Your BMR, or basal metabolic rate, stands for the number of calories your body burns when you are resting. Your BMR helps you determine the number of calories you need in your diet per day to maintain, lose or gain weight. Consult a certified personal trainer or other health professional for help figuring out your BMR.
Formula
To determine your BMR, you need to perform an equation based on your height, age, sex and weight. If you are female, use the following formula: 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years). Males, use this formula: 66 + (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in year). Now you have the number of calories your body burns when you are resting.
Exercise
Most people do not rest all day, so you have to figure in your activity level. Even if you do not exercise, simple activities such as talking and eating burn calories. Multiply your BMR by 1.2 if you do not engage in much of any exercise, by 1.375 if you perform light exercise one to three days a week, by 1.55 for moderate exercise three to five days a week, by 1.725 for hard exercise six to seven days per week, or by 1.9 if you perform strenuous exercise on a regular basis. Your result gives you the number of calories you can take in daily to maintain your current weight. As you can see, if you exercise more, you can eat more calories.
Weight Change
Use your BMR, with activity level factored in, to determine how many calories to add or subtract from your daily intake to gain or lose your desired amount of weight. The recommended amount of weight to lose is 1 to 2 pounds per week. To lose one pound, you need to burn 500 calories a day. Take the number you got in Step 2 and subtract 500. Keep in mind that adding exercise is a better way to lose weight than to try to reduce calories alone. To gain weight, add 500 calories to the number you got. Talk to your doctor before trying to lose or gain weight.
Considerations
Keep in mind that the BMR is not perfect. It does not work for muscular or obese people, as it underestimates calories needed for muscular people and overestimates for obese people. Also, the energy required to break down food makes up a portion of your BMR. So if you go on a diet where you do not eat enough, your body will slow down your metabolism and your BMR will decrease.
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