Fitness Tools 

Body Mass Index

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

The basal metabolic rate (BMR) and calorie calculator is an excellent tool for working out how many calories your body needs on a daily basis depending on the amount and intensity of the exercise you do. This tool works on a proven formula and is very accurate. The calculator uses two formulas to calculate your body's daily calorie requirements.

The BMR formula uses the variables of height, weight, age and gender to calculate the Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). This is more accurate than calculating calorie needs based on body weight alone. The only factor it omits is lean body mass and thus the ratio of muscle-to-fat a body has. Remember, leaner bodies need more calories than less leaner ones. Therefore, this equation will be very accurate in all but the very muscular (will underestimate calorie needs) and the very fat (will over-estimate calorie needs).

Once you know your BMR, you can calculate your Daily Calorie Needs based on your activity level using the Harris Benedict Equation.

Harris Benedict Formula

To determine your total daily calorie needs, multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows:

Hips to Waist Calculation

Are you at increased risk of heart disease because of your shape? Do you need to consider a diet program to decrease the size of your waist or hips?
The purpose of this test to determine the ratio of waist circumference to the hip circumference, as this has been shown to be related to the risk of coronary heart disease.  All you need is a tape measure.

Formula: A simple calculation of the measurements of the waist girth divided by the hip girth.
Waist to Hip Ratio (WHR) = Gw / Gh, where Gw = waist girth, Gh = hip girth. It does not matter which units of measurement you use, as long as it is the same for each measure.

Scoring: The table below gives general guidelines for acceptable levels for hip to waist ratio. You can use any units for the measurements (e.g. cm or inches), as it is only the ratio that is important.

Body Fat Percentage Formula

The best time to use this formula, is in the morning. Your body weight and waist measurements are the most accurate just after you wake up from 7-8 hours of sleep.The formula below will not calculate your exact body fat percentage. The most accurate way is underwater weighing, but this formula should give you a consistent measurement you can use as guideline so you can determine if you're losing body fat and/or muscle.