordinary lives. ---
**Author:** ![Planet\_of\_the\_Shapes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Planet\_of\_the\_Shapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Planet_of_the_Shapes)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-calories-do-i-burn-a-day/184530/2 "2003-06-26T15:29:04Z")
I think they say that you need about 2000 calories a day just to live. Obviously its more if you do a lot of exercise. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-calories-do-i-burn-a-day/184530/3 "2003-06-26T15:31:46Z")
I think what you’re looking for is your basal metabolic rate - ie, the amount of calories required to lay around all day. Most experts estimate it at between 10 & 13 calories per pound. There’s a calculator [here](http://health.discovery.com/tools/calculators/basal/basal.html), and doing a Google search comes up with many more.