RMR tested...918??

graysmom2005

I had my RMR tested this week. It had been a few years since I had it done before, and it had been 1607. Cut to my second test and it's under 1000 calories!? I am a group fitness instructor, so I work out a lot, and I have wondered why I had to eat very low calorie and carb to see ANY drop in the scale and now I know why. All the PT who ran the test had to say was that I need to eat more...but with an RMR that low, how will eating MORE help me lose? My Fitbit which I realize is a MASSIVE estimate, has my burning on average 2800 a day. Something isn't adding up. I'm so discouraged by this information. OH and this was the proper test done with the oxygen mask etc.

I'm 5'6, 17.7% body fat according to their fancy scale and around 156 pounds. I'm more comfortable at around 150 or so, but I have been fighting since November to get some pounds off that I gained when my husband went in for emergency open heart surgery. Any metabolic specialists or PT that have metabolic knowledge, chime in! I weigh and log my food. Usually around 1500-1800 calories a day.

VintageFeline

If it has dropped by a dramatic 500 calories then shouldn't be gaining weight like nobody's business? How many classes do you teach a week and are you a really involved instructor? If so, it would be very surprising to me for you to maintain on 1500-1800 calories. I lose at 1500 and I'm mostly a lazy toad outside of my under an hour a day exercise.

Is your picture current? Sort of an aside, you are lean but I'm not sure you're 17% lean but BIA scales aren't to be trusted generally speaking.

PAV8888

Have you been in a prolonged deficit via a combination of low eating and exercise? Were you already in one before November? Have you looked at the re-feed and diet break thread? (first post contains most of the references you need to look at).

Carlos_421

How was your RMR tested? Electronic thing or did you have to breathe into a mask?

collectingblues

How was the testing done? Was it one of the proper "breathe into a mask and lie so still you're forcing yourself not to fall asleep" tests? Or was it done in your gym, and not by people who knew what they were doing?

Edit: Ah, I see now.

It is true that upping your calories will eventually up your RMR. But it takes time, and you're not going to see results in a day. I'd make an appointment with a dietitian -- not a nutritionist, but a proper RD -- and have them come up with a plan for you.

deannalfisher

i'd ask for a retest of that - because it seems abnormally low

graysmom2005

This was a mask in a dark room test. I don’t think I’m 17% either. That pic IS a few years old. My bathroom scale says 24% so I’m probably somewhere in the middle. I probably on average workout 2 hours most days 6 days a week. Weights and cardio.

Azdak

Maybe there are thousands of people running around with a RMR that is about 50% of normal, but I doubt it. I just can’t imagine that someone would just let you walk out and not even double check the results. I just find that number hard to believe. A BMR that low would be a notable medical condition, not just an inconvenience.

VintageFeline

Okay. Step one would be a retest BUT given your activity vs calorie intake without loss I think you've got a fairly large amount of adaptive thermogenesis happening. Do you often feel sluggish and wiped out? Are you progressing with the strength training?

Definitely check out the diet breaks and refeeds threads, I think it is going to be applicable to you.

Live_life_well

Statistically speaking, there are always going to be people on either end. Seems rare to be that low though so I would DEF get a second opinion before becoming discouraged.

anubis609

If you've been "permacutting" in terms of a chronic caloric deficit, there will be a down regulation in hormones (mainly leptin) to conserve as much energy as possible. Consider it as a survivability mechanism from pushing 12 hours/week of intentional intense activity. Which is also likely that 2800kcal expenditure that Fitbit provides may not be as accurate as it should be.

As it was mentioned, BIA scales are also inaccurate in terms of measuring bf%, but for the sake of argument, let's say at 17.7% and 156lbs, that's ~128lbs of lean mass. The leaner you are, the more your body is going to respond to that down regulation.

Ways to up regulate / stimulate hormonal response is to either 1) gain weight (refeed), 2) be at an energy balance for a period of time (diet break), or 3) pharmacological enhancement (completely outside the scope of natural processes).

Here is the link to refeeds and diet breaks which might help: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1

graysmom2005

Thanks for the responses everyone. I was asked last month to be an ambassador for Lululemon and have a photo shoot coming up in the next month. The timing of all this is frustrating as I want to "diet" and feel my best, but I also have a bigger issue at hand that needs to be addressed.

gamerbabe14

graysmom2005 wrote: »

Thanks for the responses everyone. I was asked last month to be an ambassador for Lululemon and have a photo shoot coming up in the next month. The timing of all this is frustrating as I want to "diet" and feel my best, but I also have a bigger issue at hand that needs to be addressed.

If you listen to podcasts or you tube, I highly highly recommend this for you! It will answer a lot of questions and it was very eye opening for me.

https://youtu.be/o7eIZWKkBq0

anubis609

graysmom2005 wrote: »

Thanks for the responses everyone. I was asked last month to be an ambassador for Lululemon and have a photo shoot coming up in the next month. The timing of all this is frustrating as I want to "diet" and feel my best, but I also have a bigger issue at hand that needs to be addressed.

There's no reason that you can't be an ambassador for Lululemon and try to address your reduced RMR at the same time. To put it bluntly, "feeling your best" shouldn't be correlated with dieting. No one feels great in a constant calorie restriction. It certainly doesn't mean to derail your progress either, but eating at maintenance (to sustain your current body weight) isn't going to destroy your hard work. The refeed and diet breaks thread is also based on Lyle's view of maintaining progress while addressing the downsides of dieting.

VintageFeline

anubis609 wrote: »

graysmom2005 wrote: »

Thanks for the responses everyone. I was asked last month to be an ambassador for Lululemon and have a photo shoot coming up in the next month. The timing of all this is frustrating as I want to "diet" and feel my best, but I also have a bigger issue at hand that needs to be addressed.

There's no reason that you can't be an ambassador for Lululemon and try to address your reduced RMR at the same time. To put it bluntly, "feeling your best" shouldn't be correlated with dieting. No one feels great in a constant calorie restriction. It certainly doesn't mean to derail your progress either, but eating at maintenance (to sustain your current body weight) isn't going to destroy your hard work. The refeed and diet breaks thread is also based on Lyle's view of maintaining progress while addressing the downsides of dieting.

Not to mention, with cortisol likely playing a role, there could be a goodly amount of water retention happening which could be exacerbating the "fluffy" feeling. You might actually lean out a bit once hormones are back to normal.

Carlos_421

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHHzie6XRGk[/yt]

graysmom2005

I will listen to this today, thank you! I guess by "feeling" my best, I mean looking a way that makes me feel confident in front of a camera. I hear what you're saying though. My club has a cortisol test that I wanted to take but it is unavailable in the state of Maryland. So frustrating. Thank you for all the advice!

anubis609

graysmom2005 wrote: »

I will listen to this today, thank you! I guess by "feeling" my best, I mean looking a way that makes me feel confident in front of a camera. I hear what you're saying though. My club has a cortisol test that I wanted to take but it is unavailable in the state of Maryland. So frustrating. Thank you for all the advice!

I totally understand the meaning behind it, but I like to make the delineation between subjective and emotional well-being as a concept separate from perceived image. Though, the two are tied together, in terms of positive self-image it’s just good to note that they don’t “have” to be tied together, and there’s always a happy middle ground that exists.