What is your BMR and how does it affect weight loss?

If you’re trying to lose weight, you want to make sure it’s it in a healthy and sustainable way, like the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge plan. Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the number of calories you’d burn if you stayed in bed all day.

This is an important number to know on the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge, firstly so you’re aware of how much you can eat and still lose weight, and secondly, so you know how much you must eat to stay healthy – you must never eat below your BMR calories, as this can send your body into energy-conserving starvation mode.

Your BMR decreases as you age, making it harder to stay slim as you get older. However, the good news is that you can also increase your BMR with a regular routine of cardiovascular exercise, muscle-building exercises and metabolism-boosting foods.

Once you have a figure for your daily energy needs, you can reduce this by 15–20% in order to lose weight. (This is only a guide and may vary between individuals – if you’re still hungry, eat more, but if you’re completely full, eat less.)

If you are breastfeeding you also need to increase your calories by approximately 300–500 per day to assist in milk supply production.

It is a common misconception that you need to starve yourself to lose weight. This is simply not true! Healthy CAN be delicious! These mums have proven that you can EAT YOUR WAY TO WEIGHT LOSS!

To find out your BMR, you can use our Healthy Mummy BMR calculator or watch the video below!

You can also read more here on how many calories you actually need to lose weight

Bec Hayward:

Bec says: “I love that all the meals are so delicious and I know I’m always eating healthy. Best of all I lose weight eating all the foods I love!”

To find out your BMR, you can use our Healthy Mummy BMR calculator.

One of our 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge members, Brooke Bregg from Brisbane, went from 81kg to 59kg. She did this by following the Challenge and completely changing her eating habits. She says, “I couldn’t be healthier and happier in my own skin and love that our son will grow up with a great role model.”

To get amazing results like these mums have, check out our 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge here.