How does BMR impact weight loss. What factors influence your Basal Metabolic Rate. How can you calculate your BMR accurately. Why is understanding your BMR crucial for weight management. How can you use BMR to create an effective weight loss strategy. What role does exercise play in altering your BMR. How can you adjust your diet based on BMR for optimal weight loss.

Understanding Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

Basal Metabolic Rate, commonly known as BMR, is a fundamental concept in weight management and overall health. It represents the number of calories your body burns at rest to maintain basic life functions. These functions include breathing, circulating blood, regulating body temperature, and keeping organs operational.

BMR accounts for a significant portion of your daily calorie expenditure, typically ranging from 60% to 75% of total calories burned. This means that even when you’re completely inactive, your body is continuously burning calories to keep you alive and functioning.

BMR vs. BMI: Understanding the Difference

It’s crucial not to confuse BMR with BMI (Body Mass Index). While both are important in health assessment, they measure different aspects:

• BMR: Measures the calories burned at rest
• BMI: Assesses body fat based on height and weight

Understanding the distinction between these two metrics is essential for developing a comprehensive approach to weight management and overall health.

Factors Influencing Your BMR

Several factors contribute to your individual BMR, making it a personalized metric. These factors include:

1. Age: BMR typically decreases with age
2. Gender: Men generally have a higher BMR due to greater muscle mass
3. Body composition: Muscle tissue burns more calories than fat tissue
4. Genetics: Some people naturally have a higher or lower BMR
5. Hormones: Thyroid hormones, for instance, can significantly affect BMR
6. Health conditions: Certain medical conditions can alter BMR

Understanding these factors can help you better interpret your BMR and make informed decisions about your diet and exercise regimen.

Calculating Your BMR: Methods and Tools

Accurately determining your BMR is crucial for effective weight management. There are several methods available:

1. Online Calculators

Many websites offer BMR calculators that use formulas like the Harris-Benedict equation. These tools typically require input of your age, gender, height, and weight.

2. Fitness Trackers

Some advanced fitness trackers can estimate your BMR based on your physical characteristics and activity levels.

3. Professional Testing

For the most accurate results, consider professional BMR testing methods such as indirect calorimetry or the BodPod test, available at some healthcare facilities and fitness centers.

Regardless of the method you choose, remember that BMR calculations are estimates and can vary. It’s often helpful to use multiple methods and average the results for a more reliable figure.

Leveraging BMR for Effective Weight Loss

Once you’ve determined your BMR, you can use this information to create a targeted weight loss strategy. Here’s how:

Creating a Calorie Deficit

To lose weight, you need to create a calorie deficit, which means consuming fewer calories than your body burns. Your BMR provides a baseline for this calculation.

For example, if your BMR is 1500 calories and you’re moderately active (burning an additional 400 calories through daily activities), your total daily energy expenditure would be around 1900 calories. To lose weight, you’d aim to consume less than this amount.

Setting Realistic Goals

Understanding your BMR helps set realistic weight loss goals. A safe and sustainable rate of weight loss is typically 1-2 pounds per week, which equates to a daily calorie deficit of 500-1000 calories.

Remember, as you lose weight, your BMR will decrease, requiring periodic adjustments to your calorie intake to maintain progress.

The Role of Exercise in Boosting BMR

While BMR primarily reflects resting calorie burn, exercise plays a crucial role in weight loss and can influence your BMR in several ways:

1. Immediate Calorie Burn

Physical activity burns additional calories above your BMR, contributing to your overall calorie deficit.

2. Afterburn Effect

High-intensity exercises can elevate your metabolism for hours after the workout, a phenomenon known as excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC).

3. Muscle Building

Strength training helps build muscle mass, which can increase your BMR over time as muscle tissue burns more calories than fat tissue, even at rest.

Incorporating a mix of cardiovascular exercise and strength training can optimize your BMR and accelerate weight loss efforts.

Nutrition Strategies to Support Your BMR

Your diet plays a crucial role in managing your weight and supporting your BMR. Here are some nutrition strategies to consider:

Balanced Macronutrients

Ensure your diet includes a balance of proteins, carbohydrates, and healthy fats. Protein, in particular, has a higher thermic effect, meaning your body burns more calories digesting it compared to fats or carbs.

Meal Timing

Some research suggests that eating smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day can help maintain a steady metabolism. However, the total calorie intake remains the most crucial factor.

Hydration

Staying well-hydrated is essential for optimal metabolic function. Some studies indicate that drinking cold water may temporarily boost metabolism.

