Calculation of basal metabolism (basal metabolism). Calculator.

© rummess — depositphotos.com

Share:

We all know the main principle of achieving progress in sports. 40% training, 20% sleep, and 40% nutrition. But how to calculate nutrition correctly to achieve certain goals? Of course, a plan is drawn up for this, which takes into account physical and mental needs and expenses. But from this entire formula, one single factor drops out, which will be discussed in the next material - basal metabolism.

What it is

Basic metabolism is one of the indicators of the intensity of metabolism and energy in the human body. It is determined by the amount of fasting energy in optimal temperature conditions, which is necessary to maintain a state of complete physical and mental peace.

That is, basal metabolism shows how much energy the body spends to maintain the constant activity of internal organs and muscles.

The energy that the body receives as a result of such reactions is used to ensure a constant body temperature (source - Textbook “Physiology of Metabolism and the Endocrine System”, Tepperman).

Thanks to the completeness of basal metabolism, the following is ensured:

• Synthesis of basic hormones.
• Synthesis of basic enzymes.
• Providing basic cognitive function.
• Digestion of food.
• Dream.
• Maintaining immune function.
• Maintaining the ratio of anabolic to catabolic processes.
• Maintaining respiratory functions.
• Transportation of basic energy elements by blood.
• Maintaining a constant body temperature according to Rubner's law.

And this is not a complete list of what is happening in our body. In particular, even when a person sleeps, most of the processes, albeit in a slow manner, help synthesize new building elements and break down glycogen into glucose. All this requires a constant supply of calories, which a person gets from food. In particular, this basic consumption is the daily minimum norm of how many calories are needed to maintain basic body functions.

WHAT DOES THE DAILY CALORIES DEPEND ON?

Dietitians and nutrition consultants who have completed dietetics courses know that your daily calorie intake depends on many factors. This indicator is different for everyone, and therefore it must also be calculated for each person individually.

Our calorie needs depend on gender, weight, height, age, as well as the intensity and regularity of physical training. In fact, the daily calorie intake is the subsistence level of energy that a person needs for normal life at a certain level of physical activity.

As activity increases, calorie needs also increase. The same can be said about lowering the ambient temperature: the colder it is outside and at home, the more calories the body consumes (calories are also consumed to maintain a stable body temperature). That's why you always want to eat less in the summer - the body itself signals a reduction in daily calorie needs.

Rubner surface

Oddly enough, sometimes metabolism is determined not only by biochemical processes, but also by simple physical laws.

Scientist Rubner discovered a relationship linking the total surface area with the number of calories expended.

How does it actually work? There are 2 main factors due to which his assumption turned out to be correct.

• 1st – the size of the organism. The larger the body surface, the larger the organs, and the greater the leverage in any action, which drives a larger “machine” that consumes “more fuel.”
• 2nd – keeping warm. For the normal functioning of the body, metabolic processes occur with the release of heat. In particular, for a person it is 36.6. Moreover, the temperature (with rare exceptions) is evenly distributed throughout the body. So, to heat a larger area, you need more energy. It all has to do with thermodynamics.

Therefore, from all this we can conclude:

Thick people actually spend more energy during their basal metabolic rate. Tall people are often thin due to a caloric deficit caused by an increased basal metabolism and spending on maintaining temperature over a larger body area.

© designer491 — depositphotos.com. One of the formulas for calculating basic exchange

Increase in basal metabolism

To lose weight and gain a slim, beautiful figure or simply switch to a healthy lifestyle, you need to increase your OO indicators. For this:

• Play sports. Such activities burn a lot of calories;
• Drink more water (about three liters per day). It really helps you lose weight, but watch the quality of your drink;
• Eat healthy foods that need to be taken according to the schedule. At the same time, metabolic processes will certainly increase. If you want to lose weight, your calorie intake should be reduced. But don’t “overdo it” with this, because a constant feeling of hunger is also bad;

• Get a massage. Cellular metabolism will “launch its mechanisms” at a different level, and all this will have a great effect on increasing OO;
• Your thoughts should only be positive. This also has a beneficial effect on basic metabolism, because due to bad thoughts and stress, the hormone cortisol is released, and it floods with water, this does not have a very good effect on the figure;
• Regulate your sleep. Give yourself enough rest;
• Go to the bathhouse more often. Visiting the sauna will only benefit your health; in addition, you get rid of excess water in the body;
• Walk more in the fresh air. This will have a positive effect on the functioning of all your organs and your condition in general.

