Calculating
Your Basic BMR
Calculating Your Basic BMR number helps give you a better
understanding of who you really are. A BMR calculator
will calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate or (BMR); this
is the number of calories you'd burn if you stay in bed
all day. This is a better and a more realistic way of
knowing how much fuel your body is using every day. Now
these BMR calculators are all over the web and you can
find tons of free one with a simple Google search. So
let's say, Bob is a male, 35 yrs old, 5'11" and weight
380lbs. Now according to the BMR calculator Bob needs
3079 calories if he stays in bed to maintain his current
weight. Now some of you may be saying WOW! Now don't get
to excited, that's not all, remember this is if Bob stays
in bed and doesn't move, and this is an average. Some
people will be higher and some lower, but most will be
within +- 5%.
Next we must ask ourselves what activity
level Bob has on a daily bases. Our BMR is just a number
useless until we apply it you our everyday life and how
we live and move around. The Harris Benedict Formula will
get Bob a more realistic number of calories he burns each
day. This formula is based on the level of activity he is
at on an average day.
Harris Benedict Formula;
To determine your total daily calorie needs, multiply your
BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows:
1. If you are sedentary (little or no exercise):
Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2
2. If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3
days/week): Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
3. If you are moderately active (moderate exercise/sports
3-5 days/week): Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55
4. If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days
a week): Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725
5. If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports &
physical job or 2x training): Calorie-Calculation = BMR
x 1.9
So, let's take the example from up above.
Bob is a 35yrs old male who plays basketball two times a
week with his friends. Our formula would look like this;
his BMR (3079) X 1.375 = 4234 calories a day is what he
is eating to maintain his current weight. These numbers
are not perfect, but are close and will help Bob to know
what he needs to do to reach his goal of a healthy happy
body. Bob can now re-calculate his numbers to the weight
he wants to be at and see what changes he needs to make
to lose the weight.
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