The Importance of Knowing the Right Number of Calories by Learning How to Calculate Our BMR

The food we eat plays an important role in how we feel and how we look, but the number of calories is such an important rule to follow as well so we know how many calories we need to consume to meet our goal whether our goal is maintaining, losing or gaining weight.

What is Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)?

This is the short name of (basal metabolic rate) which is the amount of energy your body burns at rest on a daily basis. In other words: It is the number of calories needed to keep our body functioning while we are not doing any physical activities, for example reading a book, watching the TV or even just breathing.

What Does Your Basal Metabolic (BMR) Rate Tell You?

Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is a crucial metric that tells you the number of calories your body needs to perform its basic life-sustaining functions while at rest.

Knowing our Basal Metabolic Rate is important whether we want to maintain our weight, lose weight, or gain weight. BMR can help pinpoint the number of calories we should eat to meet our goals.

What is the Best Basal Metabolic Rate?

The best basal metabolic rate (BMR) for an individual varies based on their age, gender, weight, and activity level.

Most people’s BMR is between 1000 and 2000, meaning that people need between 1000 and 2000 calories per day to fuel their basic functions while in a rest state.

How to Calculate BMR

There are 2 main ways to calculate BMR; the Mifflin St Jeor method and the Harris Benedict method.

Mifflin St Jeor Method

The Mifflin St Jeor method of BMR calculation is one of the most up-to-date ways to calculate BMR, and is calculated as follows:

Female: BMR = (10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) − (5 × age in years) – 161

Male: BMR = (10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) − (5 × age in years) + 5

Harris-Benedict Method

The Harris-Benedict method of calculating BMR has been in use since the early 20th century and estimates how much energy you expend just by staying alive. It is calculated as follows:

Female: BMR = 655.1 + (9.563 × weight in kg) + (1.85 × height in cm) − (4.676 × age in years)

Male: BMR = 66.47 + (13.75 × weight in kg) + (5.003 × height in cm) − (6.755 × age in years)

Now we can easily figure out how many calories we need to consume each day depending on our goal:

• To lose weight: our calorie intake should be less than the calories we burn.
• To maintain weight: our calorie intake should be the same calories we burn.
• To gain weight: our calorie intake should be more than the calories we burn.