Discovered my measured RMR is VERY low - advice?

rowdylibrarian

Good morning, all! After months of nothing happening with weight, inches, clothing sizes and fit, etc., I had my Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) tested yesterday. For my stats (F, 39, 63", 158lbs, 38%bf), I should have come out to around 1490 for my RMR. It was 1207. Dang it.

The person running the test was a Registered Dietician with a Master's Degree in Nutrition. I don't have those qualifications, so I certainly don't want to say that I know more than her, or that she's wrong, BUT... I explained about the EM2WL philosophy, and why I was following it, and the first thing she told me was that I needed to drop to 1200 calories. I politely questioned that, and pointed out that if I exercised at all, I'd be netting below my BMR. She didn't see a problem with that. She also couldn't tell me what the VO% numbers meant on my printout. It just sort of gave me pause.

At any rate, a couple of my MFP "the science of the numbers" people have suggested that I NOT adjust my eating to way down there, and see it as a challenge to raise my RMR to where it should be. I do have hypothyroidism, but it was just checked, and it was normalized by the medication, so it shouldn't be suppressing it.

According to the tech, my TDEE is 1666 based on the 1207 RMR, and "lifting heavy" three times per week, plus about an hour of cardio. Does that sound right? If so, should I just take the 15-20% off of that? Has anyone else tried eating their way to a higher RMR? How can you do that safely without gaining weight? I haven't gained or lost on 1300, 1400, 1450, 1500, 1550, or 1650, (though the weight was starting to creep up a little bit toward the end of the 1650 in the last couple of weeks).

I really appreciate your input! Thanks!

Greenrun99

I really want to get mine tested as well but haven't found anywhere to have it tested yet.. Just remember most of the calculators that your using are estimating certain things, so if the machine that you were hooked up to gave you 1207, I would use that number as where you are.
Did the printout state your TDEE # as 1666 or how they estimated it? I would seriously do the cut from that number as again you were actually hooked up to the machine to get some of these numbers..
Now about your stalled weight loss, how long have you been trying to eat at those numbers without seeing any results? Also I looked at your diary and would strongly suggest raising your protein level over 100.. sometimes a change in diet can kick start your weight loss.. as well as getting something to track your progress while doing cardio so your not overestimating how much you need to eat back or are currently eating... Lastly with your workout, try to cut your cardio down to 30 minutes of intense cardio instead of an hour of cardio, and maybe its time to change up your workout routine as well..

rowdylibrarian

I had to nose around the Interwebs for awhile before I found a place, but a lot of gyms and heath clubs do them now. Look for "metabolic testing" services.

The printout didn't say 1666, the dietician did, based on what I told her about my exercise. I started doing this in earnest on June 1st. I stayed at 1200 for two or three weeks, I think. Then I stayed at each of the other levels for a few weeks, I think. It won't let me go back to see what the goals were then. I've been at the 1650 mark for about 6 weeks.

I do struggle with protein. Sigh. I'm not in meat-mode at the moment.

I have at Polar FT7 and a Fitbit, so those are definitely helpful tools, but right now they are set to adjust to what it THINKS my RMR is, so I'm not sure how to address that... I usually do one or two 30 minute sessions, so hopefully that will help!

holleysings

I had to nose around the Interwebs for awhile before I found a place, but a lot of gyms and heath clubs do them now. Look for "metabolic testing" services.

The printout didn't say 1666, the dietician did, based on what I told her about my exercise. I started doing this in earnest on June 1st. I stayed at 1200 for two or three weeks, I think. Then I stayed at each of the other levels for a few weeks, I think. It won't let me go back to see what the goals were then. I've been at the 1650 mark for about 6 weeks.

I do struggle with protein. Sigh. I'm not in meat-mode at the moment.

I have at Polar FT7 and a Fitbit, so those are definitely helpful tools, but right now they are set to adjust to what it THINKS my RMR is, so I'm not sure how to address that... I usually do one or two 30 minute sessions, so hopefully that will help!

I'm NEVER in meat mode. There are other great protein options like Brewer's yeast, quinoa, lentils, beans...try some of those! Meat grosses me out, so I rarely eat it.

LuluProteinFueled

Can I just say oh my goodness what an AMAZING attitude you have to challenge that RMR rather than swinging back down to a very low calorie diet.

I don't have much advice on this one, you seem to have tried all the calorie levels! I wonder if it's worth you setting your devices to be in line with your RMR and see how that goes. That way, you will know almost exactly how much you need for TDEE and cut. Given you've started slightly to gain on 1650, it sounds like around 1550 is where you maintain, but a device may help to confirm this.

Further, I am a big believer that the protein/carb macros are uber-importance. I have seen people at cut recently not getting the results they're expecting and IMHO (without any judgement) I think it may have a lot to do with their carb intakes. The role that carbs (especially high-GI) play in getting our bodies to produce insulin, and then said insulin causing us to store fat is not mentioned a lot around the traps. Read more here: http://www.naturaltherapypages.com.au/article/Insulin_Weight_Loss. Basically, for people who already have insulin resistance, more than 40% of their carbs will be turned to fat because more insulin is making its way around the body. Unfortunately insulin resistance is more common in people who are overweight. I've read a lot about this because my Dad is a formerly overweight, former diabetes sufferer who is now slim and has no trace of diabetes. He did it all himself! Now a huge low-GI eater

Please keep us posted on how you're going. I think if you can challenge your RMR, you can definitely challenge your love of protein too!

norcal_yogi

just bumping cause its very interesting.

hope you find your correct balance and congrats for keeping at it!

skbarton

I have at Polar FT7 and a Fitbit, so those are definitely helpful tools, but right now they are set to adjust to what it THINKS my RMR is, so I'm not sure how to address that... I usually do one or two 30 minute sessions, so hopefully that will help!

