BMR calculator for use with YJ's Bulking/Gaining weight sticky

[Matthew D]

Just thought I would take YJ's post on bulking/gaining weight and make a little calculator for doing BMR. All you have to do is enter weight, height, age and activity factor. Then it will calculate the rest. I did one for guys and ladies. It is in excel 97 so if you need another format, I might be able to help. Also if you find something wrong with it.. PM me so I can fix it..

Matt D

 

 

[YellowJacket]

Just to make sure it was accurate, we did my BMR and Matt used hsi program and I worked it out on paper and its the Exact same number, very nice. Matt just saved you guys some math troubles

 

[Rhinoman]

Very nice Sir, thank you, Karma for U~

 

[jweave23]

You're on a roll here Matt, more karma man, very nice!!

 

[pogue]

what do you enter in for the height in the first field? inches? feet?

 

[Andy2k]

Matthew D - do you want a formula for basal metabolism based on body-fat percentage?

 

[Matthew D]

Sure.. I could add that one to it also.. We might make this the swiss army knife of diet planning here..  

 

[Andy2k]

Formula for calculating BMR from weight and % body fat

Ok, this formula isn’t one you’re likely to find in any book (although I could be mistaken there!) as I derived it myself from data in several respected publications, including ‘Human Nutrition and Dietetics’ by Graham and Passmore.

The data was extrapolated from the published nomographs, and fed into a rather slow computer (my brain, my finger, pen and paper, and a pocket calculator!) The formula derived predicts within a small fraction of 1 Kcal/Hour the information published.
In the majority of cases, the figures are exact (I assume that ‘rounding errors’ crept into the published data, as is normal in such experiments)

Also, it should be noted that the figures use Kilograms, not POUNDS - this may annoy some of our American friends, but it is because the Kilogram is the INTERNATIONAL unit of mass, and most scientific data uses international conventions such as this.

Another point is that it does not require height input - although it is not totally irrelevant, the calculations do not actually require this information, as others do.
It should be pointed out that this information is applicable to both men and women, which is of major importance to some - calculating BMR by height/weight can be strewn with problems due to the differing amounts of lean tissue each sex has.

the formula is:

Weight (KG) + 20 - (% fat x 0.6) X0.864
This gives basal metabolism in Kilocalories PER HOUR

Example: A man weighs 85KG and has a body-fat percentage of 17%

The figures used are therefore:

85 (KG – total body weight)
20
17 (percent body-fat)
0.6
0.864

(85+20)-(17X0.6) X 0.864
So: 105 – 10.2 = 94.8,
94.8 X 0.864 = 81.9

This gives us a basal metabolic rate for this example of 81.9 Kcals per hour.
Calculating BMR by the hour is the standard way of doing things – it establishes a base-line to work from.

The definition for measuring basal metabolic rate is:
The subject must be healthy, lying supine in a room at comfortable temperature; they should be alert but not physically active (in other words, awake!) and should have fasted for 12 hours before the measurement is taken.

Note that when you are asleep, your metabolism drops to roughly ¾ of your BMR.
Working BMR out on an hourly basis allows for a great deal of accuracy; and when combined with an analysis of daily activity, it can prove a valuable tool in body-building/weight loss.

 

[Blazer88]

Just enter it in inches and weight in lbs.

I have another more interesting one if someone would like to beta it for me. This new one will calculate the number of calories for bulking and cutting. Also, it will help you workout the number of grams of protein, carbs, and fat for a certain %. Check it out and tell me what I need to do with it.

 

 

Hey man, great little program. I got real sick of doing that crap by hand, thanks for doing that. The bulking and cutting is a handy little tool you have added. I have noticed you consider bulking or cutting to be figured at one pound per week (3500 calories), just so people know. The protein/carb/fat thing didn't work. It just has 319 listed directly to the right of the fat category. Maybe I'm just not working it correctly, but the BMR works great. Thanks again.

 

[Timbo]

YJ...hey, bro! Good to see you over here. But, man, you're probably going to hate me for this, but it's more for my clarification rather than to nit-pick. Before I get to it, believe me when I say that I am thankful that you've posted such scientific methods of calculating caloric needs...I'm tired of that shot-in-the-dark "number" x "bodyweight" stuff. You know that I'm a huge proponent of the Massive Eating calculations for caloric needs, particularly because it takes into account lean body mass.

