Facts About BMR Every Health Enthusiast Must Know

BMR or Basal Metabolic Rate is not just a number, but it is very important value for the health enthusiasts. It plays a major role in weight loss and many times sluggish metabolism is the reason why you don’t lose weight even after lot of hard work and strict diet. If you are into weight management or health fanatic then the term BMR would not be new for you, however here are some interesting facts about BMR that you need to know as well. 

1.       What is BMR?

BMR or Basal Metabolic Rate is the number indicating the calories consumed by your body at rest. These are the minimum calories your body would need to stay alive! This means that if your BMR is high then you would lose more pounds or burn more calories even when you are at rest or doing nothing. The extra efforts you put in will burn some extra calories for quicker weight loss.

2.       BMR plays a major role on your weight loss goals

If you are on weight loss program then it is important to know your BMR to plan your workout and diet regime. According to the studies, out of total calories burnt, 70% accounts to BMR, 20% accounts to exercise, and 10% accounts to diet. The component of physical activity can be increased to 50% by increasing the level of physical activity and it may also get lower than 20% in case of sedentary lifestyle. Hence, BMR is the driving force to achieve your weight loss goals.

3.       BMR can be increased or decreased because of your lifestyle

Every person has BMR according to body structure, muscle mass, fat percentage, bone structure, and water content in the body. It is the unique number for every individual, but it is not the constant number that cannot be changed. It is not the number that you will attain since birth or due to your genetic structure. This number changes according to your lifestyle. You can increase your BMR by not skipping the meals, eating small meals at regular intervals, exercising regularly, building more muscles, and leading a healthy lifestyle.

4.       Skipping a breakfast is the biggest blunder you make

You might have read this at many places that skipping a breakfast is quite uncalled for, and this is true as it brings down your BMR drastically. When you skip your breakfast, the first meal in the morning then you are more likely giving your body a message to store more fat. The body in turn reacts adversely and stops burning more calories, which would lead to lowered BMR. It is rightly said that have breakfast like a king to lead a healthy life.

5.       Sleep deprivation, a major blow to your metabolism

Hectic lifestyle and work commitments have left many people sleep deprived. Getting 7 to 8 hours of sleep has become difficult in today’s time and that brings down your metabolism. Studies have shown major decline in metabolism due to lack of sleep. Sleep deprivation reduces the activity level of the person due to lack of energy, which will negatively affect the metabolism. Lack of sleep also triggers other health disorders like diabetes, hypertension, and obesity.

6.       More muscles mean better BMR

The ratio of muscles to fat content in your body would affect the BMR to great extent. The muscles that are formed through weight training would increase your BMR substantially. Hence, it is important that you work on the muscle training as much as you work on fat reduction. Building muscles would increase the BMR that would also help you in weight management post weight loss program.

7.       Stay hydrated

Drinking water at regular intervals have lot of importance in health management. You may lose water during the course of day and this will affect your activity level tremendously. This would further turn out to be slow metabolism and low BMR. Drink enough water depending on your weight and body structure. Remember, every person has different hydration need depending on his weight, muscle mass, and fat store. The external condition also decides the hydration needs.

BMR is a number that works for designing an efficient weight loss regime. Use this number effectively and also put in efforts to keep this number up for quick and healthy weight loss.