Last Updated on February 2, 2023

Use this BMR calculator to calculate your basal metabolic rate or BMR.  Your BMR is unique to you.  Everyone’s BMR is different and extremely important in terms of weight loss & wellness.

BMR stands for Basal Metabolic Rate, which is the amount of energy (in calories) that your body needs to maintain basic functions such as breathing, heart beating, and maintaining body temperature while at rest.

Basal Metabolic Rate is often referred to as ‘coma calories’ because it’s the amount of energy they’d give you if you were in a coma to stay alive.  BMR is considered the base layer of the metabolism.  It’s all the calories you need to fuel life-sustaining organs and functionality.

A few weeks ago I shared the importance of bioindividuatlity and working in a way that’s best for you and your goals!  You have your own unique BMR requirement.  Use the BMR calculator below to calculate your BMR.

Once you do – never ever eat fewer calories than your BMR.  BMR is the energy needed to keep you alive.  If you eat less than your BMR you’ll experience health issues, slow your metabolism, and will struggle to lose weight.

So many people come to me struggling with pesky symptoms like chronic fatigue, mood swings, brain fog, hair loss, premature aging, and stubborn fat.  And what’s the most common root cause of their symptoms??  It’s eating LESS than their BMR!  This is a HUGE mistake that sabotages your weight and health.  I’ll explain more below.

So first calculate your BMR and keep reading.  Because it’s so important.

After calculating your BMR leave me a comment and let me know what your BMR is.

 

BASAL METABOLIC RATE CALCULATOR

 

Basal Metabolic Rate Calculator

Age
Sex
Height
Weight

 

WHAT’S NEEDED FOR ACCURATE BMR CALCULATOR RESULTS

 

Several factors are needed to determine your basal metabolic rate accurately.

They are:

  • Age: BMR decreases as a person ages.  This is part of the reason people say ‘it gets harder to lose weight as you get older’.  It DOESN’T.  Most people gain as they get older because they don’t reduce their calories as their calorie requirements reduce naturally.
  • Gender: Males generally have a higher BMR than females.  This is because they naturally have more muscle mass.  Muscle mass is calorically ‘expensive’ meaning you automatically burn calories maintaining muscle mass.  So people with more muscle mass will have a higher BMR compared to those without.
  • Weight: A person with more body mass requires more calories to maintain basic life-sustaining bodily functions.
  • Height: Taller individuals have a higher BMR than shorter individuals.  As with weight, the bigger you are the more energy you need.  The smaller you are, the less energy you’ll need.

Combined, these factors help determine your BMR and daily baseline of calories needed to stay healthy and avoid slowing your metabolism by entering starvation mode.

 

a graphic showing all of the factors that determine bmr and how bmr energy is used

 

 

WHY YOUR BMR CALCULATOR RESULTS ARE IMPORTANT

 

Wondering why you need to know your BMR?  From a professional point of view, calculating your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is great for a few reasons:

  • Weight Management – BMR represents the minimum amount of energy needed by the body to maintain basic functions and can help with creating a balanced goal-oriented meal plan.  It’s going to be impossible for someone to get results & stay healthy eating their BMR level of calories or worse – eating less than their BMR.  So BMR is the baseline you have to have to tailor a meal plan that’ll get you the results you want.
  • Determining Calorie Needs: Your BMR helps determine how many calories you need to consume each day to maintain, gain, or lose weight.
  • Personalized Nutrition: BMR can vary widely between individuals based on factors such as age, gender, weight, height, and activity level. Calculating your BMR can provide a more personalized understanding of your calorie needs and help you make more informed nutrition decisions.
  • Physical Activity Planning – By knowing your BMR, you can estimate your total daily energy expenditure and adjust your physical activity accordingly to achieve your unique goals.  If you exercise to a point where your energy intake & expenditure is less than your BMR – you’ll encounter serious issues in terms of feeling good and getting results.
  • Health Assessment:  Your BMR can provide valuable insights into your metabolic health.  Your metabolism is in place to keep you alive and if there’s a problem with your metabolism you can experience metabolic dysfunction.  If left untreated metabolic dysfunction can evolve into a disease.  Most metabolic diseases are fatal.  Any significant changes in BMR over time can indicate underlying health issues.  Eating less than your BMR is a sign that you already have metabolic dysfunction.  (I have a training about this and how to fix it)

Calculating BMR is the starting point for a healthy lifestyle.  It helps determine the daily calories needed to stay healthy and to maintain, gain, or lose weight.  It also helps set realistic expectations in terms of what diet and exercise will be best to reach your goal.  Without it, you’ll have a tough time getting happy, healthy, and fit.

