BMR Calculator: Our Best, Most Accurate BMR Calculator [Free] (2024)

We think this is our best BMR Calculator ever. It may be the most accurate BMR Calculator with body fat online. It's designed to help you work out how many calories your body burns to maintain life, which includes all the basic bodily functions. It does not account for sleeping, moving, eating, exercising, and other activties you do. It's just the most basic level of life.

Try our Accurate TDEE Calculator to get your Total Daily Energy Expenditure.

Atlas Says: BMR is a great calculation when working out a minimum number of calories your body needs which is ideal for your fitness and nutrition plan. Never eat fewer calories than your BMR as it's the minimum for a healthy functioning body.

BMR vs TDEE?

Your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) and TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure), differ slightly in that your TDEE calculation is your BMR plus all of your daily activities including sleeping, walking, working, exercising, eating, etc.

Atlas Says: Try our TDEE Calculator to discover how many calories you burn in a day.

What formulas do you use to work out BMR?

There are two formula's we use in this accurare Basal Metabolic Calculator, they are: Mifflin-St Jeor and Katch-McArdle. If you include body fat percentage then the calculator uses the accurate Katch-McArdle formula. However, if you do not add your body fat percentage, then the calculator falls back to using the Mifflin-St Jeor formula (which is still very accurate). This formula excludes the activity level factor usually included in the above formulas to provide an accurate BMR calculation.

Mifflin-St Jeor Formula

Male = ( 10 x Weight in KGs ) + ( 6.25 x Height in CMs ) - ( 5 x Age ) + 5
Female = ( 10 x Weight in KGs ) + ( 6.25 x Height in CMs ) - ( 5 x Age ) - 161

Katch-McArdle Formula

Male & Female = 370 + ( 21.6 x ( Weight in KGs - (Body Fat % x Weight in KGs) ) )

BMR Calculations and why calculating BMR is important

The single most important reason for calculating BMR is to do with accurately estimating how many calories your body requires depending on your own personal body composition - with the exclusion of your daily active levels.

Once you have this number, then you can use it as the backbone for your training and nutrition goals when you factor in your daily activity levels.

Calculating BMR for fat loss. If you are trying to reduce the amount of body fat then you will require a deficit against your BMR calculation. For the example of calculating BMR for fat loss, if your BMR is 2000 calories + daily activity level calories of 500, then a 10% calorie deficit will mean that you need to roughly eat 2250 calories a day to ensure you are in caloric deficit. The 10% deficit used here is a manageable deficit, a deficit of between 10% to 20% is recommended for reducing body fat - too many calories will also mean muscle loss.

Calculating BMR for muscle gain. Conversly if you are trying to gain muscle then you will require a calorie surplus against your BMR calculation. For the example of calculating BMR for muscle gain, if your BMR is 2000 calories + daily activity level calories of 500, then a 10% calorie surplus will mean that you need to roughly eat 2750 calories a day to ensure you are in caloric surplus. The 10% surplus used here is a manageable surplus, a surplus of between 10% to 20% is recommended for muscle gain- too many calories will also mean fat gain.

Please also note that these BMR calcualtion examples are when combining nutrition with resistance and cardio training for maximum benefit + don't forget your BMR does not include the calories you burn through your daily activity.

Atlas Says: BMR calulations are the backbone for fat loss, muscle gain, and weight maintenance. What is measured, can be improved.

Why should you use our best, most accurate BMR Calculator for free?

We have been working hard to bring you our best, most accurate BMR Calculator in this latest version of Atlas. Cue the sales pitch...but it's free.

It's really important that our BMR Calculator is not just accurate but also better than any other on the entire web. We may just have done exactly that!

Below are some great reasons we think you should use our BMR Calculator over any of those other inferior calculators online.

100% Completely Free - You heard it right, our BMR Calculator is completely free to use now and forever.

Absolutely No Sign Up Forms - We don't want your data. Not your email address, not your name, address, or even your credit card details.

Instant Online Body Insights - Unlike some of the other fitness calculators we show your results instantly online. Get instant access to your BMR Calculator results.

Accurate BMR Calculator - Because we think this is our best BMR Calculator it has to be super accurate, so we did just that and made it so.

Privacy Friendly - As we don't ask you to sign up or for any of your personal details, our tool is privacy friendly.

