Banana layout + Kings Quest/Batman picture = genius

Yep, you read it; today's post will be dedicated to teaching everyone on mindsay how to improperly calculate his/her basal metabolism.

 

First thing's first: What is basal metabolism?

Basal metabolism is defined as the minimum energy expended in a fasting state to keep a resting awake body alive in a warm, quiet environment. So, basically, if I were to sit on the couch all day doing absolutely nothing, the energy I would use to stay alive would be my basal metabolism.

Note: this doesn't include energy used to digest food or to move around... like... at all... moving and eating would require more energy.

 

Second thing's second: Why is this an "improper" calculation?

Well... basal metabolism varies 25-30% among individuals, so any calculation I do won't be totally accurate. Why? Well my dear friends, it's because a lot of different factors influence basal metabolism. Such as: amt. of body surface, gender, body temperature, thyroid hormones, nervous system activity, age, nutritional state, pregnancy, and caffeine and tobacco use.

 

Before calculating your own basal metabolism, I think it is important to keep in mind, again, that this is your basal metabolism in a fasting state. If you do any physical activity or eat, you will expend more energy than your basal metabolism. So, if you want to maintain your current weight, you will need to eat more than your basal metabolism. In fact....

 

this is just a rough estimate of energy needs, but it's in my nutrition book, so it must be correct!

sedentary women and some older adults... 1600 kcal

children, teenage girls, active women, most men... 2200kcal

teenage boys, active men, very active women... 2800 kcal

young children, pregnant and breastfeeding women... uh... check with a dietician

 

Here's the kicker though, if you want to lose weight, women should only consume about 1200 calories per day, while men should consume 1500 calories.

 

Blah, I'm getting ahead of myself though... I'll have to continue this whole weight loss discussion for another post.

 

This is how to calculate basal metabolism: convert weight (lbs) into kilograms and then multiply that number by 0.9 kcal per hour (24 hours)

so.... for me... (120 lbs / 2.2 = 54.5 kilograms) then (54.5 kilograms * 0.9 kcal * 24 = 1177.2 kcal)

 

Apparently, if I were to do nothing all day, I would only need to eat 1177 calories into my body to maintain my current weight. That really isn't very much. I mean... right now, I'm thirsty... I could really go for a large milkshake at dairy queen... but a large chocolate curly shake or whatever goes for about 1200 calories. Goodbye breakfast, lunch, and dinner... I will miss you. However... this analogy doesn't really make sense because if I were to eat food, I would use up energy trying to digest that milkshake... but whatever.

 

oh... bonus time... How to calculate your BMI

 

Here's how you do it: body weight (in kilograms) / height² (in meters)

or you can calculate it by [weight (pounds) * 703.1] / height² (inches)

 

since I don't want to do the conversion of my height into meters I'll just do the bottom choice:

(120 * 703.1) / 66.5² = 19.07

 

The healthy range is about 18.5-24.9, so according to the chart that doesn't take into account differences for muscle mass and sex, I am healthy. Woooo