A Complete Guide for Burning 5,000 Calories Per Day

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The best diet and exercise practices to meet your daily calorie goal

Co-authored by Julian Arana, M.S.eD., NCSF-CPT and Bertha Isabel Crombet, PhD

Last Updated: December 4, 2024 Fact Checked

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Is it possible to burn 5000 calories a day?

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Calorie Burning Workouts

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Diet

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Lifestyle Changes

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Additional Tips and Tricks

If you’re on a weight loss journey, burning as many calories as possible is key. While our bodies burn calories simply by existing, burning 5000 calories a day is not for the faint of heart—nor should it be! Although burning so many calories daily is not impossible, it does involve a high level of exercise, discipline, and nutrition. Here are the best practices, supported by expert advice, on how you can burn 5000 calories daily.

How to Burn 5000 Calories a Day

Although burning 5000 calories a day can certainly pose a challenge, the most effective strategy involves rigorous exercise and overall increased activity.
Many other factors affect weight loss, such as diet and sleep. Maintaining a healthy diet and sticking to a consistent sleep schedule will continue promoting weight loss.
One good way to accurately measure how many calories you’re burning daily is to invest in a calorie-tracking device, like a Garmin or smartwatch.

Section 1 of 5:

Is it possible to burn 5000 calories a day?

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Yes—but it requires rigorous exercise and a total change in lifestyle. Walking on the treadmill for an hour on an incline is a great way to start shedding calories, and ultimately, those pesky pounds. In fact, contestants on The Biggest Loser have attributed this form of cardio to the majority of their weight loss.^{[1]
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Research source} Then, you can start implementing more rigorous workout routines, like HIIT and cycling.
- Protein and drinking water should also be top priorities. Consuming protein can help you feel fuller longer, which immediately reduces the risk of snacking and overeating, minimizing your overall caloric intake. Additionally, digesting protein burns more calories than its macronutrient counterparts.
- Hydrating is important, too—during, before, and after your workouts. Drinking water can not only catalyze your metabolism, but it also helps fight hunger.
- Finally, allowing your body the rest it needs to instrumental in weight loss. You burn about 50 calories per hour you’re asleep and REM sleep is prime calorie burning time. So, aim to go to bed at the same time each night and to wake up at the same time each morning. Your sore muscles will thank you.
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Consider other external factors, like gender, age, and basal metabolic rate. Calories are burned via physical activity, and that includes everything from basic physiological functions like breathing to competing in a triathlon. One of the major determining factors of weight loss is identifying your basal metabolic rate, which is how many calories you burn naturally without any extra effort. This is what most people think of when referring to having a fast or slow metabolism.
- For men, basal metabolic rate can be calculated by multiplying their weight times 13; for women, times 11. For example, a 160-lb woman burns about 1760 calories daily, even if they’re the ultimate couch potato! You can also use an online calculator that factors in age, height, and current level of activity.^{[2]
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- After doing the math, you only have to make up the difference to meet your 5000 calorie a day goal. High energy workouts, coupled with significant changes in lifestyle, can certainly render the extreme results you seek, as long as you’re prepared to sweat it out! The proof will be in the pudding— or lack thereof.

Section 2 of 5:

Calorie Burning Workouts

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HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training). In a HIIT session, you can expect to burn up to several hundred calories, depending on a variety of factors. One major incentive of HIIT is that it typically requires only 20-30 minutes of your time, although it definitely makes up for it in intensity! HIIT is designed to take turns testing your cardiovascular endurance while alternating with brief periods of rest. Do a light warm-up prior to beginning your circuit. Prepare to do each exercise for about 45 seconds, with 15 second intervals of rest, and repeating for 3-4 rounds.^{[3]
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Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School's Educational Site for the Public

Go to source} Some calorie burning HIIT workouts include:
- Burpees: This full body workout will truly make you feel the burn! Engaging multiple muscle groups at once, you’ll start in a standing position. Then, bend down into a squat, and place your arms on the ground in front of you to get into a pushup position. Perform a pushup, pop right back up, and jump. Rinse and repeat until drenched in sweat!
- Mountain Climbers: Targeting arms, core, and quads, the name of this exercise sets high expectations, and rightfully so! Begin in a pushup position. Then, lift one knee up to your chest, followed by the other. Before you know it, you’ll have climbed a mountain—horizontally, on your living room floor.
- Push-Ups:This exercise is a tried-and-true method to burning calories and shedding pounds. Beginning in a plank position, simply lower yourself as close to the ground as possible and then prop yourself back up. A great way to tone up your arms, chest, and shoulders, a few rounds of pushups will have you catching your breath—during the few seconds of rest you get!
Depending on the intensity of your ride, cycling can burn upwards of 300 calories an hour. Whether your workout takes place on a stationary bike at the gym or on a scenic bike trip in the country, cycling can be a fun and efficient way to keep chiseling away at the 5000-a-day calorie goal... and those six pack abs!^{[4]
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If you want to feel the burn without technically breaking a sweat, swimming is a great option. Both a full body exercise and fulfilling hobby, swimming can burn about 500 calories on average per hour with the amount of effort it takes to stay afloat. ^{[5]
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Whether you’re walking on a treadmill or running a cross-country marathon a la Forrest Gump, cardio even in its simplest form will help your caloric deficit along. Going on an hour-long walk around your neighborhood at a moderate pace can burn hundreds of calories, and don’t underestimate its benefits to your cardiovascular health!^{[6]
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Mayo Clinic
Educational website from one of the world's leading hospitals

