BMR Calculator
Calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate, the calories your body burns at complete rest, with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation.
In years
What BMR Is and Why It Matters
Your Basal Metabolic Rate is the energy your body burns at complete rest. It is the fuel needed to keep your heart beating, your lungs working and your cells repairing, with zero movement. Measured in kcal per day, BMR is the floor of your daily calorie burn.
For most people BMR makes up the biggest share of daily energy use, often 60 to 70 percent. Knowing your number gives you a baseline. Every calorie goal, for losing, holding or gaining weight, starts from this rest figure and builds up from there.
The Mifflin-St Jeor Formula
This calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, the formula researchers found most accurate for healthy adults. It runs off four inputs: weight in kg, height in cm, age in years and sex. The two versions are:
Men: BMR = 10 x weight(kg) + 6.25 x height(cm) - 5 x age + 5.
Women: BMR = 10 x weight(kg) + 6.25 x height(cm) - 5 x age - 161.
Validated examples: a 30-year-old man at 80 kg and 180 cm has a BMR of 1,780 kcal. A 30-year-old woman at 65 kg and 165 cm has a BMR of 1,370 kcal. Heavier, taller and younger bodies burn more at rest.
BMR vs TDEE
BMR is rest only. It does not count the calories you burn walking, working or training. Your full daily burn is your TDEE, your Total Daily Energy Expenditure. TDEE takes your BMR and multiplies it by an activity factor, from 1.2 for a desk job up to 1.9 for hard daily training.
That is why TDEE is always higher than BMR. To turn your rest number into a full daily burn, use the TDEE calculator, which multiplies your BMR by your activity level and shows the result at every step.
How to Use Your BMR
Start with the activity step above. Once you have your TDEE, set a goal. To find the calories to eat for losing, holding or gaining weight, use the calorie calculator. It adds or subtracts a few hundred calories based on what you want.
To lose weight, eat below your maintenance level. The calorie deficit calculator shows the pace and weekly loss for each size of deficit. Once you have a calorie target, split it into protein, carbs and fat with the macro calculator.
Numbers only help if you act on them. The Velpa app logs your weight and steps in one private place, so you can see whether your real results match the estimate and adjust as you go.
Frequently asked questions
- What is BMR?
- BMR is your Basal Metabolic Rate, the calories your body burns at complete rest to keep you alive. It covers breathing, circulation, brain function and cell repair, with no movement at all. For most adults BMR is the largest part of daily calorie burn, often 60 to 70 percent of the total.
- How is BMR calculated?
- This tool uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation. It takes your weight in kg, height in cm and age in years, then adjusts for sex. A 30-year-old man at 80 kg and 180 cm has a BMR of 1,780 kcal. A 30-year-old woman at 65 kg and 165 cm has a BMR of 1,370 kcal.
- What is the difference between BMR and TDEE?
- BMR is the energy you burn at rest. TDEE is your Total Daily Energy Expenditure, which adds the calories you burn through daily movement and exercise. TDEE is always higher than BMR. To get it, multiply your BMR by an activity factor between 1.2 and 1.9.
- Should I eat at my BMR to lose weight?
- No. Eating only at your BMR ignores the calories you burn moving around, so it can cut intake too far. Base a weight loss target on your TDEE instead, then subtract 250 to 500 kcal. Do not drop below 1,500 kcal as a man or 1,200 kcal as a woman without medical advice.
- How accurate is this BMR calculator?
- The Mifflin-St Jeor equation is the most reliable general formula for healthy adults, usually within about 10 percent of measured values. Two people with the same stats can differ because of muscle mass and genetics. Muscle burns more at rest than fat, so a lean, muscular person sits at the high end of the estimate.