Get your Metabolic Rate tested !! My Metabolic reset story

Kim55555

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Kim55555

Anyway thanks to the Eat more to Weight less group I was reading up about doing a metabolic reset. The exercise physiologist suggested eating 10 - 20% more than I was and gave me some great advice concerning exercise and nutrition. I decided to do my own little experiment. Since the 2nd of February I decided to eat more than my TDEE. I wanted to see just how much I could eat without gaining weight. So I started off eating mid 2500's and then most of the time for the past 5 weeks I have been eating mid to high 2000 calories !! In that time I have put on roughly half to 1 kg in weight I think. From August till end of January my weight was in the range of 57.5 - 59.5 kg and now its in the 58 - 59.7 range for the last couple of weeks.

Its been 6 weeks now and for the past week i've been between 59-60.3 kg. Still waiting for the time my body will stabilise at a range in weight. For the past couple of weeks ive tried hard not to go above 2500 calories but some days i go higher than 2500. I have a feeling that to maintain my weight i need to average around 2300 gross a day. To achieve this I need to be stricter but now that I have started to eat more my body feels like it needs/wants more food. Something has switched on in my brain. Hopefully I'll be able to stay at the weight i am now for the next few weeks and then i'll start cutting again eating in the low 2000's. To do this i'll cut some of my energy dense foods down (such as nuts) and instead replace with something less calorie dense.

I dont want to start cutting right now until my body stabilises between this new weight range being 59-60.3. Good news is ive asked people and they cant tell ive put on weight. My clothes fit well but there are a couple of tops that are tighter around my boobs and shoulders so i think i may have put some muscle or muscle water weight on. I'm genetically blessed in this area. hmmm perhaps my weight has gone up because i'm also now holding more water inside my muscles and because i have replenished my muscle glycogen .

I really think i'll not concern myself too much with my scale weight. Obviously I'll be keeping an eye on it to see its not getting to out of hand but with my frame, muscle and athletic type body i've always been at the upper end of the healthy weight range for my height. I could very well and I totally wouldn't be surprised if i level off at 60 kg but actually get smaller than I was when i was 57.5 kg back in August. One day i will have to upload the photos to show you my last 12 months transformation pics.


I wish I hadnt started so many topics on this. i'm struggling to keep up with all of them lol.

Kim55555

I'm having trouble finding a facility to get the test done at. Searched the Internet to no avail, called a couple hospitals and my doctor's office to no avail.

how did you go. keep googling! you'll find somewhere.

heybales

How you can get your BMR accurately or medically measured? I had no idea you could do that. Is it done by a doctor? How do they do it? Thanks

It's actually not BMR, which would usually take an overnight sleeping test, while either in a chamber to catch all the heat you give off, or capture the air breathed out. Can be done, expensive.

These are Resting Metabolic Rate testing, hooked up to face mask for capturing your breathing, or a hood.

And then you lie back and get calm but not sleep for 20-30 min while they see how much oxygen you are are using out of what you breath, and how much CO2 you put back.

That tells how much oxygen was needed for burning fuel. How many cal/min. And what type of fuel, good fat burner (should be almost total fat unless messed up).

So you must go in fasted, usually 5 hr min, and no exercise day before that the body may still be repairing from. False energy use.

You can then calculate the LBM on your RMR (they estimate that based on standard Cunningham or other RMR calc), and from an estimated LBM, you can get Katch BMR.

Usually about 150-300 spread.

Even better is get both done together.

Sadly most people that get an RMR test seem to validate they have a slow metabolism, and then eat to that. Rather than recognize they probably slowed it down because of undereating, and trying to fix it.

Kim did an incredible job fixing it. And shows how fast it can be done if done right.

At least if you got a good bodyfat test, you can estimate RMR and BMR from that, what it should be, and at least eat correctly then.

Units are very portable, many traveling businesses will do it. Sadly without following guidelines. Show up at the gym one day, and there's the $25 test. And totally invalid.

Kim55555

You can either get your BMR or RMR tested. You breathe through a mouthpiece basically.

I was watching superfat superskinny where thiis family got tested and have wanted to get one done for a while now.

