The calories you eat provide energy for your body's basic functions. Your baseline metabolism, or resting metabolic rate, is the calories you burn in a day while in a resting state. The American Council on Exercise estimates your resting metabolic rate accounts for 60 to 75 percent of the calories you burn in one day. While there are several ways to directly measure your metabolic rate, they are not widely available, but prediction equations have been developed for general use. According to a study published in the "Journal of the American Dietetic Association," the Mifflin-St. Jeor equation is most accurate, predicting your resting metabolic rate within 10 percent of direct measurements.
Step 1
Step on your scale to determine your current weight. If you can, select kilograms as the unit of measure; this is the number you will need for the calculation.
Step 2
Convert your weight in pounds to kilograms if necessary. Do this by dividing your weight in pounds by 2.2.
Step 3
Measure your height using a tape measure or physician's scale. You'll need your height in centimeters.
Step 4
Convert your height in inches to height in centimeters, if necessary, by multiplying by 2.54.
Step 5
Calculate your metabolic rate by using the correct Mifflin-St. Jeor formula. For males, it's (10 x weight in kg) + (6.25 x height in cm) -- (5 x age in years) + 5. For females, it's (10 x weight in kg) + (6.25 x height in cm) -- (5 x age in years) -- 161. This provides your estimated baseline calories burned in a day in a resting state.
Step 6
Multiply your resting metabolic rate, or BMR, by the appropriate activity factor to determine how many calories you burn in one day. If you are sedentary, or get little to no activity, multiply your BMR times 1.2. If you exercise between one and three days each week, multiply by 1.375. If your exercise pattern falls between three to five days per week, multiply by 1.550. If you are very active, or exercise six to seven days each week, multiply by 1.725. If you are a competitive athlete, or exercise vigorously for more than two hours per day, multiply by 1.900.
Tips and Warnings
- Now that you know your daily metabolic rate, you know approximately how many calories per day you need to consume to maintain your weight. To promote weight loss, create a 500-calorie-per-day deficit to obtain a 1 lb. weight loss over seven days.
Things You'll Need
- Scale
- Tape Measure
- Calculator
References
- "Journal of the American Dietetic Association"; Comparison of Predictive Equations for Resting Metabolic Rate in Healthy Nonobese and Obese Adults: A Systematic Review; David Frankenfield, et al.; May 2005
- Scientific Psychic: Calorie Restriction Calculator
- American Council on Exercise: Trimming Off the Fat
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Losing Weight
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