{"id":26717,"date":"2017-09-30T09:15:26","date_gmt":"2017-09-30T13:15:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=26717"},"modified":"2022-04-27T07:40:53","modified_gmt":"2022-04-27T11:40:53","slug":"how-to-calculate-bmr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/health\/how-to-calculate-bmr\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Calculate Your BMR (And Why It Matters)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"How
Photo: Pond5<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Think you need to run a marathon<\/a> just to burn off breakfast, lunch and dinner? Think again.\u00a0The human body requires a significant amount of energy (i.e. calories) just to function regularly. Each day, your body must breathe, blink, circulate blood, control body temperature, grow new cells, support brain and nerve activity and contract muscles. Staying alive is hard work, people! The amount of energy (in the form of calories) that the body needs to function while resting for 24 hours is known as the basal metabolic rate, or BMR<\/b>. This number of calories reflects how much energy your body requires to support vital body functions if, hypothetically, you were resting in bed for an entire day. In fact, your BMR is the single largest component (upwards of 60 percent) of your total energy burned<\/a> each day.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> 5 Intermittent Fasting Methods: Which One Is Right for You?<\/a><\/p>\n

While you can\u2019t magically change your BMR right away, knowing your personal number, how it\u2019s calculated, and which factors most influence your metabolism<\/a>, can help you use this data point to create a smarter strategy for weight loss (or maintenance).<\/p>\n

BMR: Your Basic Burn<\/h3>\n

To most accurately calculate BMR, an expert takes measurements of carbon dioxide and oxygen analysis after a subject has fasted for 12 hours and has had eight hours of sleep. However, a rough estimation of this data is possible using the Mifflin-St. Jeor equation, a formula introduced in 1990. Since it\u2019s proven to be more accurate<\/a> than previous BMR formulas, the Mifflin-St. Jeor equation is now considered the standard when it comes to calculating BMR.<\/p>\n

Mifflin St. Jeor Equation<\/h3>\n

For men:<\/strong> BMR = 10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) – 5 x age (years) + 5
\nFor women:<\/strong> BMR = 10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) – 5 x age (years) – 161<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll want to use a BMR as a rough estimate to set your basic needs,\u201d says Dr. Jennifer Sacheck, Ph.D, an associate professor of nutrition at Tufts University and co-author of Thinner This Year<\/i><\/a>. She notes that this won\u2019t vary too much for a male or female of the same age and body weight.\u00a0Why the emphasis on weight, height, age and gender?<\/p>\n

Weight and height:<\/b> \u201cThe more mass you have, the more fuel you need to sustain larger organs,\u201d notes Dr. Sacheck, explaining why heavier and taller individuals have a higher BMR. When you lose weight, your BMR decreases and you require fewer calories per day. In contrast, when you gain dense, heavier muscle, your BMR will increase.<\/p>\n

Age:<\/b> According to Dr. Sacheck, metabolic rate decreases as you age because muscle mass declines by five to 10 percent each decade after the age of 30. Luckily, it\u2019s not a certain fate for the over-30 crowd. \u201cWe can mitigate that when we\u2019re engaged in strength training<\/a>,\u201d says Dr. Sacheck. She recommends circuit training that incorporates full-body resistance exercises (think lunges, squats<\/a>, core work on a balance ball<\/a>). \u201cStrength training individual muscle groups in isolation won\u2019t be as effective in strengthening your body for daily movement that always incorporates a mix of muscle groups,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Gender:<\/b> Since body composition (ratios of lean muscle, bone and fat) differ between men and women, research shows<\/a> a woman\u2019s BMR is typically around five to 10 percent lower than a man\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Calculate Your BMR<\/h3>\n

[CP_CALCULATED_FIELDS id=”6″]<\/p>\n

[CP_CALCULATED_FIELDS id =”7″]<\/p>\n

Keep in mind, unless you have sophisticated tools to analyze your breathing or you\u2019re closely monitoring your heart rate<\/a>, you can\u2019t calculate exactly<\/i> how many calories you\u2019re burning with exercise and digestion alone. Plus, Dr. Sacheck notes that stress levels and illness can also slightly or moderately change your BMR. Nevertheless, a formula-based estimate is a good place to start if you want to keep your diet in check<\/a>.<\/p>\n

RELATED:\u00a0<\/strong>The 6 Best Ways to Measure Body Fat Percentage<\/a><\/p>\n

\"How
Photo: Pond5<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

TDEE: Energy, Explained<\/h3>\n

Once you know your BMR, you can make a more realistic guess of your total daily energy expenditure, or TDEE. This reflects the entire amount of calories, or energy, your body burns during a given day when you\u2019re sleeping<\/a>, ingesting and digesting food, working and exercising. To truly reflect the energy you\u2019re burning, TDEE takes into account two additional aspects.<\/p>\n

1. Thermic Effect of Activity<\/b> (TEA): This is the amount of calories burned while exercising. The more intensely your muscles are working \u2014 sprinting during intervals or flexing while lifting weights \u2014 the more calories you\u2019ll burn<\/a>. And if you\u2019ve completed a higher intensity workout<\/a>, your body will have to work even harder to replenish its oxygen stores, resulting in an afterburn effect known as EPOC<\/a>.<\/p>\n

2. Thermic Effect of Feeding<\/b> (TEF): When you digest food and absorb its nutrients, your body uses energy in the form of calories. \u201cIt\u2019s only roughly three to five percent of your daily calorie needs,\u201d Dr. Sacheck says, noting that proteins<\/a> and fiber have the highest thermic effect, meaning they require the most amount of calories to digest per calorie consumed.<\/p>\n

So how do we put a number on our TDEE? Taking into account your activity leve<\/a>l and<\/i> BMR, the calculators below can give an approximation of how much fuel your body requires. Note: If weight loss is your goal, you’ll want to create a calorie deficit. Aim to consume 90% of your TDEE.<\/p>\n

[CP_CALCULATED_FIELDS id =”8″]<\/p>\n

[CP_CALCULATED_FIELDS id =”10″]<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> 6 Reasons Why You Can’t Out-Exercise A Bad Diet<\/a><\/p>\n

The Takeaway<\/h3>\n

Knowing your BMR is important no matter if your goal is to lose weight, gain muscle, run harder or even taper from a training plan. It\u2019s the first step to getting an idea of how much fuel you need to keep your engine roaring all day long. The next step is determining which healthy meals<\/a> match up with your TDEE and leave you satisfied and energized. But it doesn\u2019t stop there! When your body fluctuates<\/a> or you change your exercise routine, revisit the BMR calculator to know if you should be eating more or less. When in doubt, consult with your doctor or nutritionist to make sure you\u2019re on the right track.<\/p>\n

Not a Daily Burn member? Sign up at\u00a0dailyburn.com<\/a>\u00a0and start your free 30-day trial today.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Originally published April 17, 2014. Updated September 2017.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Read More
\n<\/strong>The Truth About How to Lose Belly Fat<\/a>
\nCarb Cycling: A Daily Meal Plan to Get Started
\n<\/a>12 Brilliant Meal Prep Ideas to Free Up Your Time<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Not sure how many calories you\u2019re burning? We break down how your metabolism works, why it matters and how to calculate BMR. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":26829,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,7,18],"tags":[289,192,71,325,341,352,285],"class_list":["post-26717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diet-nutrition","category-health","category-weight-loss","tag-exercise","tag-metabolism","tag-nutrition","tag-scale","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2weight-loss","tag-weight-loss"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26717"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26717\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}