The BMR Calculator is a measure of the Basal Metabolic Rate or the calories that are necessary to accomplish your body’s most basic (basal) activities, such as breathing, circulation, and cell formation. BMR is assessed in a laboratory setting under controlled conditions. The term RMR and BMR are often confused with each other and are interchangeably used but there is a difference between both of them. BMR is a measure of calories required for basic body functioning whereas, RMR is a measurement of the calories your body burns at rest. This rate is often tested in the morning after a full night’s rest and before eating or exercising. If you have knowledge about your Basal Metabolic Rate and the total number of calories you burn every day, it can help you understand how to maintain a healthy lifestyle for yourself.
In addition to BMR, the calories that we burn every day are also a part of our metabolism, through our daily activities. Here is a list of the different calories that we burn every day-
- Resting Calories– During sleeping our body burns around 50 calories per hour. As a part of our BMR, we burn around 70% to 80% of our calories.
- Exercise Calories– The calories that we burn out while exercising, running, and strength training are called exercise calories.
- Activity Calories- It is also called nonexercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT), it includes all our everyday activities, from running to brushing everything, we burn around 100 to 800 calories through this.
Why is BMR Important?
For starters, it guides you in understanding your calorie requirements and goals regardless of whether you are dieting or not. Knowing the BMR gives a calorie goal for the body to accomplish essential processes. A BMR of 1,500, for example, indicates that you must consume at least 1,500 calories for your body to function properly. This knowledge is essential if you intend to acquire, reduce, or maintain your current weight.
If you are planning to start a diet then the Basal Metabolic Rate can be helpful for you, you can understand the calorie requirement for your body, and only then you can reduce it.
Factors that Impact BMR?
There are various factors that impact our Basal Metabolic Rate, some of the factors are controllable whereas some are not controllable.
Gender: Men are generally taller and have more muscle mass than women, resulting in a higher BMR.
Hormones: Thyroxine, a thyroid hormone, regulates how much energy your body produces. People who have a higher level of Thyroxine have a higher BMR.
Age- BMR and age are inversely connected; children have a higher BMR than elderly individuals. In general, as we become older, we lose muscle mass. As a result, our BMR falls.
Body composition: Because muscle requires more energy than fat, those with larger muscle mass and a lower body fat percentage have a higher BMR.
Since each person has a different body and also various factors that are affecting the BMR, the BMR of different people cannot be compared and there should be no good or bad BMR.
BMR is typically between 1,000 and 2,000, implying that 1,000 to 2,000 calories are required to sustain the fundamental processes of the body. Women’s BMRs average around 1,400, whereas men’s BMRs range between 1,600 and 1,800.