What's a Good Resting Energy? Understanding Your Metabolism

December 11, 2025 •

5 min read

According to health experts, the average adult's resting metabolism typically requires about 1,300 to 1,600 calories per day, but this figure varies greatly from person to person. So, what's a good resting energy for you, and how can you measure and influence it for better health and weight management?

Quick Summary

This guide breaks down resting energy expenditure (RMR/BMR), explaining what it is and its role in your total daily calorie burn. It outlines how to estimate your RMR using formulas and discusses the key factors that can impact it, from muscle mass and age to diet and exercise.

Key Points

RMR is Highly Individual: What's a good resting energy depends on your unique body composition, age, and genetics, with no single "ideal" number for everyone.
Muscle Mass Matters: Increasing your lean muscle mass through strength training is a key way to increase your RMR, as muscle burns more calories at rest than fat.
Calculate for an Estimate: Use formulas like Mifflin-St Jeor to get a good estimate of your RMR for personal use in weight management, although clinical testing is most accurate.
Diet Affects Metabolism: Avoid extreme calorie restriction, which can slow your RMR. Instead, eat enough protein and stay hydrated to support a healthy metabolism.
Sleep is Crucial: Poor sleep can disrupt hormones that regulate metabolism. Prioritize 7-9 hours of quality sleep to support a healthy resting energy level.
HIIT for Afterburn: Incorporate High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) into your routine to boost your metabolic rate not just during, but also for hours after your workout.
Stay Active Daily: Increase your Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) by moving more throughout the day with small activities like walking or taking the stairs.

Understanding Resting Energy Expenditure (REE or RMR)

Your body is constantly burning calories, even when you are completely at rest. The energy required to keep your essential bodily functions—such as breathing, blood circulation, and organ function—running is known as Resting Energy Expenditure (REE), also commonly referred to as Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) or Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). While often used interchangeably, RMR is measured under less restrictive conditions than BMR, which requires a longer fasting period and complete rest. This resting energy typically accounts for the majority of your total daily energy expenditure (TEE), ranging from 60% to 75%.

Why is a good resting energy important?

Knowing your RMR provides a baseline understanding of your body's energy needs. This information is crucial for several health-related goals, particularly weight management. For instance, if you want to lose weight, you need to consume fewer calories than you burn, a state known as a negative energy balance. Your RMR is the starting point for calculating this deficit. Likewise, if your goal is to gain weight, knowing your RMR helps you determine the necessary caloric surplus. It also helps in tracking progress, as building muscle can increase your RMR.

How to Calculate Your Resting Energy

While the most accurate way to measure RMR is in a lab setting using indirect calorimetry, several mathematical formulas can provide a reliable estimate. The most popular are the Mifflin-St Jeor equation and the revised Harris-Benedict equation.

Here are the formulas using metric measurements:

Mifflin-St Jeor Equation:
- Men: (10 x weight in kg) + (6.25 x height in cm) - (5 x age in years) + 5
- Women: (10 x weight in kg) + (6.25 x height in cm) - (5 x age in years) - 161
Revised Harris-Benedict Equation:
- Men: 88.362 + (13.397 x weight in kg) + (4.799 x height in cm) - (5.677 x age in years)
- Women: 447.593 + (9.247 x weight in kg) + (3.098 x height in cm) - (4.330 x age in years)

It's important to remember that these formulas provide an estimate, and individual RMR can vary due to other factors like genetics and body composition.

Factors Influencing Your Resting Energy

Several biological and environmental factors affect your RMR:

Body Composition: Muscle tissue is far more metabolically active than fat tissue. The more lean muscle mass you have, the higher your RMR will be. Strength training is an effective way to increase lean muscle mass and, in turn, your RMR.
Age: As you get older, your RMR tends to slow down. This is primarily due to a natural loss of muscle mass and hormonal changes. However, regular exercise can mitigate this decline.
Sex: Men generally have a higher RMR than women, largely because they tend to have greater muscle mass and less body fat.
Genetics: Your genetic makeup plays a role in determining your metabolic rate. This is why even people with similar age, sex, and body composition can have different RMRs.
Diet: Severe calorie restriction can cause your RMR to drop as your body goes into "starvation mode" to conserve energy. Conversely, consuming enough protein can temporarily boost your metabolism due to the thermic effect of food.
Thyroid Hormones: Conditions like hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) can significantly lower your RMR, while hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid) can increase it.
Environmental Temperature: Being in an extremely cold or hot environment forces your body to expend more energy to maintain its core temperature, increasing your RMR.
Sleep: Lack of quality sleep can disrupt hormone levels that regulate appetite and metabolism, potentially slowing down your RMR.

