The secret behind weight loss is no secret. It comes down to the number of calories "in" versus calories "out". The real secret for each person is knowing how many calories you need to burn to lose weight. You can use an activity tracker or an app that will help estimate your calorie burn or a heart rate monitor. These will indicate how much effort it takes for you to do a certain activity and that effort determines the calories you will burn. 

Another resource used to measure calories burned is the MET calculator, aka the Metabolic Equivalent of Task formula. If you don't know what that is, that's OK, most people don't either. The MET is a formula or "method" that calculates calories burned during a physical activity. The energy "cost" of many activities has been determined and is globally recognized by doctors, trainers, scientists, etc... Each activity was measured by monitoring the oxygen consumption during that activity, to determine an average oxygen uptake per unit of time. This value is then compared to the resting oxygen uptake. One MET is the energy expended at rest. Sitting quietly is a perfect example. 

For the average adult, this is about 1 calorie for every 2.2 pounds of body weight per hour. For someone that weighs 160 pounds, they would burn 70 calories an hour while sitting or sleeping. The number of METS increases with activity. There are many online tools where you can enter your height, age, weight and activity and the tool will calculate your expected caloric burn. However, VO2 Max is considered the best fitness assessment tool for calculating calorie burn. 

When we created KILOGEAR CUT, we tested variations of products and weights. The added resistance KILOGEAR CUT provides, requires the body to work harder, burning more calories. In order to guide our customers on what to wear and how often to wear it, we decided to have our gear third party tested with VO2 experts in Illinois, California, Texas and Georgia. 100% of tested participants realized increased calorie burn and heart rate while walking and running, when wearing KILOGEAR CUT.  

So, what is VO2 Max and how does it work? VO2 Max involves wearing a VO2 mask and heart rate monitor, hooked up to a VO2 computer and treadmill! The test begins at a light intensity and then gradually gets harder until you reach your maximum exertion point. The VO2 Max mask captures the volume of air inhaled and exhaled, measuring milliliters of oxygen used in one minute per kilogram of body weight. The VO2 system captures the collective data and determines peak oxygen consumption, calories burned during exercise at different heart rates, aerobic and anaerobic thresholds and target intensity zones. 

If you have the chance to complete a VO2 test, although it is not a walk in the park, it is a valuable assessment. Everyone has their own unique "optimal training zone". Exercising at different levels has different outcomes. For example, some levels intensifies fat burn, some increase endurance and some focus on heart health. Knowing your personal VO2 Max will help you burn more fat and get more out of your workouts. You can use some of our baseline VO2 findings as a means to get started or use the MET calculators below to compute how many calories you will burn walking the dog, cleaning your house, doing Tai Chi, Yoga, jogging or running. 

Ultimately, applying KILOGEAR CUT to all of these activities will burn more. The amount is up to you. The more you wear, in the gear and the longer you wear it, the more you will burn. On average, if you wear our fully loaded tops and bottoms, you can realize 20%-40% increase in calorie burn. Who doesn't want to burn more calories?