How BMR can influence the success of your diet?
Basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the amount of energy your body burns at rest to maintain basic life functions such as breathing, maintaining body temperature, and keeping your heart beating. BMR is influenced by a number of factors, including your body composition, age, and hormones.
When it comes to dieting, BMR plays a crucial role in determining how many calories you need to consume in order to lose, gain, or maintain your weight. Your BMR represents the minimum number of calories your body needs just to keep you alive and functioning, and any additional calories you consume above this amount will either be stored as fat or used for energy.
If your BMR is high, you will be able to eat more calories without gaining weight, whereas if your BMR is low, you will need to eat fewer calories to maintain or lose weight. It’s important to note that BMR is not the only factor that determines how many calories you should consume to achieve your weight loss goals, but it can be used as a starting point.
To calculate your BMR, there are a number of equations available such as Harris-Benedict equation or Mifflin-St Jeor equation. These equations take into account your weight, height, age, and sex to give you an estimate of your BMR. However, it’s important to remember that these equations are not 100% accurate and there can be some variation in BMR among individuals with the same characteristics.
In order to increase your BMR, you can engage in regular physical activity, increase your muscle mass, and maintain a healthy diet. Resistance training, weightlifting and intense cardio will help boost your BMR. Eating enough protein and consuming enough calories is important for maintaining muscle mass. On the other hand, crash dieting or excessive calorie restriction can decrease BMR, making it harder to lose weight in the long-term and putting you at risk for nutrient deficiencies.
In summary, BMR plays an important role in determining how many calories you need to consume to achieve your weight loss goals. It’s important to accurately calculate your BMR, and use it as a starting point when planning your diet. Regular exercise and maintaining muscle mass can help increase your BMR, while crash dieting and excessive calorie restriction can decrease it.
