Belly Fat Busting Begins With Your BMR!

All too many people are finding it very difficult to get rid of belly fat these days. When you combine a population that is becoming increasingly sedentary with a positive social attitude that encourages "super-sizing" our meals, you have the perfect conditions for developing those all-too-difficult-to lose "spare tires" and "love handles".

For the majority of the population, it takes awareness and effort to get rid of belly fat and keep one's weight in check, and with the right diet protocols and exercise programs most people achieve the degree of success they want. Being healthy is more of a lifestyle, of making the right choices for your body much more often than making bad choices.

Many people, though, unrealistically expect to be able to lose weight quickly, safely, and sometimes only in certain spots. That wishful thinking is false. The best kind of weight loss is at a gradual and consistent rate, and so-called spot reducing is simply a myth. Just as you can't pick where you're going to store your belly fat, neither can you choose where you're going to lose it. You must reduce your overall body fat percentage to lose weight, which means running a calorie deficit.

When you run a calorie deficit, it simply means that your body is burning more caloric energy than the amount of calories consumed that particular day. We all know that our bodies burn calories through exercise and simple movement; did you know that it also burns calories while simply at rest, too? In order to determine how to run your own calorie deficit, you first need to know what your BMR (basic metabolic rate) is. Your BMR is a number that reflects how many calories you need to consume daily just to maintain your existing weight with no exercise of any kind involved.

Below is one of the most commonly accepted methods for ascertaining BMR, the Harris - Benedict formula:

For men: 66 + (6.3 x body weight in lbs.) + (12.9 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years) = BMR

For women: 655 + (4.3 x weight in lbs.) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years) = BMR

One you have your BMR number, it's time to consider the thermodynamic effects of food. Your system expends energy during the digestive process, usually averaging about 10% of the total calories you consume. So, for example, if you are consuming 2500 calories daily, you're also burning about 250 of those calories during the digestive process alone.

Now that you have your BMR and a rough idea of how many calories you're burning thermodynamically daily, it's time to factor in the last variable - a measurement of your daily activity level. This can be difficult to calculate exactly, so multiply your BMR by the most appropriate rough guideline below:

- 1.2 if your average day is sedentary

- 1.375 if you are slightly active (you participate in activity 1-3 times a week)

- 1.55 if you are moderately active (your participation is 3-5 times a week)

- 1.725 if you are highly active (participating 6-7 times a week)

- 1.9 if you're highly active in a physically demanding job

Take your new BMR number and it to your thermodynamic burn number, and the total reflects the number of calories per day it takes to maintain your current weight. Since any effective diet requires running a calorie deficit, you can either 1) consume fewer calories daily than this number, 2) increase your activity and exercise levels to burn off more calories, or 3) combine fewer calories consumed with an exercise program. The idea is to burn off fat calories while still building your all-important lean muscle mass. Once you put these basic principles into action, you, too, can be on your way to being able to get rid of belly fat and losing that spare tire that you don't really need.

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