Understanding Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

Your Basal Metabolic Rate, or BMR, is a big part of how many calories your body uses each day. In fact, it makes up about 60-75% of your daily calorie use!

BMR can change based on different things, like:

• Age
• Gender
• Weight
• Height

One way to figure out your BMR is by using a formula called the Mifflin-St Jeor Equation. Here’s how it looks:

For men:
BMR = (10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) - (5 × age in years) + 5

For women:
BMR = (10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) - (5 × age in years) - 161

Once you know your BMR, your activity level can tell you how many calories you really need each day. You can use the Harris-Benedict principle to calculate this. Here are the activity levels:

• Sedentary (little or no exercise): BMR × 1.2
• Lightly active (light exercise/sports 1 to 3 days a week): BMR × 1.375
• Moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3 to 5 days a week): BMR × 1.55
• Very active (hard exercise/sports 6 to 7 days a week): BMR × 1.725
• Super active (very hard exercise or physical job): BMR × 1.9

Knowing your BMR and activity level is really helpful for planning your meals. This way, you can make sure you’re getting the right amount of nutrients to keep your body healthy!