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Basal Metabolic Rate

Calories your body burns at complete rest — keeping organs running, blood pumping, brain active. Uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, the most accurate for healthy adults.

Your BMR

1700 kcal/day

If you stayed in bed all day, this is what you'd burn.

CalPilot

Your baseline is set. CalPilot tracks against it.

Log meals by photo or voice and see the day fill toward your number. Free download.

How it's calculated

The Mifflin-St Jeor equation, published in 1990, is the most accurate formula for predicting BMR in healthy adults:

  • Men: BMR = 10 × weight(kg) + 6.25 × height(cm) − 5 × age + 5
  • Women: BMR = 10 × weight(kg) + 6.25 × height(cm) − 5 × age − 161

BMR vs TDEE

BMR is what you burn at rest. TDEE includes activity. Your real maintenance calories are TDEE, not BMR — never eat below your BMR for sustained periods.

What affects BMR

  • Muscle mass — more muscle = higher BMR
  • Age — BMR drops ~1-2% per decade after 20
  • Sex — men have 5-10% higher BMR than women at same height/weight
  • Genetics — natural variation of ±200 kcal between similar individuals

Next: calculate your TDEE

BMR alone isn't your maintenance number. TDEE Calculator multiplies BMR by your activity level to give the actual calories you burn per day.