Updated in 2024Did anyone say that you have to do some kind of sport to burn calories effectively?
If so, that’s not true. Look at how many calories can you burn shopping:
CalculatorWant to learn more? Check what’s in and read further!
Contents
How many calories can you burn shopping?
An average person weighing 180 lbs (81 kg) should burn about 197 calories during one hour of shopping.
Considering that, this person could burn ~5900 calories every month if they go shopping for one hour each day. It can lead to losing almost 2 pounds if they keep their current diet and lifestyle. Not bad for this kind of activity.
Here’s a table presenting how many calories can an average person weighing 180 lbs burn during shopping for different amounts of time:
| Shopping Time | Calories Burned |
|---|---|
| 15 minutes | 49 kcal |
| 30 minutes | 99 kcal |
| 1 hour | 197 kcal |
| 2 hours | 394 kcal |
| 3 hours | 592 kcal |
| 4 hours | 789 kcal |
As always, the amount of calories burned is heavily dependent on the person’s weight:
| 140 lbs | 170 lbs | 200 lbs | 230 lbs | 260 lbs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 minutes | 38 kcal | 47 kcal | 55 kcal | 63 kcal | 71 kcal |
| 30 minutes | 77 kcal | 93 kcal | 110 kcal | 126 kcal | 142 kcal |
| 1 hour | 153 kcal | 186 kcal | 219 kcal | 252 kcal | 285 kcal |
| 2 hours | 307 kcal | 372 kcal | 438 kcal | 504 kcal | 570 kcal |
| 3 hours | 460 kcal | 559 kcal | 657 kcal | 756 kcal | 854 kcal |
| 4 hours | 613 kcal | 745 kcal | 876 kcal | 1008 kcal | 1139 kcal |
If you are wondering how many calories can you burn, enter your weight and shopping time into the calculator at the top of this article to find it out!
How to burn more calories shopping?
1. Walk faster
Increasing the intensity can impact the amount of burned calories. The faster you go, the more calories you can burn.
Don’t run around the store, but try to get a little tired after such shopping, so you will likely burn some extra calories.
2. Take longer routes
If you’re not in a hurry, and you’re serious about burning calories while shopping, make it like a long walk. Don’t push to finish. Enjoy your time, and try to move as much as you can.
Even if the thing you need is just right next to you, you can walk around the entire store for it, so you will burn more calories.
3. Go on foot when possible
If you don’t necessarily need a car trunk, go on foot, so you make an extra walk to the store and burn additional calories.
Even if you have to buy more things, you can consider going two, or three times in one day, depending on how determined you are and how much free time you have.
4. Do something when you are standing in line
If there is a long queue, ask somebody if they can hold a place for you and go for an extra walk around.
It may be weird, but let’s say there are 30 minutes of waiting.
You can:
- Stand and wait, so you’ll burn ~60 calories
- Or go for a walk around the store, and burn ~150 calories
The choice is yours.
Pros & Cons of burning calories shopping
Wondering if burning calories shopping is the right choice for you? Take a look at this list of pros and cons.
Pros of burning calories shopping:
You probably have to do some shopping from time to time anyway. Instead of doing this online, delegating this to other people, or driving to the store instead of walking, you can use some tips from this article and burn some extra calories.- For some people, walking around the store is much more enjoyable than walking in other environments because they can meet people and watch or buy some interesting products.
- It may be interesting for people starting their weight loss journey because it doesn’t sound like a sport, yet allows burning a decent amount of calories, especially if you follow some of the best practices.
You probably have to do some shopping from time to time anyway. Instead of doing this online, delegating this to other people, or driving to the store instead of walking, you can use some tips from this article and burn some extra calories.Cons of burning calories shopping:
- Walking around the store for too long can cause you to inadvertently buy more. For this reason, it’s best to make a shopping list and stick to it without buying anything else.
- If you get too involved, walking around the store very quickly can look weird. You must also be careful not to disturb other people.
Walking around the store for too long can cause you to inadvertently buy more. For this reason, it’s best to make a shopping list and stick to it without buying anything else.Alternatives to burning calories shopping
Walking
When you go for a walk, you don’t have to stop, and you can usually walk faster than in a store. Thanks to this, you can burn much more calories.
What’s more, when walking, for example, in the park, you don’t have to be so careful about other people, and you don’t have to think about what to buy – thanks to this you can, for example, listen to some interesting podcasts and spend this time even more productively.
Dancing
What do dancing and shopping have in common?
Both of these activities make it quite easy to meet new people.
Dancing, unlike shopping, is an activity that allows you to burn really huge amounts of calories.
For example, in 30 minutes, a person weighing 180 lbs can burn ~300 calories dancing, compared to ~99 calories shopping. If you enjoy music, don’t be shy, and consider trying it out!
And in case you are shy, and you don’t want to change it, you can dance alone at your place. It’s also pretty effective.
Physical working
Some people will notice that when we go shopping to burn calories, we can spend money on buying things we don’t need.
So, instead of burning calories as a shopper, what if you tried to burn calories and make some additional money?
Even if you already have your job, you can take some side job that allows you to burn a decent number of calories. For example, a good choice may be a warehouse worker or the recently popular profession of a food delivery person, in which you would move around on a bicycle.
Calories Burned Shopping Formula
To calculate the estimated amount of burned calories shopping, we use the following formula:
Where:
- CB – Calories Burned
With the following MET values:
| Activity | MET |
|---|---|
| Shopping, with or without a cart | 2.3 |
| Putting away groceries, carrying packages | 2.5 |
Example:
Question: A person weighing 200 lbs went shopping for an hour and a half. They were shopping with an average intensity. How many calories did they burn?
1. Convert weight to kilograms.
200 lbs * 0.45359237 ≈ 90.72
2. Calculate the result.
CB = 90 × 2.3 × 3.5 × 90.72 / 200
CB ≈ 328.63
Answer: A person weighing 200 lbs has burned about 328.63 calories shopping for an hour and a half.