Got RMR tested and I think the numbers are skewed by a large meal...Help?

jennk5309

I was told not to eat 4 hours prior to the test, and so I did not eat. However, just prior to the 4 hours leading to the test, I ate Denny's pancakes with butter, syrup, sausage, hash browns and eggs. The whole plate, minus maybe 15 baby sized bites I gave to my 15 month old. It was a large meal, around 1300 calories. Then I went home and took a nap!

Anyway, I'm certain the meal was still digesting when I got the test done. The test said my RMR is 2016, with an estimated daily expenditure of 2871.

My stats are that I'm 40, still breastfeeding, 5'5, 166 lbs, and very active (on my feet all day at work, some lifting of disabled teenagers, cooking & cleaning at home and walks or the gym almost every day). I have 47.2 lbs of muscle. BF% was 38.4.

I have been stuck in the 160's for many months now, and I think the problem has been a cycle of undereating followed by overeating once I can't stand the hunger anymore, so it balances out and I stay the same. I was trying to follow MFP's 1 lb loss/week calorie goal of 1270, plus 250 calories for breastfeeding a toddler. I was ravenous and would then overindulge, so I know the key is a more modest calorie cut.

The lady doing the RMR test said eating 2016 calories a day at my current activity level will result in a 1.5 lb loss per week. But did I skew those results with my meal? If so, by how much? Anyone know the percentage increase in metabolic rate after a large meal?

Sued0nim

That sounds significantly overestimated to me

Were you lying under a hood ?

You're supposed to fast for at least 6 hours but TEF would only increase it by 10% or so ...possibly the breastfeeding is significant

Sued0nim

I would have expected a rmr around 1450-1500
Moderately active

To lose 1lbs week a calorie allowance of around 1800..for 1.5lb closer to 1500

Plus if exclusive breastfeeding add 500, if not exclusive then cut that down if baby is not exclusive

Sued0nim

These are the formulae for RMR if interested on weight and height

(RMR) kcal/day:
(males) = 9.99 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) - 4.92 x age(years) + 5;

(RMR) kcal/day:
(females) = 9.99 x weight(kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) - 4.92 x age (years) - 161

bellaa_x0

my dietitian said no eating for 10-12 hours beforehand; no coffee before the test, just water if anything; and not to take any of my medications before the test either.. not sure what type of machine whoever administered your test used or how knowledgeable they are, but this is what i was told when i had mine tested at the end of 2015

Colorscheme

A RMR that high sounds wrong. I'm 5'7", 157 lbs and my BMR according to my Fitbit is 1600 cals. TDEE is typically around 2100-2200 cals. I'm also at 38 percent body fat but I don't know how accurate that is since it's the Aria scale.

jennk5309

I've thought about it more and decided that breastfeeding could account for it being that high. The lady testing me said that it does (breastfeeding) show up in the test results. It's entirely possible that my normal RMR would be around 1600, and my daughter is drinking 400 calories worth of milk. She nurses a lot at night. In any case, they gave me a weight loss range of around 1600-2000 calories for weight loss, so plan on starting at about 1800 (no adding back exercise calories) in case the RMR was skewed by an assumed 10%. I guess I'll see how it goes! Obviously, if I lose steadily and can stick with it without wanting to devour my own arm then I'm aiming right.

girlviernes

You may want to aim for just 0.5 lbs/week since you don't have that much to lose and you are breastfeeding. Breastfeeding burns a lot. Good luck!

lorrpb

Perhaps you can ask the testing center if this meal would have skewed the results. They would be the experts on this matter.

jennk5309

I did ask and she said it should not have messed up the results. But it's not like she's a doctor or anything (she's a personal trainer).

3dogsrunning

rabbitjb wrote: »

I would have expected a rmr around 1450-1500
Moderately active

To lose 1lbs week a calorie allowance of around 1800..for 1.5lb closer to 1500

Plus if exclusive breastfeeding add 500, if not exclusive then cut that down if baby is not exclusive

I was same height and around same weight when I was breastfeeding. I lost at around 2000 calories so I don't think it's that crazy high.

Sued0nim

3dogsrunning wrote: »

rabbitjb wrote: »

I would have expected a rmr around 1450-1500
Moderately active

To lose 1lbs week a calorie allowance of around 1800..for 1.5lb closer to 1500

Plus if exclusive breastfeeding add 500, if not exclusive then cut that down if baby is not exclusive

I was same height and around same weight when I was breastfeeding. I lost at around 2000 calories so I don't think it's that crazy high.

You just rephrased what I said didn't you..but it looks like you're disagreeing?

3dogsrunning

rabbitjb wrote: »

3dogsrunning wrote: »

rabbitjb wrote: »

I would have expected a rmr around 1450-1500
Moderately active

To lose 1lbs week a calorie allowance of around 1800..for 1.5lb closer to 1500

Plus if exclusive breastfeeding add 500, if not exclusive then cut that down if baby is not exclusive

I was same height and around same weight when I was breastfeeding. I lost at around 2000 calories so I don't think it's that crazy high.

You just rephrased what I said didn't you..but it looks like you're disagreeing?

I was just adding my experience since I was similar height and weight.

Sued0nim

hopeandtheabsurd

If you are binging due to hunger, I would try going as high as possible (2000?), stick to it *consistently* for at least a month, and see what happens. Once you get some solid logging data and weigh-ins, you should be able to estimate your actual TDEE pretty closely and see how it compares to the machine's RMR estimate.