Basal Metabolic Rate Calculator - Calories Burned when Resting

Basal Metabolic Rate, or BMR, is the minimum calorific requirement needed to sustain life in a resting individual, or the amount of energy expended while at rest. Try our Basal Metabolic Rate calculator showing number of calories you burn when at rest in bed or resting metabolic rate RMR.

Basal Metabolic Rate calculator showing number of calories you burn when at rest in bed or resting metabolic rate RMR.

Basal Metabolic Rate, or BMR, is the minimum calorific requirement needed to sustain life in a resting individual, or the amount of energy expended while at rest in a neutrally temperate environment, in the post-absorptive state (meaning that the digestive system is inactive, which requires about twelve hours of fasting in humans).

BMR can be responsible for burning up to 70% of the total calories expended as you will expend energy no matter what you're doing, even when sleeping. Thus your Basal Metabolic Rate is the number of calories you'd burn if you were to stay in bed all day.

Basal metabolic rate is usually by far the largest component of total caloric expenditure. However, the Harris-Benedict equations are only approximate and variation in BMR (reflecting varying body composition), in physical activity levels, and in energy expended in thermogenesis make it difficult to estimate the dietary consumption any particular individual needs in order to maintain body weight. 2000 kilocalories is often quoted but is no more than a guideline.

BMR decreases with age and with the loss of lean body mass. Increasing muscle mass increases BMR. Aerobic fitness level, a product of cardiovascular exercise, while previously thought to have effect on basal or resting metabolic rate (RMR), has been shown in the 1990s not to correlate with BMR, when fat-free body mass was adjusted for. New research has however come to light which suggests aerobic exercise does increase resting energy consumption. Illness, previously consumed food and beverages, environmental temperature, and stress levels can affect one's overall energy expenditure as well as one's BMR.

BMR is measured under very restrictive circumstances when a person is awake, but at complete rest. An accurate BMR measurement requires that the person's sympathetic nervous system not be stimulated. A more common and closely related measurement, used under less strict conditions, is resting metabolic rate (RMR).

To see how many calories you burn performing certain activities see How to Count and Calculate Calories

The BMR Calculator below will calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR); which is the number of calories you would burn if you stayed in bed all day.

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