Avoid Extreme Calorie Restriction

While creating a calorie deficit is necessary for weight loss, extremely low-calorie diets can slow down your metabolism. Aim for a moderate deficit that supports sustainable weight loss.

Monitoring Progress and Adjusting Your Approach

As you embark on your weight loss journey using BMR as a guide, it’s essential to monitor your progress and make adjustments as needed:

Regular Weigh-Ins

Weekly weigh-ins can help track your progress. Remember that weight can fluctuate daily due to various factors, so focus on overall trends rather than daily changes.

Body Measurements

In addition to weight, take regular body measurements. Sometimes, you may be losing fat and gaining muscle, which might not reflect on the scale but will show in your measurements.

Reassess Your BMR

As you lose weight, your BMR will change. Recalculate your BMR every 10-15 pounds of weight loss to ensure your calorie targets remain accurate.

Listen to Your Body

Pay attention to how you feel. If you’re consistently feeling fatigued or hungry, you may need to adjust your calorie intake or exercise routine.

Common Challenges and How to Overcome Them

While using BMR as a weight loss tool can be effective, you may encounter some challenges along the way. Here’s how to address them:

Plateaus

Weight loss plateaus are common. When progress stalls, try changing up your exercise routine, reassessing your calorie intake, or incorporating intermittent fasting (with medical approval).

Metabolic Adaptation

As you lose weight, your body may adapt by lowering your BMR to conserve energy. Combat this by focusing on muscle-building exercises and ensuring adequate protein intake.

Consistency

Maintaining consistency in diet and exercise can be challenging. Create a sustainable routine that fits your lifestyle, and don’t be too hard on yourself for occasional slip-ups.

Stress and Sleep

Both stress and lack of sleep can negatively impact your metabolism. Prioritize stress management techniques and aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night.

By understanding and effectively using your BMR, you can create a personalized and sustainable approach to weight loss. Remember, successful weight management is a long-term commitment that involves not just calorie counting, but also adopting healthy lifestyle habits. Always consult with healthcare professionals before making significant changes to your diet or exercise routine, especially if you have any underlying health conditions.

How To Effectively Use The BMR To Lose Weight

Simple definitions would be that BMR is Basal Metabolic Rate. The number of calories you need just for your body to function “your basal metabolic rate”, Bottom of Form. Not to be confused with BMI, which is another common term for discussion when it comes to weight management. Find out more about BMI which stands for Body Mass Index here.

You burn most of your daily calories with little to no conscious effort. Whether you’re talking on the phone, working at a keyboard, or just watching television, your body is burning calories to keep your heart pumping, your lungs breathing, and your organs functioning. The calories used to maintain these basic bodily functions add up to your basal metabolic rate (BMR). Basal essentially means basic — think of it as the number of calories that’s just enough to cover all your body’s basic needs.

If you were to do nothing but lay in bed or binge-watch your favorite show, these would be the calories you’d burn – just enough to keep you alive. Your BMR accounts for approximately 60 percent to 75 percent of the total calories you use daily. And again, there’s no physical activity required for this burn rate. It’s the calories you burn, the energy you expend without lifting a finger.

Knowing your BMR helps us here at IIFYM create an extremely effective strategy for fat loss, allowing you to better keep your macros on track and better understand the effect exercise has on your rapidly changing body.

Calculating Your BMR

The easiest way to measure your BMR is to use the BMR calculator by IIFYM. It only takes about 30 seconds to do. Our calculator factors in your height, weight, gender, and age, then we can plug this into our formula to create your macro blueprint.

Your Daily Calories

 Okay, this may sound counter-intuitive, but you’re going to eat the same number of calories every day – whether you work out or not. That’s because the calories necessary to hit your macro will have you at a calorie deficit every day – whether you work out or not. You’ll burn calories daily — some days more, some days less, and that’s okay. Your physical body does need rest to work optimally, it’s an important factor in the big scheme of any fitness plan.

And… you’ll get to eat foods you love and not feel hungry or deprived. Talk about a diet you can live with.

Your Work Out

 The IIFYM BMR calculator asks for your level of physical activity for a very good reason. You can influence your BMR through exercise, spurring your body to burn more calories even when you are just lounging around – this is because muscle at rest burns more calories that fat at rest. So, it follows that the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn at rest.

