How to Easily Calculate Your Basal Metabolic Rate
"Basal Metabolic Rate, BMR and Calculating BMR"
By Tony Ostian, Health and Fitness Director
Your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is the amount of energy your body needs every day to perform its most basic functions.
For example: breathing, digesting, circulation, etc.
Again, this is the amount of energy you'd require if you were to lay on the couch all day long without ever moving a single muscle.
Now, there are several ways to calculate your BMR.
One quick, easy, and accurate way to calculate your BMR is to simply add a 0 to your current weight (for example, if you weigh 150 lbs., your
BMR would be 1500 calories per day). This number will be accurate within 50-100 calories.
Since your BMR is the amount of calories required for your body's basic functions, your activity level will determine how many additional calories you should be consuming in addition to your
BMR amount.
To calculate how many calories you'll need to take in each day, find your
BMR, choose which of the following categories best describes you, and multiply the appropriate percentage:
| You aren't very active. |
You sit down most of the day and exercise very little or not at all. |
If you fit this description,
multiply your BMR by 20%. |
| You're lightly active. |
You sit most of the day, and work out three or less times a week. |
If you fit this description,
multiply your BMR by 30%. |
| You're moderately active. |
You get regular exercise four to five times a week or your job requires physical labor. |
If you fit this description,
multiply your BMR by 40%. |
| You're very physically active. |
You do very little sitting or standing around, your job requires heavy physical labor or you're physically active for four or more hours each day. |
If you fit this description,
multiply your BMR by 50%. |
ADD the number of additional calories you get to your BMR to determine the appropriate amount of calories for you.
After you figure out your BMR, use this formula as a guide in dividing your calories.
| Carbohydrates |
50% |
With an emphasis on complex carbs; beans, potatoes, corn, rice, pasta, bread, carrots |
| Protein |
25% |
Try choosing low fat meats like chicken, fish, turkey, and extra lean beef |
| Fat |
25% |
10% or under from Sat. fat |
In order to lose weight, it's important that you burn more calories daily than you take in.
However, not eating enough can also keep you from losing weight. When you don't eat enough, your body will hold on to and store as many calories as it can in anticipation of not being fed for an extended period of time.
This is exactly what you don't want to happen!
So be sure to eat regularly and pay attention to how much you eat and when. One of the best ways to keep track of what, how much, and when you're eating is to keep a
journal of what you take in each day. Keeping a
journal doesn't need to be done every day, but periodically keeping a
journal for a week's time will help you get an accurate picture of your nutritional intake and help you adjust the amount a calories you take in accordingly.
