How to Calculate BMR Manually

Your BMR depends on your weight, age and height.

BMR, or basal metabolic rate, measures how many calories you need based on your body's weight, height and age. You must use the formula specific to your gender because men and women have different BMRs. For average people, the BMR formula can accurately estimate your caloric intake needs. However, BMR does not effectively measure the caloric needs of very fit or very overweight individuals because it cannot differentiate between weight from muscle and weight from fat.

Things You'll Need

• Calculator

Instructions

BMR for Women

1. Multiply your weight in pounds by 4.35. For example, if you weigh 160 pounds, you would multiply 160 by 4.35 to get 696.

2. Multiply your height in inches by 4.7. For example, if you measure 68 inches tall, you would multiply 68 by 4.7 to get 319.6.

3. Add the results from Steps 1 and 2 to 655. In this example, you would add 696 plus 319.6 plus 655 to get 1,294.2.

4. Multiply your age by 4.7. For example, if you 35 years old, you would multiply 4.7 by 35 to get 164.5.

5. Subtract the result from step 4 from the result from step 3 to find your BMR. Finishing the example, you would subtract 164.5 from 1,294.2 to get 1,129.7.

BMR for Men

1. Multiply your weight in pounds by 6.23. For example, if you weigh 190 pounds, you would multiply 190 by 6.23 to get 1,183.7.

2. Multiply your height in inches by 12.7. For example, if you measure 72 inches tall, you would multiply 12.7 by 72 to get 914.4.

3. Add the results from Steps 1 and 2 to 66. In this example, you would add 1,129.7 to 914.4 to 66 to get 2,110.1.

4. Multiply your age by 6.8. For example, if you are 38 years old, you would multiply 6.8 by 38 to get 258.4.

5. Subtract the result from step 4 from step 3 to find your BMR. Finishing the example, you would subtract 258.4 from 2,110.1 to get 1,851.7.

References

• Fitness: BMR Calculator
• Good Housekeeping: Basal Metabolic Rate Calculator