This is a very short list of the organs and systems that need BMR energy to function properly.

a graphic showing how BMR calories are distributed throughout the body

If you don’t eat enough to cover your BMR guess what happens?

HINT:  it’s NOT good!!

 

Why eating less than your Basal Metabolic Rate Calculator Results is bad for you

 

Eating fewer calories than your BMR for an extended period of time can have serious health consequences.  Rapid weight loss through caloric restriction can have negative consequences and is not a sustainable or healthy approach to weight loss.  In fact, eating less than your BMR can paradoxically lead to weight gain.

Eating less than your BMR can result in health & weight issues, including:

  • Nutrient Deficiencies: Consuming too few calories automatically means you’re eating fewer nutrients, too.  This can lead to malnutrition and deficiencies in essential nutrients, vitamins, and minerals.  The nutrients are essential for life-sustaining functions.  Without them, it’s impossible to be healthy and have a fast metabolism.
  • Slow Metabolic Rate: The body may respond to an (extreme) caloric deficit by slowing down the metabolism to conserve energy.  This is known as starvation mode.  As you starve your body of energy and nutrients it’ll make fat more ‘stubborn’ and weight loss more difficult in the process.  And yes, eating your BMR or less is an extreme deficit… especially if you workout.  This can make it harder to lose weight and even easier to gain weight.
  • Hormonal Imbalances: Severe caloric restriction can disrupt hormones that regulate hunger, metabolism, and stress, leading to increased hunger, cravings, and overeating.
  • Immune System Dysfunction: Malnutrition can weaken the immune system, making you more susceptible to infections and diseases.
  • Muscle Loss: The body may break down muscle tissue for energy when caloric intake is too low, leading to muscle loss and decreased muscle mass.  This slows the metabolism further, making it easier to gain weight.
  • Weakness: The body relies on energy from food to function properly. When you eat fewer calories than your BMR, you may experience weakness, fatigue, and low energy levels.
  • Binge Eating: Caloric restriction can trigger binge eating, where individuals consume large amounts of food in a short period of time. Binging after a period of eating less than your BMR sets you up for rapid regain.

 

Once you have calculated your BMR, avoid consuming fewer calories than your BMR, as this can have negative impacts on your health and weight loss goals…. especially if you workout.

It is important to note that you do have to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight.  But your body doesn’t want to play limbo…  this isn’t about how low you can go.  Because if you do eat your BMR calories it’s still not enough to maintain a deficit that’s healthy and sustainable.

If you have a history of calorie restriction and struggle to lose weight take this training & I’ll explain how I can help you look & feel your best quickly.

How many calories is your BMR?  Let me know in the comments.  If you have any questions about your BMR ask it in the comments.

xo

Your Coach & Biggest Cheerleader,

 

If you enjoyed this post you’ll also like:

  • If you want to know how many calories you need to lose weight & get healthy I address this in all of my meal plansMyFitnessPal is inaccurate!
  • If you’ve been in a habit of undereating you may be suffering from metabolic dysfunction.  Check out this training that discusses your goals, if you have metabolic dysfunction, and how I reverse issues & boost metabolism so you can lose weight & feel great here.
  • If you like the BMR intake calculator – use this water intake calculator to see how much water is right for you!

 

A picture of a BMR calculator and text that says BMR Calculator

 

DISCOVER YOUR METABOLIC TYPE & HOW TO EAT TO BURN FAT 3 TIMES FASTERTAKE THE QUIZ