What Is My Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)?
Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the number of calories your body uses when it is at rest. It accounts for the calories used by your body to do basic everyday tasks like breathing, brain function, digestion, and the like. Factors which affect your BMR are your gender, age, body weight, and your physical activity levels. This is simply a baseline number to help you start to determine your calories. In the earlier section you learned to determine the number of calories you should start eating based on your bodyweight and your goals. Over time, make adjustments as necessary. The reason BMR is included in here is because of the warning in that section stating that you should never go below 1200 calories a day. Most adults have a BMR which is, at a minimum, 1200 calories if not MUCH higher. Going below your minimum BMR can cause the body to trigger “starvation” signs such as preserving body fat, holding onto water, and eating away muscle. If you have ever seen videos of malnourished priso
