Nutrition
Resting Metabolic Rate
Resting metabolic rate is energy burned at rest to keep basic physiology running—driven mainly by lean mass and influenced by age, hormones, and dieting history.
Resting metabolic rate (RMR) is the energy your body burns at complete rest to maintain organs, temperature, and basic physiology—usually the largest slice of total daily expenditure outside very active athletes. RMR varies with lean mass, age, hormones, and chronic dieting history; crash diets can suppress it temporarily.
Lab indirect calorimetry is gold standard; formulas are estimates.
Common questions
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Is RMR the same as BMR?
They are close cousins—BMR is stricter rested conditions; RMR is slightly higher and what many calculators approximate. Use consistent methods when tracking changes over time.
Related terms
Put Resting Metabolic Rate into practice
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