Harris-Benedict Calculator (Basal Metabolic Rate)

BMR stands for Basal Metabolic Rate. It is a term used to measure how many calories your body will burn per day simply to support your vital body functions.

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Your BMR:

What it is

What is BMR?

Create Date: June 18, 2024

Last Modified Date: December 3, 2024

BMR stands for basal metabolic rate, it tells us just how many calories our body burns if we were to rest over a span of 24 hours. It takes into account various metrics about you and your body and with the help of our calculator, you can quickly and efficiently get your BMR results.

How To Calculate BMR

The way you calculate the BMR of a man is different from how you calculate a woman's.

The men's formula is:

An image showing the formula for calculating the BMR of a male.

For women it is:
An image showing the formula for calculating the BMR of a female.
Where:
  • W = Weight

  • H = height

  • A = Age

The History of BMR

There are many ways to calculate the BMR of someone but the most common method today is known as the Harrison-Benedict equation. It originally stems from a study published in 1919 by James Arthur Harris and Francis Gano Benedict.

It was later revised in 1984 to be more accurate, but the work of those two men paved the way for this to become what it is today.

What is a Good BMR?

When it comes to BMR, there is no good or bad. Since it is a number that is completely dependent on your specific metrics, whatever you get is what you get. There is no way to compare your results with anyone else's and doing so would be inefficient and be of no use to you.

How to Utilize BMR

There are many ways you can utilize the results of your BMR score. Some of these include:

  • Mass gaining - Now that you know the number of calories you burn a day, you can use it to help you calculate how many calories you need to intake a day to offset any weight loss due to your BMR.

  • Losing weight - BMR can give you the insight you need to ensure your body is getting enough nutrients to properly be fueled but also gives you an idea where you may potentially cut your calories each day.

BMR - Frequently Asked Questions

BMR stands for Basal Metabolic Rate. It is the number of calories your body needs to perform basic life-sustaining functions, such as breathing, circulation, cell production, nutrient processing, and temperature regulation. This is the minimum number of calories you need to consume each day to maintain your body's normal functions at rest.

BMR decreases with age primarily due to a loss of muscle mass as you get older and changes in hormonal and neurological processes. Muscle tissue is metabolically active and burns more calories than fat, so as muscle mass decreases, the overall metabolic rate decreases as well.

Our BMR calculator is based on the latest and most prominent formula. It is very accurate, but in reality our bodies may not exactly follow the results of the calculator, but will likely be very close still.

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