BMR.

Okay so at work a couple of days ago, talk turned inevitably to food (as it usually does) and somehow, in between exclamations of "I need CHOCOLATE¹" and "Eggs smell NASTY²," the topic of metabolism and calories turned up. I've been blessed with a pretty high metabolism -- although I can sense it slowing down as I get older -- so I'd never really counted calories before nor really knew what my basal metabolic rate (BMR) was. Simply put, your BMR is the base amount of calories you burn if you stay sedentary all day. The formula to calculate this, though, is kinda complex:

Men:

BMR = 66 + (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) - (6.76 x age in years)

Women:

BMR = 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)

Since I'm lazy, Google got me a BMR calculator. I plugged in my info and voilà, my BMR popped up at 1595.85. Then I had to multiply that by 1.55 according to the Harris Benedict Equation, which factors in my activity level (moderate exercise 3-5 days/week), and I got 2473.56, which is the number of calories I can consume to maintain my current weight. I guess I eat food adding up to slightly more calories than that, then burn off the excess during my runs, because I've weighed the same for about a year now.

My go-to fast food sandwich of choice, a BK Whopper with no cheese, has 678 calories so clearly that means I can indulge and inhale three of them every day and not gain any weight!! Fantastic. Oh wait, I need fries and a giant Coke with that.

Never mind. Back to salads for me.

¹ I work with mostly women.
² Picky, picky women.