Go to source} If you do decide to speed up, running can burn closer to 1000 calories an hour. Look at that—only 4000 more to go!
Weight training works by introducing resistance to specific muscle groups. The more muscle mass you gain, the faster your metabolism becomes, and the more calories you burn! Muscle growth is essential to overall health and can help you achieve the tight and toned look of your favorite fit-fluencers.^{[7]
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American Heart Association
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Section 3 of 5:

Diet

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Reach for high-fiber, nutrient-dense foods. Similarly to protein, nutrient dense foods can help you feel full, which should keep you from reaching for a candy bar or bag of chips. Tasty as these treats might be, they lack any real nutritional value and result in you consuming empty calories—a no-no when striving to meet such challenging weight-loss restrictions. Instead, stick to lean meats, leafy greens, and legumes—all probably readily available in your fridge and pantry.^{[8]
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Mayo Clinic
Educational website from one of the world's leading hospitals

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- High fiber foods, like raspberries and broccoli, contribute to the feeling of fullness fat-burning. Fuel your body and your body will fuel your workouts accordingly. Nobody said burning 5000 calories a day would be easy—or delicious— but the fulfillment of meeting your difficult goals could be worth it.
EXPERT TIP

Julian Arana, M.S.eD., NCSF-CPT
Certified Personal Trainer
Julian Arana is a Personal Trainer and the Founder of B-Fit Training Studios, a personal training and wellness set of studios based in Miami, Florida. Julian has over 12 years of personal training and coaching experience. He is a certified personal trainer (CPT) by the National Council on Strength and Fitness (NCSF). He has a BS in Exercise Physiology from Florida International University and an MS in Exercise Physiology specializing in strength and conditioning from the University of Miami.

Julian Arana, M.S.eD., NCSF-CPT
Certified Personal Trainer

Portion control plays a major role in weight loss. Many people struggle to get their portion sizes right when tracking the foods they’re eating. Unless you are weighing and measuring everything you eat, you may be underestimating the amount of calories you’re eating, which can make a big difference in your progress. For example, the difference between one and two tablespoons of peanut butter is almost 100 calories!
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Don’t drink your calories. When aiming to burn thousands upon thousands of extra calories a day, being very selective about what you’re putting in your body has to be a top concern. This would be a great opportunity to cut out sugary drinks and alcohol as they serve no real purpose other than pleasure, which is just not the current objective.
- A single cocktail, like a mojito or Moscow mule, can add 200-300 calories to your daily count, subtracting from the likelihood that you’ll meet your 5000-calorie goal. If the numbers aren’t reason enough, your body takes longer to process and digest alcohol, which slows down your metabolism.
- The next best time to have an adult beverage might be to celebrate just how far you’ve come in your weight-loss journey!^{[9]
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Spice up your meals. Capsaicin, the main culprit in spicy foods, warms your body up from the inside, literally burning more calories and speeding up your metabolic processes. If you’re still not sold on the calorie-burning powers of the jalapeño, some studies show that people are less hungry after consuming spicy foods versus their bland, under seasoned counterparts. Like capsaicin, cinnamon has thermogenic properties that demand more energy to be processed during digestion, and therefore, more calories burned.
- Try adding a sprinkle of cinnamon to your toast at breakfast—your belly fat will thank you as it melts off!^{[10]
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Section 4 of 5:

Lifestyle Changes

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Purchasing a device to help track your calories can be a total game-changer. A pedometer, like a Fitbit or a Garmin, that tracks both your steps and calories burned is a good option. If you’d prefer something that synthesizes a bit more data, an Apple Watch or a Samsung Watch could fit the bill.^{[11]
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Research source} No matter which way you go, knowing exactly how many calories you’re burning daily is essential to meeting your 5000-calorie goal!
If you’re communing to work in your car, consider biking to work instead. If you live on the third floor of an apartment building, pretend the elevator is undergoing maintenance... every single day. At the grocery store, park as far away from the entrance as you can to get some extra steps in. After all, every ounce of effort you exert can be measure in calories, which can eventually amount to 5000 if you put your mind—and muscles—into it.^{[12]
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MedlinePlus
Collection of medical information sourced from the US National Library of Medicine

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Section 5 of 5:

Additional Tips and Tricks

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Learn about the benefits of biohacking. Biohacking is the practice of using developing science and technology to capitalize on your body’s functions and abilities. Although often used for weight-loss purposes, biohacking can improve your health as a whole.
- Some examples of biohacking include cold therapy and intermittent fasting. Cold therapy works by exposing yourself to cold temperatures, whether that means turning your AC down to 65 degrees while you sleep or actively choosing to drink particularly cold water.^{[13]
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- No matter the method, our bodies will exert more energy to warm us up, which leads to more calories burned. Intermittent fasting aims to limit your eating window, allowing your body to use up its stored calories for energy during your fasting window.
- Don’t think of any of this as cheating—think of it as scientifically approved loopholes!
While weight-loss can sometimes prove to be a frustrating, slow, and stressful process, try your best to remain positive. It’s no secret that stress increases cortisol levels, which can stall fat loss, so pick an active hobby—or three— that you truly enjoy. Playing pickle ball, kayaking, and dancing, for example, can each burn hundreds of calories per hour while providing much needed endorphins.^{[14]
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Mayo Clinic
Educational website from one of the world's leading hospitals

Go to source} What are you waiting for? Make a playlist of all your favorite songs and go boogie!