I did a little research on the Harris-Benedict equation, and I must apologize, the result is, in fact, one's BMR. However, when you multiply the result (i.e., the BMR) by the activity factor, this is NO LONGER the BMR. This is where my confusion came into place. So, I believe that we were both right, and perhaps it was the electronic medium that actually led to our disagreement and confusion. I hope that this mends threads somewhat. I also noticed that the Harris-Benedict you listed in your post was accurate (of course) but the activity factors that I've come across are significantly different. Here's what my research produced:

"Activity Multiplier
If you are sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) multiply BMR by 1.2
If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) multiply BMR by 1.375
If you are mod. active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) multiply BMR by 1.55
If you take heavy exercise (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) multiply BMR by 1.725"

These activity multipliers would lead to much great caloric expenditures. Oh, by the way, the final caloric number that one calculates--after multiplying BMR by Activity Factor and adding in the Thermic effect of Food--is called Total Daily Energy Expenditure (or something to that extent).

The calculator provided by Matt--excellent work, my friend--actually produces numbers similar to those that I calculated using the above Activity Multipliers.

So all this may seem worthless and unneccassary, but I just had to get it off my chest

Off to more important matters now...

T-Rock

 

[scotty2]

Finally........................Timbo!

 

[Andy2k]

Timbo - those figures are pretty much the same as I use for activity multipliers. They certainly become more important when body-fat is taken into account
Everything is pretty much a guesstimate with these things - even when I perform multiplier calculations using the mets system. I guess short of hooking up everyone to a calorimeter, it's a case of finding the best balance through educated estimation, guesswork, and a little trial and error.

 

[jweave23]

Hey Timbo, glad to see you over here!

Anyone who doesn't know Timbo from BB.com...wow this guy know his nutrition!

 

[Timbo]

Thanks for the welcome, guys. It means much to me to see that I am welcome and respected. I'll be doing my best to drop as much knowledge as possible, and look forward to learning from you all as well.

Andy...good point about these being estimates. But, these estimates have much smoother edges than those rough ones that I mentioned in my former post (i.e., "16 x bodyweight").

One very important--and oft overlookeed--aspect of bodybuilding is the continual assessment and adjustment of caloric needs. For example, after weeks of gaining or cutting, one's caloric needs change, and if further results are to be seen, then one must make necessary adjustments. By having access to such an equation--and knowing how close it was to estimating the actual in the first place--easy adjustments can be made subsequently.

 

[Blindfaith]

you tha man cool guy! Karma for you!

 

[Timbo]

Faithster...now that I'm up off my chair after falling off laughing at Kermie in your avatar...thanks, bro. Cool guy? Nah, I'm more of a geek See ya around, my man.

 

[DarCSA]

Thanks Matt. It worked great. Props to you.

 

[Havok]

What do you put for activity factor?

 

[YellowJacket]

What do you put for activity factor?

It depends on what your activity factor is. Most average lifters are moderate. This is opposed to no activity (sedentary) and an extremely active person (cardio 4 or 5 days a week mixed with intense workout sessions- very rare) Id assume you were moderate, so your activity factor is .5

 

[Havok]

wow that was a really fast reply...
Thanks..
if i put that activity factor... do I still add in (later) the amount of calories I burn while doing cardio.. or just leave it as multiplied by the activity factor?

 

[YellowJacket]

This is only for your Basal Metabolic Rate, this is the number of calories it takes your body to maintain it's current weight with a normal activity factor. Once you add in cardio, you'll be burning cals from this number, then you will have to figure up how many cals. you're burning through this cardio then subtract it from your BMR. If you're wanting to lose weight, shoot for a 500 calorie deficiency each day of cardio.

 

[Havok]

YJ, Thanks bro,
You have helped a lot, I have lost 40 lbs with info from you, mostly from bb.com
You bring so much to the boards you are on...
Oh I had a question i put it in your fat loss thread..

 

[scotty2]

He brings so much more than help!