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What is Basal Metabolic Rate? You use energy no matter what you're doing, even when sleeping. Thus your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the number of calories you'd burn if you stayed in bed all day. If you've noticed that every year, it becomes harder to eat whatever you want and stay slim, you've also learnt that your BMR decreases as you age. Likewise, depriving yourself of food in hopes of losing weight also decreases your BMR, a foil to your intentions. However, a regular routine of cardiovascular Exercise can increase your BMR, improving your health and fitness when your body's ability to burn energy gradually slows down. Once you know your BMR, you can calculate your Daily Calorie Needs based on your activity level using the Harris Benedict Equation. The Harris Benedict Equation is a formula that uses your BMR and then applies an activity factor to determine your total daily energy expenditure (calories). The only factor omitted by the Harris Benedict Equation is lean body mass. Remember, leaner bodies need more calories than less leaner ones. Therefore, this equation will be very accurate in all but the very muscular (will under-estimate calorie needs) and the very fat (will over-estimate calorie needs). Harris Benedict Formula To determine your total daily calorie needs, multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows: 1. If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2 2. If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375 3. If you are moderatetely active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55 4. If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725 5. If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9 Total Calorie Needs Example If you are sedentary, multiply your BMR (1745) by 1.2 = 2094. This is the total number of calories you need in order to maintain your current weight. Once you know the number of calories needed to maintain your weight, you can easily calculate the number of calories you need to eat in order to gain or lose weight.
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