Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the number of calories your body needs to maintain basic life functions (breathing, circulating blood, etc.) at complete rest. In other words, if you stayed in bed all day, your BMR is the energy you’d burn. Knowing your BMR helps in tailoring your calorie intake for weight loss, gain, or maintenance. This BMR Calculator lets you input your details and instantly see your BMR, so you can plan your diet with precision. It uses the widely-accepted Mifflin-St Jeor equation to ensure accuracy.
Calculate Your BMR
How the BMR is calculated: The calculator uses your age, gender, weight, and height to compute BMR. The formula is:
BMR = 10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) – 5 × age (yrs) + s
where s = +5 for males and s = -161 for females. This reflects the natural metabolic differences between men and women. For example, a 30-year-old man who is 180 cm tall and weighs 75 kg has a higher BMR than a woman of the same stats, due to the +5 vs. -161 gender factor. Our calculator applies the correct formula based on your input to give a personalized result in kilocalories per day.
Why BMR matters: Once you know your BMR, you can estimate how many calories you need per day when physical activity is added (see the TDEE calculator below). If you consume fewer calories than your BMR+activity needs, you’ll create a calorie deficit and lose weight; consume more, and you may gain weight. Understanding your BMR is the first step in any nutrition plan, acting as the “caloric floor” you shouldn’t go below regularly. We recommend using this BMR calculator to inform your meal planning and then adjusting intake based on your goals.