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Resting, or Basal
Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the energy required to stay alive with no activity.
Therefore, your actual metabolic rate is always significantly higher than your
BMR. Calculating BMR is a very useful first step in calculating your actual
metabolic rate. Your BMR is one of the main contributing components of energy
expenditure (around 70%).
Factors That Affect Your Metabolic Rate:
| Muscle |
Building muscle increases your BMR.
Alternatively, your BMR will decrease as you lose muscle. Note that losing fat alone will not lower
your BMR. That is why it is essential to follow a sensible weight
management program to lose fat without losing muscle. |
| Crash Dieting |
Crash dieting (lowering your daily
caloric to an unsafe level) will decrease your BMR. This is due to
the body's natural tendency to store fat when it senses a potential lack
of incoming nutrition. Unfortunately, crash dieting results in an
increase in fat more easily after stopping the crash diet. This is because
there has been a loss of muscle, which has lowered the BMR. |
| Meals |
Eating frequent meals through the day
will increase your BMR. Once you know what your daily caloric intake
requirement is, you should spread it out over the day to take advantage of
the increase in BMR with eating frequent meals. |
| Age |
Your BMR decreases with age |
| Pregnancy |
Being pregnant can increase your BMR |
| Supplements |
Some supplements can raise your BMR.
See our full line of supplements in our
Nutritional Products section. |
| The Weather |
Living in a cold environment can increase
your BMR. This may sound strange but you actually expend more energy while moving
around in cold weather. It's a a lot easier to move around in summer but more of
an effort to "get going" in winter. |
Calculate Your
Estimated Basal Metabolic Rate:
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