In one of our articles, we wrote in detail about how to speed up your metabolism. Ask questions and leave comments under the article.

Factors determining basal metabolism

The initial intensity of basal metabolism in men weighing about 70 kg is on average 1700 kcal. For women, these parameters are 10% less (source - Wikipedia).

If we consider the level of basal metabolism as a dynamic system, mobile, then there are factors that determine the basic background and the amount of energy distributed:

• Amount of incoming energy. The more frivolous a person is with his diet (constant excess of calories, frequent snacks, acceleration of metabolism), the more actively the body spends them even in passive mode. All this leads to constant hormonal levels and a general increase in the load on the body, and, as a result, faster failure of individual systems.
• The presence of artificial stimulants of metabolic rate. For example, people who drink caffeine have a lower basal metabolic rate when they quit caffeine. At the same time, their hormonal system begins to fail.
• General human mobility. So, during sleep, the body transports glucose from the liver to the muscles, synthesizes new amino acid chains, and synthesizes enzymes. The amount (and, therefore, resources) spent on these processes directly depends on the overall load on the body.
• Change in basal metabolic rate. If a person has brought himself out of balance (natural speed), then the body will spend additional energy on restoring and stabilizing all processes. Moreover, this applies to both acceleration and deceleration.
• Presence of external factors. A change in temperature will force the skin to intensively release heat to maintain the overall temperature, which can change the dynamic factor affecting the overall level of basal metabolism.
• The ratio of absorbed and excreted nutrients. With a constant excess of calories, the body can simply refuse extra nutrients, in this case, basal waste will increase due to the process of converting useful nutrients into transport slag.

In addition, it is worth highlighting the main end products of metabolism, which are excreted from the body regardless of its speed.

How to lose weight? With the “Lose Weight Correctly” system – it’s simple and effective

Do you want to lose weight, but don't know where to start? Our system will show you how to lose weight correctly, and most importantly, how to maintain weight without effort. At your service are dietary recipes, exercise sets, and recommendations from psychologists. You will be able to determine your ideal weight, count calories in your diet, get advice from the course authors on any issues and be inspired by the success stories of our losing weight readers.

The main advantages of the system are the absence of restrictions and simplicity. You can easily lose weight without dieting, without giving up your favorite foods. To obtain complete information about the system, just join the “Lose Weight Correctly” Club

.

What is it regulated by?

Now we need to determine not only what the main energy is spent on during general metabolism, but also how the amount of energy expended is regulated.

• First, there is the initial metabolic rate, which is defined as the ratio of total mobility to the presence of excess energy.
• Secondly, basal metabolism is regulated by the initial level of hormones in the blood. For example, for diabetics or for people suffering from gastrointestinal problems, the overall metabolism will differ in speed and, accordingly, in costs from the average.
• Thirdly, age. As we get older, our basal metabolism slows down as we optimize our body's resources in an attempt to extend the lifespan of our core systems longer. This also includes height and initial body weight, since basal metabolism is dependent on these parameters.
• Plenty of oxygen. Without the oxidation of complex polysaccharides to the level of simple monosaccharides, the release of energy is impossible. More precisely, the mechanism of its isolation changes. With a large amount of oxygen, the rate of excretion increases, which also increases the cost of basic metabolism. At the same time, in conditions of lack of oxygen, the body can switch to burning fat tissue, which is radically different in speed and cost.
• Seasonality. It has been proven that in spring and early summer the basal metabolism is increased, and in winter and late autumn metabolic processes slow down.
• Nature of nutrition. Food and its subsequent digestion increase basal metabolism, especially if proteins predominate in the diet. This effect of food on the rate of basal metabolism is called the “specific dynamic effect of food . Restriction of nutrition or its excess, the concentration of various nutrients in the diet directly affects the rate of basal metabolism (source - Textbook “Physiology of Metabolism and the Endocrine System”, Tepperman).

Continuing the analogy with cars, this is a reduction in speed in order to reduce oil consumption in the engine, and, accordingly, reduce overall engine wear, thereby extending the life of an individual spare part.

To avoid being healthy and helpless

Important! WHO recommends not limiting yourself to aerobic exercise, but be sure to do exercises for joints, balance and strength at least 2 times a week.

