Basal Metabolic Rate

We all believe in counting calories, but restricting your calorie intake requires a plan. Firstly, you should be able to estimating the exact number of calories you require daily.

A tool that can help you with this is a basal metabolic rate calculator or BMR calculator. You just can to input information about your age, sex, height, weight and activity level.

Actually, the calculator has been designed on the principal of basal metabolic rate. It is metabolic rate at which all the mundane physical tasks are executed by the body.

These daily tasks could be walking, cooking, sitting, gardening, reading, typing etc. Such activities account for 60-70% of your daily calorie requirement. It is also sometimes known as the resting metabolic rate.

To maintain this basal metabolic, the body requires a certain minimum number of calories. This calorie requirement is different for everyone. The knowledge of your BMR helps in better calorie management and also aids in devising a more effective weight loss plan Many BMR calculators are available online, otherwise you can also do the math yourself.

To calculate your BMR, you would be required to know your weight, height and age. The formula is different for men and women.

For men, it is as follows:

BMR = 66 + (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) – (6.8 x age in years)

For women, it is:

655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) – (4.7 x age in years)

Now you need to add another factor to this calculation, the level of activity. Your calorie requirement will increase if you are physically active. So, if your lifestyle is sedentary, you need to multiply the BMR obtained by 1.2.

If you workout on 1-3 days in a week, the BMR obtained should be multiplied by 1.3. If you workout on 3-5 days or 6-7 days in a week, it should be multiplied by 1.4 or 1.5 respectively.

If you undergo athletic training or your level of physical activity is even more intense; then your BMR should be multiplied it by 1.6 or 1.9 respectively.

The number obtained is your calorie requirement for the day or the number of calories you burn in a day. If you consume the amount of calories obtained from the calculation, you will maintain your current weight.