Comparison of RMR Calculation Methods


Feature	Mathematical Formulas	Indirect Calorimetry
Accuracy	Good estimate, but not perfect	Gold standard, highly accurate
Accessibility	Highly accessible (online calculators, apps)	Requires specialized clinical equipment and expertise
Cost	Free or low cost	Expensive and time-consuming
Conditions	Based on statistical averages	Measured under strict, controlled conditions
Best for	Quick, general estimate for personal use	Precise clinical and research measurements

How to Improve Your Resting Energy

While some factors like age and genetics are beyond your control, you can take action to positively influence your resting energy expenditure. Here's a list of strategies:

Prioritize Strength Training: Building lean muscle mass is one of the most effective ways to increase your RMR. Incorporate resistance exercises like lifting weights, using resistance bands, or doing bodyweight exercises into your routine a few times per week.
Eat Enough Protein: Your body burns more calories digesting protein than it does fat or carbs. Including a source of lean protein with each meal can provide a small but consistent boost to your metabolism.
Stay Hydrated: Drinking enough water, especially cold water, has been shown to temporarily increase your metabolic rate. Mild dehydration can cause your metabolism to slow down.
Avoid Extreme Calorie Restriction: Starving yourself or following very low-calorie diets is counterproductive for your metabolism. It can trigger your body to slow down your RMR to conserve energy.
Get Quality Sleep: Aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night. Sleep deprivation can negatively impact hormones that regulate metabolism and appetite.
Incorporate High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT): This type of exercise involves short bursts of intense activity and can boost your metabolism for hours after the workout is over, an effect known as "afterburn".
Drink Green Tea or Coffee: Caffeinated beverages like coffee and green tea contain compounds that can temporarily speed up your metabolic rate.

Conclusion

There isn't a single, universal number for what constitutes a "good" resting energy, as it is highly personal and dependent on many factors. Instead, a "good" resting energy is one that effectively fuels your body for its essential functions and supports your overall health and wellness goals. By understanding the factors that influence your RMR and implementing healthy lifestyle strategies—such as building muscle, staying active, and getting enough sleep—you can optimize your body's resting energy expenditure and take control of your metabolic health. For a comprehensive overview of factors affecting energy expenditure, you can explore the resources from the National Institutes of Health.

Ultimately, focus on creating sustainable habits that lead to a healthy metabolism, rather than chasing a specific number. Your body is a complex system, and a holistic approach to diet, exercise, and lifestyle will yield the most long-term benefits.

Frequently Asked Questions

RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate) and BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) are often used interchangeably, but there's a technical difference. BMR is measured under stricter conditions (completely rested, fasted, thermally neutral environment), while RMR is measured under less stringent, but still resting, conditions.

You can estimate your resting energy (RMR) using online calculators that apply formulas like the Mifflin-St Jeor or Harris-Benedict equations, which factor in your weight, height, age, and sex. For the most accurate measurement, however, you would need indirect calorimetry testing in a clinical setting.

Yes, you can increase your RMR. The most effective way is by building more lean muscle mass through strength and resistance training, as muscle tissue is more metabolically active than fat. Other factors like diet, sleep, and hydration also play a role.

Yes, your diet significantly affects your resting energy. Severely restricting calories can cause your metabolism to slow down, while eating enough protein can temporarily increase it through the thermic effect of food. Consuming enough calories to fuel your body is crucial for maintaining a healthy RMR.

Metabolism naturally slows down with age, primarily due to a loss of lean muscle mass. This can be counteracted with regular exercise, particularly strength training, which helps maintain and build muscle.

Yes, staying well-hydrated is important for maintaining a healthy metabolism. Some studies suggest that drinking cold water can temporarily boost your metabolic rate as your body expends energy to warm it up.

Quality sleep is very important for metabolic health. A lack of sleep can disrupt hormone levels and negatively impact your metabolism, potentially slowing down your resting energy expenditure.