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Basal
Metabolic Rate
Basal
Metabolic Rate, or BMR, is your metabolic rate while at total
rest, like sleeping. Measured in calorie expenditure, or
calories burned, your BMR is responsible for
approximately 60 to 70% of the total number of calories you burn in a
day. That's a lot of calories burned without doing an
exercises.
This calorie expenditure is used for digesting,
breathing, pumping blood, maintaining body temperature.
Basically, your Basal Metabolic Rate is the amount of calories used to
sustain life.
Importance of Basal
Metabolic Rate
Why is understanding your BMR important for weight loss? In
order to lose weight, you must create a calorie deficit.
Meaning you must consume fewer calories than you burn. Since
BMR is responsible for approximately 60 - 70% of the calories you would
burn in a day, in order to know your calorie intake for weight loss,
you must start with BMR, or the calories you burn just to
survive. Creating a calorie deficit can be done one of
several
ways; 1. Consume fewer calories or, 2. Burn more calories –
or do both, fewer calories consumed and more calories burned during
exercise.
What Can Impact your
BMR?
In addition to age, gender, weight and height playing a role in
your BMR, other things can impact this as well.
For instance, if you are ill, your BMR can change during the
illness.
Additionally, hormones can impact your basal metabolic rate.
The thyroid gland produces Thyroxin, which is an important
hormone to help your BMR. If a person does not produce enough
Thyroxin, their metabolic rate will slow down.
Certain
medications may also impact your metabolism. Be sure to check
with your doctor to see if any medicines you are taking impact your
metabolism.
Genetics
can
play a
role in your BMR. Some people will have a naturally higher
metabolism while others will be slower. Although this may not
seem fair it is what we are dealt and have to work with what was given
to us.
Lastly, dieting can impact your basal metabolic rate. If done
properly, you can actually increase your metabolism by eating healthy
and adding exercise, both aerobic exercises and strength training.
But if you diet incorrectly, you will actually slow down your
metabolism.
Don't Crash Diet
Many
people make the mistake of going on a “crash” diet in hopes of a quick
weight loss. The problem is that if a person reduces their
calorie intake by too much, the body reacts by going into
survival
mode, slowing down your metabolism and lowering your
basal metabolic rate.
What happens when you lose weight fast
is that you are also likely losing muscle. This then lowers
your lean body mass and in turn lowers your BMR.
A general rule is to never go below 1200 calories/day
for women or 1800 calories/day for men, which are extremely low calorie
levels.
What Can You Do To
Help Raise Your BMR?
One thing you are in control of, and can have a positive effect on your
metabolic rate, is your activity level. By adding exercise to
your weekly routine, you are not only burning additional calories,
which will help create that calorie deficit for weight loss, but you
are increasing lean body mass. And since muscles burn more
calories than fat, you are increasing your basal metabolic
rate.
Be sure to read these other benefits to
exercise.
Be sure to read the basal metabolic rate calculation page to
understand how it's calculated.
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