Free tool
Standing Desk Calorie Savings Calculator
Most calculators stop at calories per day. This one shows what the same standing-desk habit adds up to over 1, 5, and 10 years.
Saved by standing
86
kcal/day instead of sitting
- kcal/day saved
- 86 kcal
- kcal/week saved
- 429 kcal
- kcal/year saved
- 22,290 kcal
- 1-year lb-equivalent
- ≈ 6.4 lb
- 5-year lb-equivalent
- ≈ 31.8 lb
- 10-year lb-equivalent
- ≈ 63.7 lb
Cumulative calories saved
Your body adapts to chronic intake. The scale won't track these numbers cleanly. But the energy difference is real - over a decade, it's the kind of thing that does compound.
Buy it back
Open the CalBurndown app to log 86 kcal and see what to walk, ruck, or stand to stay on budget.
Formula & assumptions
We use METs (Metabolic Equivalents of Task) from the Compendium of Physical Activities to compare desk work while sitting versus standing.
kcal/min = MET × 3.5 × weight_kg / 200 sitting at desk, light work: 1.5 MET standing at desk, light work: 2.0 MET kcal/hour sitting = kcal/min at 1.5 MET × 60 kcal/hour standing = kcal/min at 2.0 MET × 60 daily saved = (standing - sitting) × standing hours/day weekly saved = daily saved × standing days/week yearly saved = weekly saved × 52 N-year saved = yearly saved × N
For lb-equivalent, we divide by 3,500 kcal per pound of body fat. That is a convenient energy conversion, not a clean long-term weight-change prediction.
Important caveat: your body adapts to chronic intake. The scale will not track these numbers cleanly over years, but the energy difference from standing instead of sitting is still real.
References
Ainsworth, B. E. et al. (2011). Compendium of Physical Activities: a second update of codes and MET values. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 43(8), 1575-1581.
Chau, J. Y. et al. (2014). The effectiveness of sit-stand workstations for changing office workers' sitting time: results from the Stand@Work randomized controlled trial pilot. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 11, 127.
Russell, B. A. et al. (2016). A randomised control trial of the cognitive effects of working in a seated as opposed to a standing position in office workers. Ergonomics, 59(6), 737-744.