The fact is that life expectancy —the performance of the cardiovascular, endocrine and immune systems—depends on general activity (and on calorie consumption). But the quality of life depends on the condition of the joints and muscles, as well as on brain activity.

Everyone wants to live to be a hundred years old, but no one wants to be old and helpless. Medicine and social institutions are now shifting their focus from life expectancy to its quality.

Just 20 years ago, only 25% of the population lived to age 75. Now this is the general norm. In countries with high life expectancy (for example, Japan), according to forecasts, by 2025, one in nine residents will exceed the age limit of 90 years. And preserving their ability to at least self-care is already a matter of political importance, so that 90-year-old elders with more or less healthy hearts do not lie in bed with arthrosis and osteoporosis, drawing a significant army of young people from the economy to the position of caregivers.

Therefore, WHO is gradually shifting its emphasis and making the priority no longer the number of years lived, but the quality of life and level of independence in old age. Naturally, in this situation, not only the intensity, but also the form of the loads becomes of fundamental importance.

Disturbance of balance

The calculation of basal metabolism takes into account dynamic stress. For example, playing sports throws the body out of balance, forcing it to gradually speed up its metabolism and completely adapt to new conditions. This, in turn, causes counteraction (which is characterized by a large loss of nutritional potential, and, possibly, the removal of most body systems from normal mode for some time).

In addition, to regulate the effects of stress, the costs of maintaining the emotional background increase. Well, plus, if the balance is completely restored, the body begins to completely adapt to the new regime with a new metabolic rate.

For example, a sudden change in diet, followed by a slowdown in metabolism, is also a sufficient factor for changing the level of basic consumption. When the system is taken out of balance, it will tend towards it. This determines the current levels of enzymes and hormones.

© sunabesyou — depositphotos.com

Formulas for calculating basic needs

The formula for calculating basal metabolic rate is imperfect. It does not take into account factors such as:

• Individual metabolic rate.
• The ratio of subcutaneous and deep fat.
• Presence of glycogen depot.
• External temperature.

However, for a general estimate, this formula will do. Before the table we insert clarifications:

• BW – body weight. For the most accurate calculation, it is better to use pure weight (excluding adipose tissue).
• R – height. It is used in the formula because of Rubner's theorem. It is one of the most inaccurate coefficients.
• The free coefficient is a magic number that adjusts your result to the norm, once again proving that without such a coefficient (individual for each case), it will not be possible to obtain an adequate calculation of basal metabolism.

It is important to understand that the calculation formula does not take into account the unevenness of caloric expenditure throughout the day. So, for example, during the day during a meal or after a workout, accelerated metabolism forces the body to consume more energy, even if it does not use it so rationally. While in sleep, metabolic processes are optimized to the maximum, which allows you to achieve optimal results in your goals.

General metabolism

Naturally, the main stages and processes occurring in the body during basic metabolism are not the only expenses. When creating a nutrition plan, say, for weight loss, you need to perceive basal metabolism not as a constant (calculated using a formula), but as a dynamic system, any change in which leads to a change in the calculations.

Firstly, in order to consume the full calorie intake, you need to include in the list of caloric expenditures for all actions performed.

Note: The calculation of a person’s motor and mental needs was discussed in more detail in the article “How to create a calorie deficit?”

Secondly, a change in metabolic rate that occurs precisely during physical activity, or lack thereof. In particular, the emergence of a protein and carbohydrate window after training stimulates not only an acceleration of metabolism, but also a change in the body’s expenditure on digestion. At this time, basal metabolism increases by 15-20%, albeit in the short term, not counting other needs.

Intense physical activity is...

To track calorie consumption, you can install a special mobile application. Or you can just wear a heart rate monitor. With moderate exercise, according to WHO experts, the heartbeat noticeably increases, but there should be no shortness of breath.

With intense exercise (over 6 METs), both pulse and breathing increase. A modern resident of a metropolis has nowhere to get intense exercise (unless he is a loader or a rescuer), so he either has to go to the gym or run quickly (not jog) in the park.

You can also swim or ride a bike quickly, play football or basketball, climb the stairs, forgetting about the elevator (or the escalator in the subway).

But in total, you remember, it should be 150 minutes a week (half an hour every weekday). In the meantime (on the way from home to the metro) this standard cannot be met. But if you have a friendly neighborhood football team, that’s good. Training twice a week for an hour and a half in the gym is also quite rewarding.