BMR Calculator: Our Best, Most Accurate BMR Calculator [Free] (2024)

FAQs

What is the most reliable BMR calculator? ›

Of these equations, the Mifflin-St Jeor Equation is considered the most accurate equation for calculating BMR with the exception that the Katch-McArdle Formula can be more accurate for people who are leaner and know their body fat percentage.

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What is a good BMR for my age? ›

How to Calculate your ideal BMR?

Age	Male (calories per hour)	Female (calories per hour)
20–29	39.5	37.0
30–39	39.5	36.5
40–49	38.5	36.5
50–59	37.5	35.0

2 more rows

Jun 3, 2021

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How to calculate BMR accurately? ›

Calculate Basal Metabolic Rate

Your basal metabolism rate is produced through the following basal metablic rate formula: Men: BMR = 88.362 + (13.397 x weight in kg) + (4.799 x height in cm) – (5.677 x age in years) Women: BMR = 447.593 + (9.247 x weight in kg) + (3.098 x height in cm) – (4.330 x age in years)

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What is a healthy BMR number? ›

What is my average BMR? Most men have a BMR of about 1,600 to 1,800 kCals a day. Most women have a BMR of 1,550 kCals a day. If you are above 40, your average BMR is probably only 1,200 kCals a day.

What is a good BMR for weight loss? ›

While a 1500 BMR for women and 2000 for men is believed to be fairly standard, it doesn't mean that is a good BMR number. That's because your BMR number is based upon your weight, height, sex, and age, the combination of those factors are unique to you alone.

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Is your BMR higher if you are overweight? ›

If you have a slow metabolism or slow BMR, your body needs fewer calories to keep it going. A fast metabolism does not necessarily lead to thinness. In fact, studies show that people with overweight/obesity often have fast metabolisms. Their bodies need more energy to keep basic body functions going.

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How many calories should I eat if my BMR is 1500? ›

At a baseline, knowing your BMR provides a caloric goal your body needs to perform basic functions. For example, a BMR of 1,500 means you need to consume at least 1,500 calories to help your body work efficiently. This knowledge is important if you plan to gain, lose or remain the same weight.

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Is 1200 BMR too low? ›

Full stop. Research shows that the average woman aged 20 to 60 burns about 2,000 calories a day. So even if you're aiming for 1,200 as part of a weight loss regimen, you're going way too low — especially if you're active.

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How can I lose weight if my BMR is 1400? ›

How Many Calories Should I Eat Daily to Lose Weight? For example, if your BMR is 1,400 (the average for American women) and you are moderately active, your AMR would be 2,170 (1,400 x 1.55). Since a pound of fat is equal to 3,500 calories, you would need to cut 500 calories per day to lose a pound per week.

How do I adjust my BMR to lose weight? ›

To lose weight using your BMR:

The number should be somewhere between your BMR and the number of calories you need to maintain your current weight. As a guide, the average man needs about 2,500 calories and the average woman needs 2,000 calories a day to maintain their weight.

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How many calories do 10,000 steps burn? ›

How Many Calories Does 10,000 Steps Burn? Depending on your weight, walking 10,000 steps burns between 250 and 600 calories. You can use a steps to calories converter chart to estimate this for yourself.

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What foods speed up female metabolism? ›

Foods rich in protein, like lean meats, eggs and legumes, as well as fiber-rich foods, such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains, can help boost your metabolism.

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Should I eat less than my BMR to lose weight? ›

BMR is a component of your TDEE, but it is NOT the amount of calories you should eat to lose weight. BMR is the amount of calories your body needs to "keep the lights on" and ensure you live to fight another day. To lose weight, you need to eat about 15-20% less than your TDEE.

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What is a normal Basal Metabolic Rate for a woman? ›

An average man has a BMR of around 7,100 kJ per day, while an average woman has a BMR of around 5,900 kJ per day. Energy expenditure is continuous, but the rate varies throughout the day. The rate of energy expenditure is usually lowest in the early morning.

What is the most accurate way to test BMR? ›

The most accurate way to calculate your BMR is to get it tested at a lab. You'll breathe into a special mask called a calorimeter that covers your mouth and/or nose. The mask uses your breath rate to measure the calories you burn. You'll need to sleep at the lab overnight to get an accurate BMR measurement.

What is the strongest predictor of BMR? ›

Fat-free mass is by far the most important predictor of BMR. Equations like the Oxford/Henry equations work well because sex, height, and weight are reliably associated with fat-free mass. So, in essence, the Oxford/Henry equation is tacitly predicting your fat-free mass to then predict your BMR.