Most of us know what BMI (body mass index) is and that it measures your height and weight to determine how much body fat you have. But have you heard of BMR (basal metabolic rate)?
This is important to understanding how many calories you should be consuming each day. If you take in more calories than you should, you will gain weight. But if you take in fewer calories than you should, it will interfere with the body’s ability to burn fat. It could also lead to dysfunction in your blood pressure, heart rate and ability to digest foods.
So the BMR determines the ideal amount of calories that your body needs. This will provide the most effective way to lose weight in a healthy manner. But you should understand what is factored into this. While there are some things you simply cannot control, there are many things that you can.
For instance, your activity level on a daily basis is factored in. The reality is that the more active you are the more energy is needed. If you are not very active, you want to make sure that you begin to change that.
A sedentary lifestyle spent in front of a television screen or computer for hours on end won’t burn calories. So you need to make sure that you are doing at least 30 minutes of physical activity everyday.
Another factor is your weight. Everyone’s calorie requirements will differ depending on their weight. Someone who is trying to gain weight will require more calories, while someone who is trying to lose weight, will require less.
You can find a BMR calculator here. You simply put in your height, weight, age and gender and click “calculate BMR.” You will see your amount of calories. Then you calculate your daily calorie needs by clicking on the link “Harris Benedict Equation.”
Find your level of physical activity and multiple that number by your BMR. This gives you the daily intake of calories you need. However if you want to lose weight, then you will obviously need to take in less than that number.
In general, it is recommended that you reduce your calories by at least 500; however you don’t want to go over 1,000. And most recommend that women don’t consume less than 1200 calories per day, and men less than 1800 calories per day.
By learning your BMR, you can increase your changes at decreasing your weight.
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