What is BMR and how is it useful?

Your BMR – basal metabolic rate , is the number of calories you burn if you just sat still still all day.

It is the energy you use to breathe, circulate blood, control body temperature, keep your body balanced, grow new body tissue and just thinking.

Your BMT is the largest component of total energy burned in a day (60-70%).

It tends to get lower as you age due to a reduction of muscle mass as you age, making it harder to keep weight off over time

Essentially the higher your BMR, the more you can consume and not gain weight. As your energy in is balanced by your energy out.

You can increase your BMR- by increasing your muscle mass by engaging in strength training, particularly when it involves multiple muscle groups rather than one muscle group.

The most accurate way to calculate BMR is in a research lab measuring oxygen and carbon in your breath, however a simple BMR formula can give a good estimation that is useful (The Harris–Benedict equation or Schofield equation)

Check out your own BMR estimate on our BMR calculate on our website

BMR CALCULATOR

With the BMR and the addition of the energy expended with activity or exercise you can have a fair idea of you total daily energy expenditure.

To lose weight your need to consume less energy than your daily energy expenditure.

As always you can’t really outrun a bad diet.

Consume plenty of appetite suppressing protein, above ground vegetables and healthy fats and stay under your metabolic rate. Any exercise/activity on top will result in further weight loss.

Resistance training and muscle building will allow higher food consumption while burning fat. However, do not worry if your weight doesn’t appear to be coming down quickly as muscle weighs a lot more than fat. Consider checking your waist circumference to confirm fat loss.

As always come along to our free introductory consultation to see how we can help you on your weight loss journey.