Did you know that when you are just sitting, most of your energy is coming from fat through the aerobic oxidative system? Then you go on the treadmill or walk in the so-called fat-burning zone and wonder why you still can’t lose weight.
Unfortunately, fat requires relatively little energy to be used as fuel, which means fewer calories are burned in the process. One way to make a bigger difference is to tap into your other energy systems, increasing intensity and engaging your body anaerobically to help rev up your metabolism.
But before doing that, it is helpful to establish a baseline. This can be done by calculating your BMR — Basal Metabolic Rate. Your BMR tells you how many calories your body burns just to stay alive. It represents the energy required for basic functions such as organ function, breathing, blood circulation, and maintaining body temperature.
Your total daily energy use is roughly broken down as follows:
- 70% from basic bodily functions (BMR)
- 20% from physical movement and activity
- 10% from digesting and processing the food we eat
Understanding your BMR is important if you are trying to change your body weight, because it shows the minimum amount of energy your body needs to function.
Factors That Affect BMR
Several factors influence your Basal Metabolic Rate:
- Body Size – Larger bodies require more energy to function.
- Sex – Males generally have a higher BMR because they tend to have more lean muscle mass and larger body size than females.
- Age – BMR typically decreases with age due to loss of muscle mass, as well as hormonal and neurological changes.
- Female life stages -pregnancy and lactation (which increase BMR) and menopause, which can lower BMR due to decreased lean body mass.
These next factors are the ones we can influence:
- Skipping meals, fasting, or starvation – Consuming too few calories can slow your BMR as the body protects itself by conserving energy.
- Amount of Lean Muscle Tissue – Muscle requires significantly more energy to maintain than other tissues.
- Amount of Adipose Tissue (body fat) – Fat tissue requires far less energy to maintain than muscle.
As you can see, the first three factors are largely outside of our control, but the last three are things we can influence through lifestyle and exercise.
Because many of these factors are outside our control, it becomes even more important to focus on the areas we can influence — especially muscle mass and physical activity.
Exercise and Its Impact on BMR
1. Aerobic Exercise – burns calories during the activity itself, but it does not typically increase BMR significantly. This is because it primarily uses energy while you are exercising rather than building muscle that increases resting metabolism. While aerobic exercise can reduce body fat—which may indirectly influence BMR—the body can sometimes compensate by lowering other metabolic processes.
2. Strength Training– is one of the most effective ways to increase BMR. Building muscle increases resting metabolic rate because muscle tissue requires more energy to maintain than fat.
3. High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) – involves short bursts of intense activity followed by recovery periods. It combines both aerobic and anaerobic energy systems and can elevate metabolism both during and after the workout increasing BMR.
4. Flexibility and Balance Training – like aerobic activities have minimal impact on BMR. However, they are still extremely important for overall health, mobility, injury prevention, and long-term fitness.
How Do You Calculate Your BMR – go to this link or see formula below: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/basal-metabolic-rate-bmr
The Harris–Benedict Equation formula – most common:
For males:
BMR = 88.362 + (13.397 × weight in kilograms) + (4.799 × height in centimetres) − (5.677 × age in years)
For females:
BMR = 447.593 + (9.247 × weight in kilograms) + (3.098 × height in centimetres) − (4.330 × age in years)
Mikkie Nettles-Pollon, Certified Personal Trainer/Holistic & Sports Nutritionist
Not sure where to begin, contact me at info@deemhealth.ca
250-541 -0411.
www.deamhealth.ca
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