• Aerobic exercise provides a temporary boost to your BMR, an effect sometimes referred to as after-burn or excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. This boost drops dramatically following an aerobic workout. Your BMR returns back to its normal level within 15 minutes to 48 hours after working out.
• Strength training provides a more lasting boost to BMR because it alters your body’s composition by shredding fat and adding muscle. We’ve already told you that muscle at rest burns more calories than fat. This is the reason men naturally have a higher BMR than their female counterparts – men usually tend to have more muscle mass.
• You can increase your calorie deficit by adding more exercise. You can also increase the intensity of your work outs to burn even more calories, and have a higher caloric deficit to shred more fat and add more muscle

The advantage of knowing your BMR is that you can find the perfect macro formula to have you losing weight at a comfortable rate for you. Lifestyle changes that you make to your basal metabolic rate make a huge difference in your physical body and in your overall health and wellness.

Eating To Lose Weight using the BMR Method

Losing weight while eating requires you to reduce your intake to below your total daily calorie requirement indicated by your BMR + activity level. Get your BMR Calculated here. Putting yourself in a 500-calorie deficit every day will likely result in the loss of 1 + pound per week.

Your BMR decreases as you lose weight, which means you need to eat even less as your weight goes down to continue to drop pounds. Loss of muscle may be partly responsible for some of the decrease in your BMR.

You may be able to offset some of the changes in your BMR with strength-training exercises to build muscle. Work out your muscles two to three days a week using free weights, resistance bands or body resistance exercises such as squats, sit-ups and push-ups. If you’re not sure where to begin, consult a fitness professional to help design an individualized exercise plan for you.

Article snippet reposted from https://www.livestrong.com/article/266994-how-to-lose-weight-with-bmr/.

 

What Is BMR vs. TDEE and How to Use Them to Lose Weight

Weight loss ultimately boils down to managing calories in versus calories out.

To lose weight (fat), you must consume fewer calories than you burn in a given day. Furthermore, the only way to know with reasonable certainty whether you are consuming the right amount of calories to lose weight is to track your nutrition.

To know how many calories to eat for weight loss, many individuals turn to one of the countless available (and FREE) calorie calculators on the internet.  

Now, it should be mentioned that these calculators merely provide an estimate for how many calories you should eat each day to lose weight, and you’ll ultimately need to dial in the exact amount of calories for YOUR body. Still, it’s a starting point.

So, when deciding how many calories you should eat to lose weight, you’ll come across several different numbers, but two of the most prominent ones are the acronyms — BMR and TDEE.

What are BMR and TDEE, and which one is best for weight loss?

Let’s find out!

What Is BMR?

BMR stands for “basal metabolic rate,” It is one component that affects how many calories your body burns in a day.

Basal metabolic rate accounts for the number of calories your body burns at rest (e.g., you did nothing all day but lay in bed binging the latest nonsense on Netflix). It will vary from one individual to the next as BMR is determined by:

• Gender
• Age
• Weight
• Height
• Activity
• Body Fat

Essentially, BMR is the amount of energy your body needs to “keep the lights” on. It’s the amount of energy required to keep your brain, heart, liver, and other essential life functions going to ensure you live to fight another day. 

Frequently, you’ll see the acronyms BMR, and RMR (resting metabolic rate) used interchangeably. While they are similar, they aren’t the same thing, FYI.

Technically, resting metabolic rate includes your basal metabolic rate and the calories burned during the digestion process and movements that don’t involve formal activities (i.e., exercise). 

What this means is that your resting metabolic rate RMR will always be slightly higher than your BMR.

What Is TDEE?

TDEE stands for total daily energy expenditure, and it represents the total number of calories your body burns in a day. One easy way to estimate TDEE is to multiply your BMR by 1.2-1.9 based on your activity level. 

TDEE is comprised of four main components:

• BMR (basal metabolic rate, which we already discussed above)
• TEF
• TEA
• NEAT

What in the world do these other acronyms mean?

TEF

TEF stands for Thermic Effect of Food.

TEF represents the number of calories your body burns digesting, absorbing, and utilizing the protein, carbohydrates, and fat you eat into amino acids, sugars, and fatty acids that your body can use to generate energy (ATP), repair damaged muscle tissue, synthesize hormones, and support your immune system.

The composition of your diet (i.e., how much of each macronutrient you eat) will determine how large/small your TEF is. Research notes that TEF can account for up to 10% of TDEE, which isn’t all that much in the grand scheme of things. Still, when you’re dieting for fat loss, every little bit helps (which is one of the reasons high-protein diets support weight loss — your body uses more energy digesting protein than either carbohydrates or fat).

TEA

TEA stands for Thermic Effect of Activity.  

TEA represents the number of calories your body burns during structured physical activity (i.e., exercise).

TEA can vary substantially from one person to the next or even from one day to the next, depending on the type of workout and how long it is or how intense it is.

NEAT

The final component of your TDEE is non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT).

