Had my metabolism tested and...

stormieweather

I'm a research freak, so when I found this thread with my own mental question in my head - I decided to do some checking around and attached are some links that can help people get a sense of their metabolic rate. THIS IS NOT A REPLACEMENT FOR A MEDICAL EXAM!!!!! And, it might help some folks balance their lifestyles a little more effectively, particularly those who can't get a test.

http://www.behealthyatwork.com/pdf/Measuring_Metabolism.pdf (survey)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5834219/ (mathematical equation & products)

http://www.formulamedical.com/About Us/metabolic.html (service for those in CA)

http://www.oprah.com/health/How-to-Measure-and-Boost-Metabolism (and of course, we can't be without the obligatory Oprah addition!)

I'd love to get my metabolism tested - but having quit smoking, I would bet the results would change over the course of many months as my body learns to use oxygen more efficiently again.

I have used all the online calculators (ok maybe not all, but dozens!). The Harris-Benedict Formula, et al...I even downloaded a program that adds all the thermal factors such as how many cups of coffee a day you drink and if you eat spicy foods. None of them indicated that my BMR/RMR was 1800. It was always between 1375 and 1500. So that's what I ate.

You would honestly think that I should have continued to lose weight. A deficit is a deficit and all that...right? But our bodies are very efficient machines and mine appears to be very, VERY protective of it's fat stores...lol.

Another thing the test administrators spoke to me about was our bodies "set point'.

**Set-Point Theory
• According to the set-point theory, there is a control system built into every person dictating how
much fat he or she should carry – a kind of thermostat for body fat. Some individuals have a
high setting, others have a low one. According to this theory, body fat percentage and body
weight are matters of internal controls that are set differently in different people.
• The set-point theory was originally developed in 1982 by Bennett and Gurin to explain why
repeated dieting is unsuccessful in producing long-term change in body weight or shape. Going
on a weight-loss diet is an attempt to overpower the set point, and the set point is a seemingly
tireless opponent to the dieter.
• The ideal approach to weight control would be a safe method that lowers or raises the set point
rather than simply resisting it. So far no one knows for sure how to change the set point, but
some theories exist. Of these, regular exercise is the most promising: a sustained increase in
physical activity seems to lower the setting (Wilmore et al. 1999).
• According to the set-point theory, the set point itself keeps weight fairly constant, presumably
because it has more accurate information about the body’s fat stores than the conscious mind can
obtain. At the same time, this system pressures the conscious mind to change behavior,
producing feelings of hunger or satiety. Studies show that a person’s weight at the set point is
optimal for efficient activity and a stable, optimistic mood. When the set point is driven too low,
depression and lethargy may set in as a way of slowing the person down and reducing the
number of calories expended.
• The set point, it would appear, is very good at supervising fat storage, but it cannot tell the
difference between dieting and starvation. The dieter who begins a diet with a high set point
experiences constant hunger, presumably as part of her body’s attempt to restore the status quo.
Even dedicated dieters often find that they cannot lose as much weight as they would like. After
an initial, relatively quick loss, dieters often become stuck at a plateau and then lose weight at a
much slower rate, although they remain as hungry as ever.
• Dieting research demonstrates that the body has more than one way to defend its fat stores.
Long-term caloric deprivation, in a way that is not clear, acts as a signal for the body to turn
down its metabolic rate. Calories are burned more slowly, so that even a meager diet almost
suffices to maintain weight. The body reacts to stringent dieting as thought famine has set in.
Within a day or two after semi-starvation begins, the metabolic machinery shifts to a cautious
regimen designed to conserve the calories it already has on board. Because of this innate
biological response, dieting becomes progressively less effective, and (as generations of dieters
have observed) a plateau is reached at which further weight loss seems all but impossible.**
Adapted from Integrative Group Treatment for Bulimia Nervosa by Helen Riess, M.D. and Mary Dockray-Miller
Questions about this topic? Contact the Center for Health Promotion and Wellness from link ---> http://med-dev.mit.edu/pdf/set_point_theory.pdf

lvfunandfit

Sounds like you got some great info! Thank you for sharing! Now I want to get the test done!

I just tried the think thin bars and was very impressed! You'll like them!

kiffypooh

Thank you for sharing all this information. I hope you let us know how it goes. I was just talking to my friend about upping my calories and I think I may do so. Thank you!