How you can get your BMR accurately or medically measured? I had no idea you could do that. Is it done by a doctor? How do they do it? Thanks

Kim55555

Kim did an incredible job fixing it. And shows how fast it can be done if done right.

At least if you got a good bodyfat test, you can estimate RMR and BMR from that, what it should be, and at least eat correctly then.

Im so glad I went all out and ate at a surplus. I just read a summary of the minessota study where the participants had to eat above tdee at a surplus of something like 4000 calories to get their metabolic rate back to normal and it took quite a few months to achieve. I'm curious what my rmr would have been if i had just eaten at tdee whilst resetting ,maybe not as high i'm not sure.

Yes it can be done fast, I guess it all depends though on how long you were underfeeding for in comparison to your activity levels. For me it was 3 and a half months. For others that have been doing it for years it might take longer. I'm not sure on this as I haven't done a lot of research ive just read a little. I'm thinking it would also depend on the individual as people react to things differently.

All very interesting isnt it !

Kim55555

I highly recommend getting tested also. According to all of the online calculators, I should be burning around 1550, so for a long time, I based my calories around that number....plus or minus 200-300 calories. I haven't been able to lose in 4 years and couldn't figure out why. I work out 5-6 days a week. I lift heavy and don't eat much processed food. Then I had my doctor test my thyroid, blood sugar, etc, etc. Everything came back normal. My doctor finally recommended this test.

My RMR, according to this test, is 2140. BMR is 2010. TDEE is from 2800-3200, depending on my workout that day. My doctor says these tests are pretty accurate and that these numbers basically mean I've been starving myself for a long time.

For the last week and a half, I've been eating around 24-2500 calories (vs 1500-1800). At first, I gained a lb or two, but I'm back down to what I was before the test and have lost an inch around my waist. I've had a TON more energy, slept better, and have been able to lift a little heavier. So glad I had this test done and truly believe I'll be able to lose the weight I want, now that I know how much I should be eating.

Thats awesome.


When did your weight start to stabilise after gaining a pound or two ?

heybales

The other huge thing to this I wanted to mention.

You are eating 300 to 400 more calories daily (it appears, correct me if wrong).

And even if you rested all day, you are burning 600 more now. Net gain of 200-300 calories extra being burned - by eating more.

Add in to that an underfed body usually slows down your daily activity too. Even if you force yourself to the gym and workout, body finds a way to slow other activity down.
So that 500-600 calorie workout has a loss of calories from undone daily activity could easily be another 200-400. Net burn in underfed state really only 100-400 calories.

No wonder you can lose weight by eating more than bare minimum.

Kim55555

Very interesting, thanks for the story.
I didn't know you could get tested for that; Now I'm curious about my own.

I wonder if I'm heading for the same direction as you. I've been working out more and more - Yesterday I burned 1400 calories but ended up with a deficit of 600 calories. I sure didn't feel it though - I felt more than full! I just couldn't get myself to eat more that night. What do I do in this kind of situation, when I feel like my body is getting all it needs (eating very healthy and lots of protein) and I'm just not hungry? P.S. I love to eat and usually have a hard time stopping myself from eating so... yeah.

Hunger is not always a good sign though.

Like for instance I often read people on here say that they are satisifed with 1200 calories that they are not hungry and so therefore they think no damage is being done. What they dont realise is because of the chronic undereating it has screwed up their leptin levels and other important hormones and the brain is not sending the message correctly that they are being underfed so they think they are ok and continue eating isemi starvation level.

nextrightthing

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Kim55555

The other huge thing to this I wanted to mention.

You are eating 300 to 400 more calories daily (it appears, correct me if wrong).

And even if you rested all day, you are burning 600 more now. Net gain of 200-300 calories extra being burned - by eating more.

Add in to that an underfed body usually slows down your daily activity too. Even if you force yourself to the gym and workout, body finds a way to slow other activity down.
So that 500-600 calorie workout has a loss of calories from undone daily activity could easily be another 200-400. Net burn in underfed state really only 100-400 calories.

No wonder you can lose weight by eating more than bare minimum.

Before when I was underfeeding it was a weekly average of around 1850. Now I could very well be averaging about 2500. I need to go over the last couple of weeks stats and work out my weekly average.