NEAT represents the number of calories burned each day through movement not classified as organized activity (i.e., exercise). Activities that count towards NEAT include (but aren’t limited to): taking the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator, fidgeting, tapping your food, getting the mail, etc.

Similar to the number of calories you burn during exercise, NEAT will also vary substantially from one individual to the next and from one day to the next.

NEAT can also play a significant role in how high or how low your TDEE is. Individuals with more physically active jobs will have a much higher NEAT than someone who works sitting at a desk for hours and hours each day.

Using BMR and TDEE to Lose Weight

As we mentioned at the outset of this article, losing weight successfully is about managing your calorie intake versus your energy expenditure.

So long as you eat less calories than you burn each day, you will lose weight.

This begets the question, which number should you use — BMR or TDEE.

Well, BMR is the daily sum of all the energy your body uses to stay alive — keep your brain functioning, pump blood to your organs, breathing, etc. It does NOT include calories from activities during the day — digestion, brushing your teeth, rubbing your eye, cooking breakfast, lifting weights, etc.

In other words, BMR is the actual number of calories you need to consume to ensure basic functionality and survival. As such, that is not the number of calories you should eat each day to lose weight.

BMR is the “baseline,” and from that, we can estimate TDEE — the number of calories you burn each day, including those from exercise, regular daily chores, and digesting food.

If you eat approximately the same number of calories you burn each day; you’ll maintain your weight. 

Essentially, you can think of TDEE as your maintenance calories.

Therefore, to lose weight, you will need to eat less than your TDEE. 

How much “less” than your TDEE do you need to eat to lose weight, though?

A good rule of thumb is to take your TDEE and subtract 15-20% from it. This new number will be your “weight loss calorie intake.”

For example, let’s say that your TDEE is 2500 calories. 

To find your weight loss calorie intake, multiply 2500 by 0. 85 (85%).

This gives: 2500 * 0.85 = 2125 calories

Next, you will want to divvy your weight loss calories into individual macronutrient intakes (protein, carbohydrates, and fat)

Begin by setting protein at roughly 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight.  

Next, subtract protein calories from your weight loss calories (1 gram of protein = 4 calories) 

After the protein is set, you will establish your fat intake at 0.3–0.5 grams of fat per pound of bodyweight (where you choose to set your fat is highly individual and depends on whether you enjoy eating a higher fat diet or a lower fat one).  

Next, subtract fat calories from your remaining weight loss calories (1 gram of fat = 9 calories)

Your remaining calories (after subtracting protein and fat calories) are directed towards carbohydrates.

Consistently follow this calorie intake and macronutrient breakdown for two weeks to see if you’re actually in a calorie deficit (because remember, calorie calculators merely provide an estimate of your TDEE, very rarely — if ever — are they spot-on accurate).

If you’re not losing weight, subtract another 250 calories from your diet (or adding a few cardio sessions into your weekly exercise regimen) and assess what changes may occur. 

If you’re losing more than 1% of your body weight per week, you may need to increase your calorie intake slightly (100-200 calories). The reason for this is that losing too much weight too fast can lead to muscle loss.

Takeaway

BMR and TDEE are two common acronyms you’ll see when trying to lose weight, and they each have their place. BMR is a component of your TDEE, but it is NOT the amount of calories you should eat to lose weight. BMR is the amount of calories your body needs to “keep the lights on” and ensure you live to fight another day.

To lose weight, you need to eat about 15-20% less than your TDEE. This can be accomplished through a combination of increased physical activity and reduced calorie intake. 

The most effective way to track whether you are eating in accordance with your fitness and physique goals is to track your daily food intake using one of the many readily available fitness apps.

And, for added diet and weight loss support, make sure to check out our comprehensive line of top-rated weight loss support supplements, including Shredded Steel®, Steel Slim®, and Steel Core®.

How to calculate your calorie consumption: basic and additional – Losing weight with the calculation

How to calculate your basic calorie consumption

It’s no secret that in order to lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you take in. If the intake of calories depends only on the consumption of food and drinks, then the consumption is divided into basic and additional. Basic calorie expenditure is the amount of energy spent on maintaining life, and the additional one is the amount of energy that we spend on training and any other physical work. To avoid confusion in these concepts, let’s look at them in more detail.

Calculation of the basic calorie consumption (Basal Metabolic Rate, BMR)

The body spends much more calories on maintenance of life than on training activity. We do not notice this, but our body expends energy on breathing, the metabolism of proteins, carbohydrates and fats, cognitive functions and support of the nervous system, the heartbeat and the work of other internal organs, maintaining hormonal levels, sleeping, moving, and even eating. . The work of the body does not stop even for a minute.

