How to calculate your basal metabolic rate?

Are you planning to lose weight or gain muscle? Before starting tough diets, or doing anything else, it is important to know how your body works. Indeed, there are daily caloric needs that should not be exceeded. This energy expenditure is called "basic metabolism". This will allow you to control your diet and keep an optimal weight. In order to help you lose or gain weight, we explain in this article the main points to know about the basal metabolism: how to calculate it? How to reach your ideal weight and stabilize your body mass? How to adjust your daily calorie intake? We answer all your questions in the following lines.

What is basal metabolic rate?

The basal metabolic rate or BM is the minimum energy expenditure of the body at rest. Even without any physical exercise, our body burns calories to maintain body temperature and ensure the proper functioning of the heart, brain, respiratory and digestive organs. In this way, it draws on its energy reserves in order to survive.

Basal metabolic rate depends on various points including age, weight, sex, height and thyroid activity of a person. In addition, there are other modifying factors such as outside temperature, weather conditions, etc. Diet also plays an important role in stabilizing basal metabolic rate.

Methods of calculating basal metabolic rate

Many formulas have been developed for calculating basal metabolic rate. The original Harris-Benedict formula can be distinguished.

Here is the formula broken down:

• For a woman : (9.740*P) + (172.9*T) - (4.737*A) + 667.051
• For a man : (13.707*P) +(492.3*T) - (6.673*A) + 77.607

Let's take the example of a 35 year old man of 80 kg for 1m76: (13,707*80) +(492,3*1,76) - (6,673*35) + 77,607 = 1807,06

Moreover, it was revised a few years later by Roza and Shizgal. We also find the formulas of Mifflin St Jeor, as well as Black et al. The latter is broken down as follows: The result will be slightly different

• For women: 0.963*P^0.48*T^ 0.50*A^-0.13
• For humans: 1.083*P^0.48*T^ 0.50*A^-0.13

Where P is the weight (kg), T is the height (cm) and A is the age of the person.

Other examples include the Oxford equation, Schofield, Katch-McArdle and Cunningham formulas.

Super complex calculation but you will have the possibility below to have the software directly

At the end of the calculations, you will obtain a value in kilocalories/d which indicates the rate of calories burned per day to ensure vital functions. From this result, you can easily calculate your average daily caloric needs:

• If you rarely exercise: MB * 1.37 ;
• You do regular physical activity: MB * 1.55 ;
• Or if you are a high level athlete: MB * 1.80.

There is an online tool here on the site to calculate your daily needs directly

Depending on your basal metabolic rate and your future goal. You will be asked to enter some variables.

• Your gender (male or female)
• Age
• Size
• Weight
• Your goal
• Your level of physical activity (sedentary, mildly active, moderately active, very active or extremely active)

You will get detailed results, in the form of number of calories. You will then have all the information on your calorie needs according to your level of physical activity, your age and your weight.

Some calculators take into account the fat mass rate in the calculations. The results will allow you to readjust your diet, provide the necessary nutrients and quickly reach your goal.

Other factors that affect basal metabolic rate

It is important to know that the calories burned by men and women are not the same. In fact, men use up much more energy at rest than women. Another important thing to know is that old age favours a lower basal metabolic rate.

Pregnancy and lactation increase the basal metabolic rate, as the body changes its role. A pregnant woman has to think about the maintenance of the embryo and the well-being of the baby.

Babies, children and growing adolescents also experience a considerable increase in basal metabolic rate. In fact, they expend more calories than adults because their bodies need energy to grow and secrete hormones.

The concept of energy balance

The energy balance is the difference between the calories lost and the calories gained during the day. This is an important point to take into account, especially if you plan to a rebalancing of the diet. It all depends on your objective.

If you want to gain weight

Your Body Mass Index (BMI) indicates that you are underweight? Eat more calories than you burn. The unused calories will be stored in your body reserves, which will allow you to gain weight quickly and therefore build muscle. Eat protein-rich foods, but do not exceed the recommended amount. However, you should exercise regularly and drink plenty of water to avoid excess weight and fat in your body.

To benefit from an adequate program, here is my recommendation :

If you want to keep your figure

The hardest part is stabilizing your ideal weight. To do this, you must consume as many calories as you expend. This way, you will not deplete your calorie reserve, without consuming foods that are too caloric. You must remember to eat a balanced diet, always following your maintenance macros and calories, and do a little sport to maintain a fair balance between calories lost and gained.

If your goal is to lose weight

Of course, you will need to consume fewer calories than you burn. This will allow your body to burn your reserves to make up for the lack and thus lose the extra pounds. You can review your diet. Just be careful!

Eating fewer calories does not mean that you will neglect your nutrient intake. It is also advisable to practice sports regularly to burn calories faster.

For example, you can do weight training and add cardio activities. This is also beneficial for your heart. The goal is to maintain your muscle mass while eliminating fat mass. Don't hesitate to consume green tea, lean foods, lots of vegetables or low-calorie foods, etc. Don't forget to stay properly hydrated. The principle is not to fast, but rather to rebalance what you eat on a daily basis in the right quantities.

To benefit from an adequate program, here is my recommendation

If you are a woman, choose this program

Now you know how to calculate your basal metabolic rate. Use all the tools on this site to reach your goals, they are made for that. Don't hesitate to choose the right program because you will be more organized and structured to reach your goals without wasting time. If you don't know where to start, here is a tool that will help you find out: Quiz or send an email with your photo to contact@julienquaglierini.com

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