Basal Metabolic Rate: what is it and how to measure it?
Burn calories while resting!
Basal Metabolic Rate, also known as BMR, is the amount of energy your body burns at rest on a daily basis. In other words: It is the number of calories required to keep your body function while you are not doing any physical activities.
A deeper understanding of Basal Metabolic Rate
Even when you are resting your body is using energy to function effectively. Your body is making your heart pump blood through your veins, for example. Or your stomach is processing the food you just ate. This process is better known as your Basal Metabolic Rate.
Your body consumes almost 70% of the calories to function effectively. Calories are also the first metric people take into consideration when losing weight. Here your BMR can come into play! Increasing your muscle mass helps your BMR. By gaining more muscles the number of calories you burn increases. And this will help you to decrease body fat. Your BMR measurement can be used as a baseline for a diet programme. Extra calories can be included depending on your level of activity. The more active you are the more calories you will burn. Next to this you'll build more muscle mass. This means that you need to keep an close eye on the amount of calories you consume. to keep your body fit and healthy.
Metabolic age
As people age, their metabolic rate changes. Basal metabolism rises as a child matures and peaks at around 16 or 17, after this point it typically starts to decrease. A low BMR means you have to eat less calories in order to lose body fat and weight.
The Metabolic age is calculated by comparing your Basal Metabolic Rate to the average BMR of your chronological age group. If your metabolic age is higher than your actual age, it’s an sign that you need to improve your metabolic rate. Increased exercise will build healthy muscle tissue, which in turn will improve your metabolic age. Keeping track of your metabolic age will give you an sign when its best to gain more muscle mass.
How do you calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate?
A Tanita smart scale scans your entire body. This provides you with a wealth of measurements, among which your Basal Metabolic Rate and Metabolic Age. These measurements are much more accurate than those provided by calculators and are trusted by doctors and experts worldwide. A Tanita body composition monitor helps you keep track of your health and shows you what you can do to improve your fitness routine.
Measuring your BMR will help you within your day-to-day routine to achieve weight loss. Let's us know how your journey is going at Facebook
Resting metabolic rate vs BMR
Basal metabolic rate (BMR) and Resting metabolic rate are both ways of assessing the calories used for your body to function. The BMR is a more restrictive measurement of the energy your body uses for basic functions, such as breathing, blood circulation and organ functions; whereas the resting metabolic rate is your energy expenditure during a normal resting or non-exercising state. To measure your BMR at home, you can use one of the Tanita body composition scales like the RD-545. Check out our blog about resting metabolic rate to find out how to measure yours.
