Calculating Your BMR
- Kristin McMillan
- Jul 15, 2015
- 2 min read
Many of you have been curious as to finding out how many calories you should be eating in a day. Whether you are trying to maintain your weight, loose weight or gain weight, there is a way to calculate your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate).
Your BMR is the amount of calories your body burns daily, while you do NOTHING.
That’s right, nothing. So if you were to lay in bed all day, your body will still burn a certain amount of calories. This is why it is so very important to know what your body needs!
There are a few different formulas we can use to calculate our BMR, but I’d like us to use the one that has been found most accurate, the Mifflin-St Jeor Formula. Many of you ladies might be surprised to find how many calories your body actually needs.
10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) - 5 x age (y) - 161
Example:
I am 150 pounds and 67 inches tall. I am 31 years old.
First I’ll convert my pounds to kg (Siri is helpful, hahah). = 68.4 kg
Then I’ll convert my height to cm = 170.18 cm
10 x 68.4 + 6.25 x 170.18 - 5 x 31 - 161
ALWAYS MULTIPLY FIRST
680.4 + 1063.625 - 155 - 161 = 1428
My BMR is 1428. That’s how many calories my body burns at REST in a 24 hour period. Surprised?
Okay, now that I have that, I am going to use it to find out how many calories I should be eating to nourish and maintain my body. Usually you will multiply your BMR by 1.2-1.9 based on your activity level. For our Boot Camp and your homework, I think it’s safe to have you multiply your BMR by 1.5. In my case that will bring my caloric intake to a whooping 2,142 calories! That is to maintain my weight based off my BMR and my activity level.
So, what if you want to loose weight? You will start by subtracting 20% of calories. But subtract calories gradually or by a maximum of 500 calories per day.
I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions!
Stay Fit
Fit Mama 2.0

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