What if I told you that you could burn more calories and fat all day while doing absolutely nothing? While it almost sounds too good to be true, it’s completely possible if you increase your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). You may have heard this referred to as your Resting Metabolic
Rate (RMR), essentially your RMR and BMR are one in the same and these terms can be used interchangeably. Your BMR is the number of calories your body burns each day to perform the most basic (basal) life functions such as breathing, sleeping, digesting food, circulating blood,
and producing new cells. If you don’t know your BMR, click here to learn it. Your BMR is responsible for over 70% of your total calories burned everyday. Read that again. Just to put that in perspective, that’s more than double the number of calories your body burns from the rest of your daily activities, including exercise! Similar to the engine of a car, think of your BMR as your body’s engine. The larger the engine, the more fuel (calories) it requires just to keep the engine turned on and running.

So if your goal is fat loss, it’s paramount that you optimize your body’s metabolic engine and raise your BMR as much as possible. There are two main ways to elevate your BMR:
#1 Eat More Protein-Protein is the building block of life, and without adequate protein intake, it’s impossible to build or maintain muscle. Additionally, protein has the highest Thermic Effect of Food (TEF). Meaning your body uses more energy and burns more calories breaking down and digesting protein compared to the other macronutrients carbs and fat.
#2 Lift weights to build/maintain Muscle-Muscle is metabolically expensive and requires high amounts of energy (in the form of food or body fat) for your body to maintain. This is precisely why building muscle is key for fat loss, the more muscle mass you have on your body, the
higher your BMR, and the more calories (and fat) you burn all day long while doing nothing.

Takeaways
Remember that 70% of the total calories your body burns each day results from your BMR. Whether you want to lose weight, gain weight, or maintain your weight, knowing your BMR is a good place to start. If you want to increase your BMR, then simply eat more protein and resistance train to build muscle.