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     BMR stands for Basal Metabolic Rate. It is a measure of the total energy you expend at rest in calories!

Resting energy expenditure is all the basic metabolic processes that occur in your body.

This energy is your “baseline” amount of calories you need to consume for healthy bodily function. You must first meet this amount of energy before weight loss or exercise can have a healthy impact on body weight and composition!

      Many factors change one’s BMR including height, lean mass, fat mass, overall body size and age. The most important factor to us in nutritional counseling is the amount of lean mass you carry.

Lean mass, mostly comprised of your musculature, is more metabolically active than fat mass.

This makes sense since muscles are used to do work such as when you are exercising. The more musculature you have and are utilizing for activity the more metabolic activity is occuring to keep up. Age is also considered a factor for this very reason. As we age we tend to lose lean mass and become less active than when we were younger. This of course is a generalization and means it can be changed! No matter our age or body size we are capable of gaining more lean mass and thus positively impacting our BMR.

     So how do you find out yours?  We use a machine called the Inbody. It is a bioelectrical impedance device, it sends a low level current through your body to assess water, fat and lean tissue mass. Based on that information inputted and your height your BMR is calculated and provided to you. From there we decide what your goal is and what nutrition plan is right for you!

Stay tuned for more articles about the next step after getting your BMR analyzed!