What is basal metabolic rate and how is it measured?

Metabolism includes everything that happens inside your body to maintain and build tissues, produce energy, and keep you healthy. BXrefers to the base or minimum amount of energy your body needs to survive just during rest. It does not contain the extra energy needed to keep even a little activity while awake and on the go.

What is basal exchange?

Think of your basal metabolic rate as the number of calories your body burns for energy, even while you sleep. This energy is used to support life tasks, from breathing and pumping blood to maintaining body temperature. Your body also needs constant energy to make sure you have the right amount of fluid and nutrients for your metabolism. For example, without a certain concentration of potassium and sodium, your nerves and muscles cannot function.

Factors Affecting Basal Metabolic Rate

Various factors influence the basal metabolic rate. Some people have a higher metabolic rate due to their genes. Muscle burns three times more calories than fat, even during sleep, so the ratio of muscle to fat changes the metabolic rate. Age matters because as we age, the body loses muscle mass, which slows down the metabolism. When you don’t consume enough calories to meet your minimum energy needs, your metabolism slows down by up to 30 percent. Fever increases the body’s metabolic rate by 7 percent for every 0.5 degrees Celsius above normal body temperature. When the thyroid gland does not produce the right amount of hormones, the metabolic rate can decrease by 30-40 percent.

Build muscle mass

One of the most effective ways to increase your basal metabolic rate is to increase muscle mass. Muscle tissue is the most metabolically active tissue in your body, and the breakdown of old protein and the synthesis of new protein in your muscles is about one fifth of your resting metabolic rate.

As a result, building muscle mass will help you create a more metabolically active lean mass, which will increase calorie burn even at rest. To do this, you need to actively engage in strength training. Do two or three strength training sessions that target all the major muscle groups in your body.

Get enough calories

While severely limiting your calorie intake may seem like a good way to lose weight quickly, it can negatively impact your metabolism. When you reduce your calorie intake to counter weight loss, you naturally slow down your metabolism.

Avoid this semi-fasted state and the associated low basal metabolic rate by maintaining a calorie intake of at least 1800 calories for men and at least 1200 calories for women.

You will also get a slight metabolic boost by choosing certain foods. For example, proteins require more energy to digest than carbohydrates or fats. As a result, high protein foods allow you to burn slightly more calories during digestion, which contributes to your overall daily calorie burn. Choose high-fiber carbohydrate sources such as beans, vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.

Basic Exchange Calculator

You can calculate your basal metabolic rate by following a formula based on height, weight, and age, but this only gives an estimate. To obtain an accurate ratio, all individual factors must be taken into account, special equipment must be used, and measurements must be taken under strict conditions, such as after a good night’s sleep and on an empty stomach. The basal metabolic rate makes up only 70 percent of the calories your body uses. The total amount of energy you burn is determined by your basal metabolic rate + physical activity level and the calories you burn from digesting and absorbing nutrients.

How to increase basal metabolic rate?

Understanding your basal metabolic rate provides a valuable tool: it shows that you can influence your metabolic rate through muscle mass and a balanced diet. A restricted diet tells your body to save calories and slow down your metabolism. Thus, women should consume at least 1200 calories per day and men at least 1800 calories per day. Build or maintain muscle mass with resistance training that works muscles against external resistance through exercises such as lifting weights, climbing stairs, squats, push-ups, and leg raises. If you are currently sedentary or have any health condition that limits your activity, please consult your healthcare professional before beginning weight training.