I am in the same boat - estimated BMR at Fat2Fit was 1364 but my insurance dietician tested was 1280. You can fiddle with the personal profile at Fitbit to make it think your BMR is different than the estimation it gets based off of your age, sex, height and weight by adjusting some of the variables. I went to one of the calculator sites and played with my height and age until it came up to the tested value and then changed those figures at Fitbit.

Another thing I did (saw this suggestion either here at the Fitbit User's area or at Fitbits message site) was to leave my fitbit sitting on my dresser for 24 hours and then looked to see what it thought was approximately the BMR - by just sitting it would kind of simulate the thought of M=BMR is what you need to just exist. There was no activity or movement therefore no calorie burn due to activity.

Here is what I journaled about that visit: "In frustration and desparation, I made an appointment with a Kaiser dietician to have my BMR tested on 3/15/12. The test indicated my BMR was 1280 - a bit of a difference from the range of 1240 (MFP) to 1364 at Fat2Fitradio. She recommended that I eat 1050 calories if I was inactive, 1125 if I walked 30 minutes a day or 1200 calories a day if I walked 60 minutes a day. All goal calorie amounts were below my BMR/RMR. Her statement was "If the number of calories that you eat and drink each day equals your metabolism (the total calories that you burn), you will maintain your weight. If your goal is weight loss, you need to eat 500-1,000 fewer calories than body needs each day. Metabolism includes activity, so you can increase your metabolism by increasing your activity." She had me eating below my resting metabolic weight. I tried this for several weeks and still played with the same few pounds. "

The 1666 figure is coming from the BMR 1207 multiplied by the lightly active factor of 1.375 approximately - her factor is 1.38 (divide the 1666 by the 1207).

I would guess you could play with the HRM's settings as well by giving it the same adjustments but I haven't played with mine to do that.

dwn2erth

I had my RMR tested by this test as well. I already knew my thyroid was low. My resting Metabolic rate is 140 cal lower than others my size. (two years ago it was 200 cal lower) I'm guessing that the increase in calorie consumption is due to the fact that I'm weight training and now have more muscle to consume the difference.

I'd see what weight training does for you.. :-))

norcal_yogi

I have at Polar FT7 and a Fitbit, so those are definitely helpful tools, but right now they are set to adjust to what it THINKS my RMR is, so I'm not sure how to address that... I usually do one or two 30 minute sessions, so hopefully that will help!

I am in the same boat - estimated BMR at Fat2Fit was 1364 but my insurance dietician tested was 1280. You can fiddle with the personal profile at Fitbit to make it think your BMR is different than the estimation it gets based off of your age, sex, height and weight by adjusting some of the variables. I went to one of the calculator sites and played with my height and age until it came up to the tested value and then changed those figures at Fitbit.

Another thing I did (saw this suggestion either here at the Fitbit User's area or at Fitbits message site) was to leave my fitbit sitting on my dresser for 24 hours and then looked to see what it thought was approximately the BMR - by just sitting it would kind of simulate the thought of M=BMR is what you need to just exist. There was no activity or movement therefore no calorie burn due to activity.

Here is what I journaled about that visit: "In frustration and desparation, I made an appointment with a Kaiser dietician to have my BMR tested on 3/15/12. The test indicated my BMR was 1280 - a bit of a difference from the range of 1240 (MFP) to 1364 at Fat2Fitradio. She recommended that I eat 1050 calories if I was inactive, 1125 if I walked 30 minutes a day or 1200 calories a day if I walked 60 minutes a day. All goal calorie amounts were below my BMR/RMR. Her statement was "If the number of calories that you eat and drink each day equals your metabolism (the total calories that you burn), you will maintain your weight. If your goal is weight loss, you need to eat 500-1,000 fewer calories than body needs each day. Metabolism includes activity, so you can increase your metabolism by increasing your activity." She had me eating below my resting metabolic weight. I tried this for several weeks and still played with the same few pounds. "

The 1666 figure is coming from the BMR 1207 multiplied by the lightly active factor of 1.375 approximately - her factor is 1.38 (divide the 1666 by the 1207).

I would guess you could play with the HRM's settings as well by giving it the same adjustments but I haven't played with mine to do that.

Curious about the fitbit's accuracy in regards to daily activities + BMR, etc... For those of you that have fitbits, but are still having trouble and/or have been advised that your burns are less (along with BMR/RMRs), do you find your fitbits are way overestimating at the end of the day? If you were to eat at the 500 cal cut from the fitbit total, do you think you'd be gaining?

norcal_yogi

Metabolism includes activity, so you can increase your metabolism by increasing your activity." She had me eating below my resting metabolic weight.

...I find this to be an interesting statement from the Dietician. So could part of a 'metabolism reset' be just staying more active? thoughts?