What is basal metabolic rate and how is it calculated to lose weight and gain muscle mass?

For lose weight or burn fat, we always think about combining healthy eating and exercise. But another important factor for health that is most often overlooked: basal metabolic rate (BMR or BMR).

“Metabolism refers to all the physical and chemical processes in the body that convert or use energy“, they explain from Medline Plusthe website of the United States National Library of Medicine.

And they exemplify breathing, blood circulation, muscle contraction, digestion of food and nutrients, brain and nerve functioning, as well as waste elimination through urine and feces, among others.

What is basal metabolism

It is known that the body needs energy for everything it does, such as breathing, transporting blood, balancing hormones, and reproducing and repairing cells, they add from Mayo Clinica non-profit organization dedicated to clinical practice, training and research.

Therefore, the amount of calories the body uses at rest for these functions is known as basal metabolic rate or basal metabolic rateAlso known as BMR (Basal metabolic rate in English).

Although muscle mass is the main factor in this rate, it also depends on the following factors:

• Size and body composition. People with larger builds or greater muscle mass burn more calories, even at rest.

• Sex. Men typically have less body fat and more muscle than women of the same age and weight, which means they burn more calories.

• Age. As people age, they tend to lose muscle mass. Most of your body weight comes from fat, which slows calorie burning.

Metabolic rate and calories to lose weight

For example, to check and measure your calorie needs, the first thing is to know your basal metabolic rate or BMR, which is the amount of calories you need each day for your body to normally perform its essential functions.

To be taken into consideration, it represents between 60 and 70% of daily energy expendituremeaning that simply by sleeping, breathing or digesting you are already burning calories, spread Men’s health.

To achieve balance you need to ingest how much you spend and one of the keys is to know how many calories do you need per dayespecially if our long-term goal is to lose weight.

How many calories are burned through digestion, daily activities, or strenuous exercise?

The most accurate way to measure your BMR or BMR is Always visit your doctor or nutritionist so that you can calculate it as rigorously as possible.

In fact there are numerous of them tools and equations to do so, but it is best to have it determined by a professional.

It is worth noting that BMR is used for losing weight, but also for increase muscle mass or don’t overdo it when you are in the volume phase.

Calculating your basal metabolic rate is essential follow a correct diet.

Being aware of your total daily calorie expenditure will let you know how many you need to consume based on your fitness goals, for example.

When it comes to the difficult mission of losing weight, health professionals advise limit the calories ingested and do sportsuch as fasted cardio or strength training.

How to calculate metabolic mass

One of the most used formulas to estimate the TMB at an international level is through the Harris-Benedetto formula (updated by Mifflin MD and St Jeor), which takes into account gender, weight, height and age, distributes the site in Portuguese Tá Saudá Bel.

• Women: (10 x weight in kg) + (6.25 x height in cm) – (5 x age in years) – 161

• Men: (10 x weight in kg) + (6.25 x height in cm) – (5 x age in years) + 5

After knowing your basal metabolic rate, the next step is to take it into account how many calories do you burn during all the daily activities you carry out.

To know how many calories you need every day, you need to expand the health portal Multiply your BMR by any number appropriate for your lifestyle. And this is in accordance with the following types of people:

Sedentary: If you don’t exercise or have minimal time active, multiply your BMR by 1.2.

Slightly active: If you do light exercise one to three days a week, multiply your BMR x 1,375.

Moderately active: If you exercise moderately three to five days a week, multiply your BMR x 1.55.

Fairly active: You train intensely six to seven days a week, multiply your BMR x 1,725.

Super active: If you exercise extremely intensely, at least two hours a day, six to seven days a week, or have a job that requires you to stay super active, multiply your BMR x 1.9.