Understanding Your Metabolism
What BMR Actually Means
Your BMR is the calories you'd burn if you stayed in bed all day. It's what your body needs just to keep your organs working and maintain your body temperature.
Why You Need More Than BMR
You burn extra calories just by moving around, thinking, digesting food, and doing daily activities. That's why your actual calorie needs are higher than your BMR.
Building Muscle Helps
Muscle tissue burns more calories than fat, even when you're resting. Strength training can gradually increase your BMR over time.
Age and Metabolism
Your metabolism naturally slows down as you get older. Staying active and maintaining muscle mass can help offset this.
What Is BMR and Why It Matters
The Basics
BMR stands for Basal Metabolic Rate. It's the number of calories your body burns just to stay alive - keeping your heart beating, your lungs breathing, your brain functioning, and maintaining your body temperature. Think of it as your body's minimum daily energy requirement.
How We Calculate It
This calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, which is one of the most accurate formulas available. It takes into account your age, gender, height, and weight. Men typically have higher BMRs than women because they usually have more muscle mass, and muscle burns more calories than fat.
BMR vs TDEE
Your BMR is just your baseline. Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) includes all the calories you burn through movement and activity. Even if you have a desk job, you're probably burning at least 20-30% more than your BMR just from getting up, walking around, and doing normal daily stuff.
Using This Information
Knowing your BMR and TDEE can help you understand your body's energy needs. If you're trying to lose weight, you need to eat less than your TDEE (not your BMR - that would be too low). If you're trying to gain muscle, you need to eat more. But these are just starting points. Your actual needs depend on lots of factors including your genetics, how active you are, and your overall health.
What Affects Your BMR
Several things influence your metabolic rate. Age is a big one - metabolism slows down by about 2% per decade after age 30. Body composition matters too - the more muscle you have, the higher your BMR. Your genetics play a role, and so do things like stress, sleep, and certain medical conditions. Some medications can also affect metabolism.