BMR

What is the best way to calculate your BMR?

According the burn meter on here at a sendetary level, it is at 3020 calories per day.

I googled "basal metabolic rate calculators" and used about 10 different ones.

One of them was a calculator on another about.com website and it gave close to the same as the one on this site.

The others were all within 10-15 cal of one another and around 2625.

I looked up the Harris-Benedict formula and figured my BMR by hand and came up with just over 2600.

So, there is about 400 difference in the top and low end calculations.

On one of the calculators it stated:

Note: Will underestimate caloric needs for the extremely muscular and will overestimate caloric needs for the extremely overweight.

I am extremely overweight, so even the 2600 BMR could be overestimated?

Would I be better to take an average?

Go with the low end since so many calculated this number?

Because I want to create a 1000 calorie deficit, a variance of 400 could throw everything off.

Would I be better to start using the lower estimate and if that doesn't work, gradually increase calories until I found the right combination where I am losing?

Thanks anyone who can help.

The reason you're getting such a difference of numbers is because this site doesn't calculate your BMR--it calculates your burn at a sedentary level of activity.

Your BMR is the amount of calories that's needed to keep your organs functioning properly. This is the amount of calories you would burn if you were in a coma and were lying in bed, completely immobile, all day.

Your sedentary burn is your BMR x 1.2. Sedentary burn, while assuming you're not exercising, takes into account the fact that you ARE getting out of bed--moving from room to room within your house, from your house to your car, standing up to get a shower, etc. All these things burn calories, more than your BMR.

It's possible that your BMR is being overestimated because of your weight. It's hard to tell. I would start with a higher number rather than a lower number, and then decrease slowly if you don't see the results you want. It's easier to start higher and reduce rather than start low, lose a lot of weight quickly, stick your body in starvation mode, have to increase calories, regain the weight, and have to start again.

I hope that helped a bit! :-)

Thank you, that does make sense.