Basic calorie consumption indicates the state of metabolism. It can be calculated using the following equations: Harris-Benedict, Mifflin-Jeor, Katch-McArdle.

Harris Benedict Basic Calorie Expenditure Calculation

This is the most popular and simple formula for calculating calorie expenditure per day. To do this, you need to specify height, weight and age. In 1984, it was revised to reflect updated medical requirements.

Current version of the equation:

Men: BMR = 88.362 + (13.397 × weight in kg) + (4.799 × height in cm) – (5.677 × age)

Women: BMR = 447.593 + (9.247 × weight in kg) + (3. 098 × height in cm) – (4.330 × age)

Calculation of basic calorie expenditure using the Mifflin-Jeor formula

This formula was born in 1990. She is considered one of the most accurate. For the calculation, you also need to know the weight, height and age.

Men: BMR = (10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) – (5 × age) + 5

Women: BMR = (10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) – (5 × age) – but it is calculated on the basis of lean body mass without taking into account fat, and for this you need to know your percentage of fat.

Calculation of Lean Body Mass (LBM):

LBM = [weight (kg) × (100 – %fat)]/100

Calculation of basic calorie expenditure (BMR):

BMR = 370 + (21.6 × LBM)

Basic calorie expenditure is related to both fat and muscle mass. The more muscle you have, the more energy your body expends at rest.

Why You Shouldn’t Increase Expenditure Through Dieting

A calorie deficit should never fall below baseline expenditure. Otherwise, the body will begin to save energy due to hormonal levels. First, it will lower the level of leptin (satiation hormone), then thyroid and reproductive hormones. You should always have available energy to support the endocrine, nervous and other systems. A healthy diet, an adequate deficit, and a commitment to long-term weight loss will help avoid hormonal imbalances.

Calculation of additional calorie expenditure

Additional energy expenditure is divided into calories we expend in training and calories expended in non-exercise activities.

We burn relatively few calories in training – an average of 400 calories per hour of intense exercise. With three workouts per week, this gives us only 1200 calories. However, if the training is aimed at strengthening muscle tissue, then the basic energy expenditure will increase. The body burns more calories to build and maintain muscle than it does to store and retain fat.

Non-exercise activity (NEAT) refers to any spontaneous or routine physical work: walking, shopping, cleaning, cooking, playing with a child, and even working at a computer.

You can calculate your extra energy expenditure in the Calorie Expenditure Analyzer. All you need to do is enter your weight, select the type of activity and indicate the time in minutes. The system will take care of everything for you.

Rules for the use of basic and additional flow

Knowing the energy expenditure allows you to correctly calculate the calorie deficit for weight loss, but it is quite difficult to predict the exact weight loss.

Difficulties may arise from:

• Calorie count errors;
• Erroneous assessment of own activity;
• Fluid retention in the body;
• Fluid retention in the female body in certain phases of the cycle;
• Simultaneous growth of muscle mass and fat burning;
• Inattention to slow down basic calorie expenditure.

To avoid the above difficulties, eat right within the calorie and BJU corridor, soberly assess your own non-exercise activity, trying to maintain it at approximately the same level every day, exercise regularly, weigh yourself and measure volumes at the same time, and also take into account the phase of the menstrual cycle .

Author: Ekaterina G., nutritionist, fitness blogger (specially for Calorizator.ru)
Copying this article in whole or in part is prohibited.

Weight Loss Calorie Calculator ⋙ Body Mass Index Calculator

Basal Metabolism Calculation

This is a calculation of body energy at rest. So this is the energy that we burn when we do nothing or just digest. The calorie calculator calculates this energy using the Mifflin-St. Jeor. If it is used to calculate a user with a normal BMI (i.e. In the index range 19- 25), when there is no need to know the percentage of body fat, then this equation is currently the most accurate. For users with a BMI outside the normal range, we use the Katch-Mcardle formula, which also takes into account body fat.

Mifflin-St. Jeor

• (M) BMR = 10W + 6.25H – 5A + 5
• (W) BMR = 10W + 6.25H – 5A – 161

Katch-Mcardle

900 79 (male and female) BMR = 370 + 21.6(1 – F)W

Explanation:

• W (weight) weight in kg
• H (height) height in cm
• A (age) age
• F (fat) body fat in %

Important data for calculations

In addition, when calculating, you can set your physical activity (sedentary, slightly active, moderately active, very active, extremely active, inactive) and goal (lose weight – 15% of the total calories are taken away, muscle mass gain is added 10% to total calories, be in shape – the calculation does not change).