It is not unusual to think of burning calories in the context of exercise you have do to lose weight. However, calories actually fuel your every movement, from breathing and sleeping, to walking up a flight of stairs. MayoClinic.com explains that calories are the energy in food your body must have to keep functioning. Scientifically speaking, a calorie is a unit of measure of the energy required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degree C. Typically, on a daily basis, an adult female who is moderately active and of normal weight, will burn around 2,000 calories.
The Basics
Whether you are active or sedentary, your body has a constant demand for energy. Energy comes in the form of calories you receive from food. Nutrients found in carbohydrates, proteins and fats provide the energy needed to fuel your body. Fats provide about 9 calories per gram, whereas proteins and carbohydrates have about 4 calories per gram. Your body converts whatever calories you consume during the day to physical energy or stores it in the form of fat as a type of fuel reserve. If you don't force your body through physical activity or reduced caloric intake to burn the stored calories, you will gain weight.
Basal Metabolic Rate
Even when you are resting, your body burns calories to perform functions, such as breathing, blood circulation and cell repair. The number of calories the body burns at rest is called the basal metabolic rate (BMR) and varies, depending on sex, age and body composition. According to MayoClinic.com, your basal metabolic rate accounts for about 60 to 75 percent of the calories you burn each day. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn while you are sleeping, which is why men tend to have a higher BMR, based on the fact that in general they have less body fat than women. Therefore, a typical man or "average Joe" weighing about 180 lbs., will burn around 600 calories sleeping eight hours.
Thermogenesis
Whereas the hidden functions of your body (BMR) account for the majority of calories burned, eating and digesting your food account for about 10 percent of the calories you burn each day. Thermogenesis refers to the action of eating, digestion, absorption, transportation and storage of food, or--in a nutshell--food processing. For example, if Average Joe spends an average of one hour a day preparing food and one hour a day eating, he burns approximately 325 calories over the two-hour period.
Daily Activities
Daily routines, such as taking a shower, brushing your teeth and getting dressed, are also activities that require you to burn calories. For example, average Joe burns about 82 calories a day dressing himself, 82 calories a day showering himself, and around 163 calories sitting and watching his favorite television programs. Keep in mind that these averages are based on a man who weighs 180 lbs. If you weigh less or more, you have to change the calculations for your stature.
Focused Exercise
MayoClinic.com lists physical activity or exercise, such as jogging, swimming or chasing after the dog, as the final part of the daily calorie burning equation. After BMR and thermogenesis, physical exertion is responsible for burning the remaining percentage of calories, which is about 10 to 15 percent. Estimations of calories burned during one hour of exercise, for a person weighing 160 lbs. are: low-impact aerobics, 365; backpacking, 511; bowling, 219; hiking, 438; rollerblading, 913; and walking at a 3.5-mph pace, 277.
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