BMR and How Can it Help Your Weight Loss Journey? Polska

What does BMR stand for?

Basal metabolic rate is an abbreviation that describes the basal metabolic rate, i.e. the amount of energy (calories) the body needs to carry out basic functions such as breathing, blood circulation, cell growth, thermoregulation, hair growth and hormone secretion. Many people confuse the basal metabolic rate with the amount of activity, but the basal metabolic rate is only related to the basic functions of the body. In other words, the basal metabolic rate only includes the activity of the body at rest. The basal metabolic rate is just one aspect of metabolism, the process of converting solid and liquid foods into energy. Every time you eat, food is mixed with oxygen to provide energy. Although you can only eat three times a day, your body's metabolic activity is a 24/7 process. In addition to the basal metabolic rate, your metabolism also includes the calories burned during daily activities and the calories burned during exercise. Together, these factors represent your total energy expenditure. Here's a quick overview:

Calories at rest: around 70 to 80% of calories are consumed at a basic metabolic rate. This includes sleep, and the human body can burn around 50 calories per hour.

Thermal effects of food: it takes energy to digest food. Around 10% of the calories consumed each day come from the breakdown and storage of food.

Active calories: includes calories burned when you are not exercising. It's also known as non-athletic active thermogenesis (NEAT) and includes everything from brushing your teeth to walking through the kitchen to make breakfast. Depending on what you do each day, you can consume between 100 and 800 calories.

Exercise calories: as the name suggests, these are the calories burnt during exercise, such as walking, cycling, running or strength training.

BSome people confuse the basal metabolic rate with the resting metabolic rate. Although the two are similar, the basal metabolic rate describes the calories required to perform the necessary functions at rest, whereas the resting metabolic rate (also known as resting energy expenditure) is the number of calories actually consumed at rest. Resting energy expenditure includes low-energy activities such as going to the toilet or making a sandwich for lunch. To calculate rmr, it is necessary to measure oxygen intake and CO2 emissions after 15 minutes without exercise and while sitting or lying down. In general, your basal metabolic rate will be lower than the mrr, because the mrr takes into account low-intensity tasks in addition to performing the necessary bodily functions. The basal metabolic rate is a measure of the number of calories your body needs each day to perform basic functions. The rmr, on the other hand, is a better tool for measuring the number of calories you burn each day without exercising.

BMR calculator

There are two types of equations that serve as a way to calculate your BMR – the Miffin St Jeor equation and the Harris Benedict equation.

The Mifflin St Jeor is a newer and more accurate formula that also adds your weight and height then subtracts it by your age plus a preset number – 161 for females and 5 for males.

The Harris Benedict equation dates back to 1919. This equation takes a preset number – 655.1 for females and 66.47 for males – and adds your weight and height and subtracts your age.

Here is an example using both formulas: A 20-year-old male who weighs 180 pounds and is 6-foot tall would have a BMR of:

Miffin St Jeor: BMR = (10 x 81.6466 = 816.466) + (6.25 x 182.88 = 1,143) - (20 x 5 = 100) + 5 = 1,864.466

Harris Benedict: BMR = 66.47 + (13.75 × 81.6466 = 1,122.64 ) + (5.003 × 182.88 = 914.95) − (6.755 × 20 = 135.1) = 1,968.96

As you can see, the Miffin St Jeor equation gives you a total calorie output of 1,864. This means your body will burn 1,864 calories if you lay in bed all day.

Using the same equation, an 80-year-old man who is the same height and weight will have a BMR of 1,564 when adjusted for age. The difference of 300 calories explains why many older people don’t eat as much because they don’t need as many calories per day.

Can you increase BMR?

While there are several uncontrollable factors that play a role in BMR such as age, sex, height and genetics, alterations to your body composition may slightly increase your BMR. However, any changes to BMR will be minimal and require strenuous resistance training.

Lean muscle mass burns more calories than fat – 6 calories per pound compared to around 2 calories per pound. That means the more muscle you have, the higher your BMR will be. Using simple math, you can increase your BMR by about 30 calories if you add 5 pounds of muscle.