Your BMR is the amount of calories your body burns while performing it's most basic bodily activities such as heartrate, digestion, tissue repair, respiration, and other organ/body functions. So think of it as the number of calories you would burn if you spent the entire day sitting on the couch (Please don't do this ;-)......)
The absolute best and most accurate way to determine your BMR is by having it tested at a health club or hospital/clinic, but it's not always convenient or cost effective to go about it this way, so I'm going to provide you with a simple formula to give you an estimate of what YOUR BMR is:
MALE: 66 + (6.3 × body weight in pounds) + (12.9 × height in inches) − (6.8 × age in years)
FEMALE: 655 + (4.3 × weight in pounds) + (4.7 × height in inches) − (4.7 × age in years)
So, for example, here is what my personal BMR works out to be when I put in my own numbers:
655 + (4.3 x 142) + (4.7 x 69) - (6.8 x 43) = 1297.5 calories
In my opinion, it's absolutely necessary for you to consume at least this many calories...in my case, 1297.5. I know a LOT of people who cut calories SO much and wonder why it is that they're not losing any weight. But how can your body burn any fat when it can't even perform it's most basic functions??? Fat is the last thing your body is going to worry about if you're not consuming enough.
If you're an active person (which you should be!) I recommend getting a device such as a heartrate monitor or body bugg (something you can personalize they use this on biggest losser). This way you can know how many calories you are burning during your workouts or throughout your day and you can increase your calorie intake accordingly.
BMR is sometimes a foreign term to people, but I hope I've helped you understand IT so you can understand YOURSELF and use this valuable knowledge to your benefit! Get that journal out and start logging you intake....at the end of the day this will help you see where you are at.
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