BMR
(Basal Metabolic Rate)
Your
BMR, or basal metabolic rate (metabolism), is the energy (measured
in calories) expended by the body at rest to maintain normal bodily
functions. This continual work makes up about 60-70% of the calories
we use ("burn" or expend) and includes the beating of
our heart, respiration, and the maintenance of body temperature.
Your BMR is influenced by a number of factors, including age,
weight, height, gender, environmental temperature, dieting, and
exercise habits.
Because of
the increased activity of cells undergoing division, the younger
the person, the higher (faster) the metabolism. And the taller
and heavier a person is, the faster their metabolism. Because
of the greater percentage of lean muscle tissue in the male body,
men generally have a 10-15% faster BMR than women. Restrictive
and traditional diets may cause your BMR to drop as much as 20%.
People living in tropical or very cold environments generally
have BMR's 5-20% higher than those living in more temperate climates.
In general, depending on the intensity and duration, consistent
exercise will also increase your BMR.
Note: BMR calculators should only be used to provide a rough
guideline on daily energy expended. Actual values cannot be attained
using such calculators, and may be quite inaccurate depending on
several factors such as geographic location, body-type, diet, body
composition, supplementation and some genetic factors. Values
which extend +/- 15% above and below your calculated BMR may
be a more accurate representation of your actual BMR range
as daily fluctuations are constant and your BMR is rarely the
same on a daily basis.
AMR
(Active Metabolic Rate)
To maintain
normal bodily functions, your body "burns" more calories
throughout the day than at rest. Once you have calculated your
BMR above, you can enter the average minutes you spend in a variety
of activities each day. This will help you calculate your AMR
or Active Metabolic Rate. Your AMR is is the total amount of calories
you expend through different types of activities throughout the
day whether it's reading or walking, dancing or swimming. They
keyword here is "active" meaning you are consciously
aware of your activity. We have divided these into five levels
(above) from very light to very heavy and included a few examples
of each category to allow you to gauge where a given activity
might fit. The result is only an estimate, but should give you
an rough idea of your daily caloric needs. Once you've inputted
all relevant fields, click the "Calculate" button to
generate your daily "Daily Energy Requirement" which
is the sum of your BMR and AMR results.
Weight Loss & Total Energy Requirement (BMR + AMR)
Both
in theory and practice, weight loss can be as easy as following
simple physical principles. You must not ingest more calories
than you expend in order to maintain or reduce your body mass.
If you learn how to effectively apply this principle to your energy
requirements, it is a physiological certainty that you will not gain weight. As simple as this sounds, it is our sedentary society,
work environments, poor nutrition and lack of exercise that makes
this simple physical principle an extremely difficult and painful
process for many.
Many people concerned about weight loss become overly preoccupied
about the types of foods they eat. Although it is more beneficial
for your long-term health to maintain a healthy balanced diet
comprised of fruits, vegetables, nuts, lean meats/fish and complex
carbohydrates, your body does not differentiate between these
foods when comes to storing extra calories as fat. If you maintain
a daily calorie surplus, that is, if you ingest more calories
than you expend, you will gain weight regardless of the
types of calories you ingest.
For example, lets say your total energy requirement (calculation
above) is equal to 2000 calories per day and you've ingested 2012
calories per day. This means you've ingested 12 calories more
than you've expended. Regardless of what types of foods these
extra 12 calories consist of, whether it be a liquid or solid,
fat or protein, fruit or chocolate bar, salad or french fries,
your body will turn these extra calories into fat. Your body will
then store this fat until it is needed for energy.
In theory, if you continue to maintain this calorie surplus daily,
you would end up storing an additional 84 calories per week, 336
calories per month and 4368 calories per year (that's over 1 pound
of fat). Keep in mind that this calculation is based on exceeding
your daily energy expenditure by only 12 calories. That's equivalent
to just over 1 cup of lettuce, 2 cups of plain black coffee, 1
M&M peanut or 1 glass of Kool-Aid. Since most people exceed
their calorie expenditure by far more than 12 calories per day,
it's no surprise that obesity is becoming the number one health
problem in developed nations.
By
calculating your total energy requirement (BMR + AMR) above, you
will be able to roughly assess your daily calorie expenditure
and calculate the amount of calories you require to maintain a
daily calorie deficit. A daily calorie deficit, that is, expending
more calories than you ingest, will allow you to lose weight regardless
of the type of calories. Most experts agree that a 300-500 calorie daily deficit
is safe and will allow for permanent weight loss provided a daily
modest daily exercise program is followed. (More
details on Fitness Fundamentals)
If
you find yourself ingesting more calories than your daily
total energy requirement, you need to either reduce the amount
of calories, increase the amount of daily physical activity, or
preferably both. Both are preferential because increasing your
BMR through daily physical activity will effectually allow you
to burn more calories in the long-term. If you consistently decrease
your calorie intake (through dieting) without increasing your
physical activity levels, you risk reducing your BMR levels, forcing
your body to burn less calories, which may eventually lead to
further long-term weight gain and make it more difficult to lose
the weight you've gained. Unfortunately, this is the scenario
that most dieters face as they continue their desperate attempts
to lose weight through dieting without physical activity. As we
age, those who solely depend on dieting as a method of weight
loss become even more frustrated since BMR levels naturally decline
as we get older.
So how do you avoid falling into this vicious cycle? If your between
20 - 55 years of age, your AMR should consist of at least 120
- 200 minutes of moderate or heavy physical activity weekly. To
prevent injuries and enhance recovery, the older you are, the
more you will have to stay in the lower end of this range. If
you're 55+, you should seek the guidance of an Exercise Specialist
and your Physician for an appropriate guideline according to your
health and fitness level.
Building muscle via strength conditioning is probably the easiest
way to naturally increase your BMR. By incorporating weight training
in your fitness regimen, your body will maintain or build more
muscle which will burn more calories at rest, increasing your
total daily energy expenditure. Cardiovascular exercise, eating
small portions more frequently, supplementation, increasing protein
intake, moving
to a warmer climate, and
adequate sleep are other ways to increase your BMR.
There are no quick fixes, pills or easy one-step diet solutions
that will keep you fit and at a healthy weight. It's a lifestyle
and requires programming, hard work and dedication. Inevitably,
those who don't have time for such a lifestyle will soon have
to make time for mental and physical illness. Prevention works
and your health depends on it! |
