10 tools
A free rucking calorie calculator that estimates the energy cost of walking with a loaded pack using the Pandolf load-carriage equation with Drain et al.'s modern correction factor — the same math used by US Army planners. Enter your bodyweight, pack weight, pace, grade, and terrain factor; the tool returns watts and kcal/min, plus a MET-only comparison so you can see how much extra burn the load actually adds. Every formula and assumption is shown on the page, and the underlying engine is the same one powering the CalBurndown mobile app.
Treat your weight-loss goal like a software sprint. This free generator plots your remaining calorie budget descending toward a deficit target between today and a chosen date, the same way engineering teams track story points. Enter your current weight, goal weight, and either a target date or a target daily deficit, and the chart fills in the other side of the equation. The output is a printable burndown curve you can pin somewhere visible — a tangible alternative to the usual scale-anxiety loop.
A free buy-back calculator that converts food calories into the physical activity required to offset them. Enter the kcal you ate and your bodyweight; the tool returns the equivalent minutes of walking, rucking, standing, stair-climbing, and other common buy-back activities, with MET values pulled from the Compendium of Physical Activities. Unlike pace-of-eating shame tools, this one frames the buy-back as agency: you ate the slice — here are five honest options for getting back to your target. Renders alongside the formula and citations.
Free calculator that quantifies the calorie cost of a sedentary desk job. Enter your weight and the hours per day you spend sitting; the tool computes the calories burned versus the alternative of standing or light activity, then projects the difference across a year. It also includes a built-in standing-desk swap so you can see what flipping even part of your day to standing would change. Uses the Compendium of Physical Activities MET values for seated office work — no opinions, just the math.
Most standing-desk calculators stop at calories burned per day. This one keeps going: it shows the cumulative savings across a week, a year, five years, and a decade — so you can see what the same habit compounds to over a career. Enter your weight and the hours per day you'd stand instead of sit; the tool returns daily and multi-year totals using Compendium-of-Physical-Activities MET values for seated office work versus standing office work. Same engine as the CalBurndown app.
Most TDEE calculators stop at calories per day. This one keeps going: enter your stats, choose a calorie deficit, and see the exact date you reach your goal weight. The tool uses the Mifflin–St Jeor equation for BMR, applies an activity multiplier for TDEE, then projects forward at 3,500 kcal/lb of fat loss with a sensible plateau adjustment. Same engine as the CalBurndown app — every formula and assumption is shown on the page, no spinner-screen 'premium plan' upsell.
A free weighted-vest walking calculator that estimates calorie burn using the Pandolf load-carriage equation with Drain et al.'s modern correction factor. Vest walking sits between unloaded walking and full rucking: the load is distributed across the torso instead of hanging off the shoulders, but the energy cost still scales with weight, pace, and grade. Enter your bodyweight, vest weight, pace, grade, and terrain; the tool returns watts and kcal/min, plus a MET-only comparison. Same engine as the CalBurndown app.
A free hand-portion calorie estimator built on the method nutrition coaches use when clients can't or won't weigh food. Your hand is your scale: a palm of protein, a fist of vegetables, a cupped hand of carbs, a thumb of fat. The tool adds up the kcal for the portions you ate and shows where the macro split lands. Research suggests hand-portion estimation is about 95% as accurate as digital scales for most people — far better than guessing, and infinitely more sustainable than weighing every meal forever.
A free NEAT estimator for Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis — the calories you burn from everything except sleep, food, and structured exercise. James Levine's research at the Mayo Clinic found up to 2,000 kcal/day of variance between people based purely on how much they fidget, pace, take stairs, and choose movement over stillness. This tool walks through job type, commute, household activity, fidget level, and standing time to produce a daily NEAT figure you can add to your BMR for a much more honest TDEE.
Free restaurant meal calorie estimator: pick a chain (Chipotle, Chick-fil-A, Panera, Olive Garden, etc.), pick an item, and start from the posted FDA-required menu calories — then add a practical prep buffer because real-world plates are heavier than the lab plate. Once you have the adjusted number, the tool converts the meal into body-weight-adjusted buy-back minutes (walking, rucking, standing) so the cost is something concrete instead of a guilt-trip. Same engine as the CalBurndown app.
