Boost Weight Loss By Knowing Your BMR

January 16, 2022

Basal metabolic rate, or BMR is the quantity of calories you need for your body to work efficiently. If you are looking for a healthy way to lose weight, then knowing your BMR can bring you one step closer to your weight loss goals.

BMR helps you in assessing your caloric requirements to reach your weight goals. When you know your BMR and how many calories to consume, then you can easily burn a large portion of the calories you have consumed without making much effort.

Regardless of whether you're sleeping, chatting on the telephone, working, or sitting in front of the TV, your body is consuming calories by doing simple activities like breathing or beating your heart. The calories used to keep up with these fundamental functions make up your BMR. "Basal" basically signifies "base" — consider it the measure of energy (also known as the number of calories) your body needs to perform its basic functions.

BMR is one of many variables that helps you understand how many calories you should consume per day. It is also known as your total daily energy consumption (TDEE). Your BMR should be relevant to your TDEE. Your TDEE can be affected by many factors including hereditary, sex, lean body mass, age, and body size. Your hormonal wellbeing also influences your metabolism.

That is the reason why men have higher BMR as compared to women because they have large body sizes and lean mass levels.

BMR versus RMR

Most of us often use the word BMR in place of resting metabolic rate, or RMR, however, both of these terms are very unique.

BMR is the base metabolic rate of your body. It is conducted in a controlled lab setting, with individuals who have to stay in a dark, temperature-controlled room following 8 hours of rest and 12 hours of fasting in a leaned-back position.

However, RMR is the metabolic rate when you are resting, sleeping, or even when you are simply awake. RMR testing doesn't need to be conducted in a controlled setting and it is always 10 to 20 percent higher than your BMR levels.

Assessing Your BMR or RMR to Help With Weight Loss

Knowing your BMR or RMR can help you with understanding your everyday calorie consumption. Once you know your energy requirements, you can create a healthy calorie deficit to maintain your energy level while losing weight at the same time.

weight loss

Since many people can’t go to cutting-edge labs that are needed to determine BMR, mathematical methods are frequently used to make approximations. The most straightforward approach to measure your BMR is using any of the methods below either by manual calculator or you can also use an online calculator for BMR.

One of the most common methods of calculating BMR is called the Harris and Benedict method. This method was first used in 1918 and later updated in 1984). While it was designed to calculate BMR, it can also be used to calculate RMR. The method uses stature, weight, natural sex, and age to decide RMR and depends on normal lean mass levels.

In men,

BMR=66.4730 + 13.7516 x weight in kg + 5.0033 x height in cm – 6.7550 x age in years.

In women,

BMR=655.0955 + 9.5634 x weight in kg + 1.8496 x height in cm – 4.6756 x age in years.

The Mifflin-St Jeor method and Cunningham method are other methods that use similar factors however might be more precise.

Mifflin-St Jeor method-

Men: (10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) - (5 × age in years) + 5. Women: (10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) - (5 × age in years) - 161.

Conclusion

To get more fit, you need a caloric deficit, implying that you either should decrease your caloric intake or increase your everyday activities. Strength training is one of how you can modify your BMR by changing your body's structure. During strength training, your body consumes approximately two calories each day for pounds of fat you burn, however, if you gain a pound of muscle you can burn approximately six calories every day. To understand it better, gaining two pounds of muscle will build RMR by around 12 calories.

Studies:

Metabolic adaptation to weight loss: implications for the athlete

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3943438/

Basal Metabolic Rate and Body Composition Predict Habitual Food and Macronutrient Intakes: Gender Differences

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6893862/

Does basal metabolic rate predict weight gain?

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5039810/

Best Fitting Prediction Equations for Basal Metabolic Rate: Informing Obesity Interventions in Diverse Populations

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4278349/

Metabolic Slowing with Massive Weight Loss despite Preservation of Fat-Free Mass

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3387402/

Addressing Weight Loss Recidivism: A Clinical Focus on Metabolic Rate and the Psychological Aspects of Obesity