Even when the body is at rest, it is burning calories. The rate at which calories are burned at rest is referred to as basal metabolic rate (BMR) or resting metabolic rate (RMR). Although there are several ways of determining BMR or RMR per day for any particular individual, one of the most common methods is the Mifflin equation. It was devised as a result of a study at the University of Nevada School of Medicine in 1990. The mathematical equation uses a person's height, weight and age, and there are separate equations for men and women.
Resting Calories Burned for Men
Step 1
Weigh yourself. If you weighed yourself in pounds, convert your weight to kilograms by multiplying your weight in pounds by 0.5. Multiply this number by 10 to get your weight factor.
Step 2
Measure your height. If you measured yourself in inches, convert the number to centimeters by multiplying total inches by 2.54. Multiply your height in centimeters by 6.25 to get your height factor.
Step 3
Multiply your age by 5 to get your age factor.
Step 4
Calculate your resting calories burned by adding your weight factor to your height factor and adding 5. Now subtract your age factor. The resulting number is your approximate resting calories burned per day.
Resting Calories Burned for Women
Step 1
Weigh yourself. If you weighed yourself in pounds, convert your weight to kilograms by multiplying your weight in pounds by 0.5. Multiply this number by 10 to get your weight factor.
Step 2
Measure your height. If you measured yourself in inches, convert the number to centimeters by multiplying total inches by 2.54. Multiply your height in centimeters by 6.25 to get your height factor.
Step 3
Multiply your age by 5 to get your age factor.
Step 4
Calculate your resting calories burned by adding your weight factor to your height factor. Subtract 161. Now subtract your age factor. The resulting number is your approximate resting calories burned per day.
Tips and Warnings
- This equation determines only your approximate resting calorie-burning rate. You burn more calories per day depending on how active you are. To lose weight, consume fewer overall calories than you burn. Either eat less or move more. For diet and nutrition purposes, what we refer to as a calorie is actually a kilocalorie in scientific terminology.
- Undertake a weight-loss plan only after consulting a health-care professional.
Things You'll Need
- Scale
- Tape measure
- Calculator (optional)
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