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BMR, what's that?

sitting on your couch

How would you like to burn 1300-2000 calories a day just by sitting on your couch at home? Well, guess what, you already do! It's called your basal metabolic rate (BMR). Read on to learn how to increase this rate to burn even more calories and lose weight effectively.

For each individual, there is a minimum energy requirement to sustain the body's functions in the waking state. This requirement is called the basal metabolic rate. Metabolic rate is the speed at which the body burns calories at any given time, or how quickly energy is expended.

BMR is measured in a controlled state to study the relationship between energy expenditure and body size, gender, and age. The BMR also establishes an important energy baseline for implementing a sound program of weight control by diet reconstruction, exercise, or the effective combination of both. All subjects tested for their individual BMR do not eat or undergo excessive muscular exertion in the previous 12 hours and must lie in a dimly lit, temperature controlled room for 30 to 60 minutes before testing begins.

Since everyone cannot be tested in this way, guidelines have been produced in generating estimated BMR rate for people of all ages. Generally, an individual could potentially burn 60 to 75 calories per hour, or about 1440 to 1800 calories per day.

"Jim's professionalism and knowledge have directly helped me obtain my physical goals. These physical changes have made me a much more confident person. Jim has given me a better knowledge of my body and what I am capable of achieving."

- Kat Borham

The main factors influencing BMR include age, gender, genetics, hormones, diet and activity level. Metabolic rate begins to decline around age 30. In many cases this is due to the loss of lean muscle mass and inactivity rather than the aging process. Genetics and hormones play very small roles in determining BMR although gender plays a significant role. Men generally have a faster metabolism due to the higher level of fat-free tissue (muscle tissue) found in their bodies.

Nutritional habits and activity level are key in increasing BMR, and are the only two that we can control. Let's start by talking about that nasty four-letter word, DIET. When one diets and excessively restricts calories, metabolism slows down and muscle loss can begin- we lose our desired fat-free mass. Restricting calories robs the body of nutrients, slowing metabolism in an effort to conserve energy. Statistics show that people gain back more weight after dieting, ending up with a higher percentage of body fat. Newer evidence shows a diet high in complex carbohydrates has a "thermogenic" quality, which helps to burn more calories. Your body burns calories by digesting food!

Strength training and aerobic exercise have shown to significantly impact the rate of metabolism. Strength training plays an extremely important role in raising the metabolic rate. Muscle is highly active, even when not exercising, burning 45 calories per pound a day. Compare this to fat, which burns only 2 calories per pound a day. What a difference! This obviously points out that the more muscle we have, the more calories we burn, in turn reducing the amount of fat in the body. Aerobic exercise has not been proven to raise BMR permanently, but in addition to increased calorie expenditure during exercise it can increase metabolism for a short period of time afterwards.

So what can I do to change my BMR? Try these tips:

Karen Schutters, MA
ACE Personal Trainer,
Owner- Priority Fitness