How to Calculate Your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR)

Knowing your RMR can help you gain or lose weight.

Your body uses energy all the time. You could be lying down, resting, doing ''nothing,'' yet every cell in your body is using energy to keep you alive. Knowing the minimum ammount of calories you should consume on a daily basis will help towards any weight goals you may have.

Note that Resting Metabolic Rate is sometimes referred to as Basal Energy Expenditure (BEE) or Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR).

Things You'll Need

• Calculator
• Paper and Writing Utensil

Instructions

1. 

   For these calculations, I will give you the general formula, then do an example using an "average" woman age 37 at 5'2'' and 143 lbs.

   Multiply 50 times your weight in pounds, then divide by 11.
   (Alternately, you can take 10 times your weight in kilograms.)

   For our example: 50 x 143 / 11 = 650

2. 

   Multiply 15.875 times your height in inches.
   (Alternately, you can take 6.25 times your height in centimeters.)

   For our example: 15.875 x 62 = 984.25

3. 

   Multiply 5 times your age in years.

   For our example: 5 x 37 = 185

4. 

   Add your result from Step 1 and Step 2 together. Then subtract the result from Step 3.

   For our example: 650 + 984.25 - 185 = 1449.25

5. 

   To the result in Step 4, add 5 if you are male or subtract 161 if you are female.

   For our example: 1449.25 - 161 = 1288.25

   This result is your RMR and would be the amount of calories you would burn if you did nothing but sleep all day.

6. 

   Since most of us don't sleep all day every day, we need to take this number and multiply it by an ''activity factor'' to get a true picture of the total calories used each day. (NOTE: Many people tend to overestimate their activity level.)

   •1.200 = sedentary (little or no exercise)
   •1.375 = lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week)
   •1.550 = moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week)
   •1.725 = very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week)
   •1.900 = extra active (very hard exercise/sports and physical job)

   For our example, let's assume we are lightly active.
   1288.25 x 1.375 = 1771.34

7. 

   If your goal is to lose weight, one method is by eating less than your body burns each day. Initially, you will only want to lower your caloric intake by about 5% for at least 4 weeks before making further reductions--and never going below 20% of your RBR. To calculate a 5% reduction, multiply Step 6 times 0.95. A 20% reduction would be Step 6 times 0.8.

   For our example: 1771.34 x 0.95 = 1682.78
   1771.34 x 0.8 = 1417.08

Tips & Warnings

• There are a number of methods to calculate RMR. The above steps were created based on the Mifflin-St Jeor formula which was deemed the most accurate in 2005 by the American Dietetic Association (ADA).

• Be sure to re-calculate your RMR as necessary. Specifically, the number you obtained in Step 3 will change every time you have a birthday. If you are attempting and are successful at losing (or gaining) weight, the number you obtained in Step 1 will change as well.

• You should always consult with your physician before starting any type of weight loss program.

Resources

• Bistro MD Gourmet Low Calorie Diet Plan (as seen on Dr. Phil)