What is BMR?
BMR stands for Basal Metabolic Rate, the minimum calorific requirement needed to sustain life in your body when you are resting. It is also called Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR).
Even if you are in bed asleep all day, your body still needs energy to pump blood around the body, maintain body temperature, etc.
Please note that BMR is not your recommended calorie intake.
Does BMR formula include my activity level?
No, it does not. Basal Metabolic Rate is estimated using your weight, height and age (see BMR formulas below). BMR is gender specific. BMR Calculator prompts you to enter your activity level in order to calculate the number of calories you need daily to maintain your current weight.
What is BMR formula?
English BMR Formula:
Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )
Men: BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.8 x age in years )
Metric BMR Formula:
Women: BMR = 655 + ( 9.6 x weight in kilos ) + ( 1.8 x height in cm ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )
Men: BMR = 66 + ( 13.7 x weight in kilos ) + ( 5 x height in cm ) - ( 6.8 x age in years )
Is it possible to raise your Basal Matabolic Rate?
Yes, it is. For details, please see "How to increase metabolism?".
Can you please tell me the formula
how can i calculate a daily calories consume to loss weight 1 kg in a week.
Understanding BMR
Thank you, Samm and Administrator for trying to clarify the meaning of BMR in your postings above. That someone might misconstrue BMR as the recommended daily caloric intake is frightening!
The fact that Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is NOT the total number of calories needed based on weight, height, age and one's level of physical activity is so critical, it should appear as a heading on the BMR calculator box to avoid misunderstandings!
BMR represents the caloric intake required by one's body to perform mostly involuntary functions like respiration, circulation and digestion. Think of it this way: if you were in a coma, it's the intake level required to sustain life!
Once you've factored in the intake needed to cover an individual's level of physical activity, those calories are ADDED to BMR to determine the total daily caloric intake needed to MAINTAIN one's current weight.
Since one pound equals 3,500 calories, a decrease/increase of 500 calories/day, should result in a loss/gain of 1 lb./week. A decrease/increase of 1,000 calories/day, should result in a loss/gain of 1 lb./week. That you maintain a varied, balanced diet with adequate nutrients essential to your body is very important to maintain good health, an efficient metabolism, and a sustainable weight loss.
In general, to maintain good health, women should not have a daily caloric intake of LESS than 1,200 calories/day and men should not have an intake of LESS than 1,500 calories/day, and should consult with a physician before embarking on a diet that low in calories.
I love using the BMR calculator (what I really love is that it does the math for me in a split second), but misunderstandings and misinformation such as that posted above are of great concern.
response to question
WARNING - INCORRECT AND DANGEROUS INFO
"To lose weight, you will need to consume less than your BMR"
This is incorrect and potentially dangerous information. Never consume fewer calories than your BMR, to loose weight, UNLESS you are totally bed ridden. In which case I suspect you have some sort of illness/injury so should not be trying to loose weight while your body is healing/repairing/recovering anyway.
BMR does not account for ANY physical activity that is done on a daily basis, organised or not such as walking to the shops, car, up stairs etc.
Eating less calories than your BMR while doing any extra activity (even walking to the shops etc) and especially while exercising IS dangerous and WILL result in your body slowing down its metabolism (amongst other negative responses) to preserve as much energy as possible (defence mechanism against starvation), this will make it difficult to loose the weight you desire (FAT) and will probably result in muscle being used, further lowering your metabolism.
You should aim to eat 400-650 calories less than your TOTAL (BMR + Calories for all the days activities) calorie intake per day. This will allow a healthy, achievable and sustainable weight loss goal of approx. 1kg/forgnight.
Remember to recalculate your BMR as you loose weight to ensure its accurate.
The advice to eat 1200 calories in response to the question is ridiculous and dangerous.
Warning
1200-calorie diet may be too low. You should always consult your doctor before trying it.
question
I am 23 weigh about 140/145 in that range and am working out 4-5 days a week for 45 minutes or so with weights and cardio. I used to weigh much less but over the past 2 years put on the weight so I am trying to lose it in a healthy normal way w/o going on a fad diet. Using the BMR calculations I came up with 1478.45 calories. So, is that what I should consume in order to lose weight? (Because I exercise)? My ideal weight for 5'4' is around 120lbs...
BMR
BMR is not the number of calories you should consume in order to lose weight. It is the number of calories required to maintain the basic functions of your body (merely living and breathing). BMR is required to calculate the number of calories your body needs to maintain your current weight (for you, it is about 2250) Deduct 500 calories from this number and you get the number of calories you need to eat a day in order to lose a pound per week (in our case, we get 1750).
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