Half the time (for a 7 day week) i'm eating around 600 calories more a day, a quarter of the time i'm eating 600-1000 more and a quarter of the time i eat 400 - 600 calories more a day.

Yes I agree your on to something with the neat. Plus the slow down of all the other body processes that take place in to order to compensate.

The longer I go with this reset of mine the more i'm thinking seriously about continueing eating at tdee until footy season is over and thats the end of August. That is a good 7 months eating at maintenance. I could really do with a nice long break as I've been going at it losing since April 8 2010. I started at 91 kg. In the offseason come September I'll start my cut but this time it will be sensible, eating in the low 2000's and not overtraining but if I do happen to do to do a lot of activity one day i'll make sure i fuel myself properly for it. I am quite happy with the way my body is looking and if I never changed shape forever I'd be quite ok with it. I do however want to still make some improvements like toning up my midsection more and leaning out a bit more but that can wait im in no rush!

Thanks for all your help heybales i really appreciate it.

I've run out of time again. I want to post in the other 2 topics I created but it will have to wait till later as i'm off now meeting up for a bike ride.

viajera99

For people looking to get their RMR tested, you should check your local universities. Particularly if they have sports programs and/or a kinesiology major, they are likely to have an exercise physiology lab that will do testing on the general public for a fee. For example, here is what is available at San Francisco State University: http://exphys.weebly.com/fitness-testing-prices.html

3laine75

I'm having trouble finding a facility to get the test done at. Searched the Internet to no avail, called a couple hospitals and my doctor's office to no avail.

Try local uni's - don't know about the states but that seems to be the places to go here.

amanda_gent

@ OP - Thank you SO much for all the responses but I still don't know YOUR AGE and that makes a huge difference! I am assuming that since you're playing footy you're in your lower 20s, but you never know. (If you don't mind telling...and apologizing in advance if I've missed that somewhere!)
Thank you!!

Eatkansasbeef

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rodow

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karaks

I highly recommend getting tested also. According to all of the online calculators, I should be burning around 1550, so for a long time, I based my calories around that number....plus or minus 200-300 calories. I haven't been able to lose in 4 years and couldn't figure out why. I work out 5-6 days a week. I lift heavy and don't eat much processed food. Then I had my doctor test my thyroid, blood sugar, etc, etc. Everything came back normal. My doctor finally recommended this test.

My RMR, according to this test, is 2140. BMR is 2010. TDEE is from 2800-3200, depending on my workout that day. My doctor says these tests are pretty accurate and that these numbers basically mean I've been starving myself for a long time.

For the last week and a half, I've been eating around 24-2500 calories (vs 1500-1800). At first, I gained a lb or two, but I'm back down to what I was before the test and have lost an inch around my waist. I've had a TON more energy, slept better, and have been able to lift a little heavier. So glad I had this test done and truly believe I'll be able to lose the weight I want, now that I know how much I should be eating.

Thats awesome.


When did your weight start to stabilise after gaining a pound or two ?

I seemed to have stabilized, I hope. I've been on vacation for the last week visiting family I haven't seen in a few years. I decided that I was going to take a diet break for the week and eat what I wanted when I wanted (within reason of course). I also decided that I wasn't going to weigh myself until I got back home. Well, I averaged eating around TDEE while on vacation and came back home yesterday. I weighed myself this morning and didn't gain any weight. But what totally made me happy was that, while on vacation, I had to buy two new pairs of jeans because the ones I had taken with me were getting too big. The best part is that the two pairs I bought were a size smaller than I normally wear. So even though I went up a total of 3 lbs since the beginning of March, I'm now down a size in jeans. I went up a few lbs, then down, then back up. At this rate, I'm not focusing as much on what the scale says as I am on eating enough and working out. And I'm sure I've still got some changes coming. I don't expect this to all work itself out in a matter of 3 weeks, but I'm completely excited about how it's going so far.

bpmichael

Here is a link to get your metabolic rate tested by Medgem (now Microlife). Anyone interested in adding me please do as I am very interested in learning and discussing RMR / BMR

http://www.mimhs.com/medgem/patients/your-metabolic-measurement/

grapefruitannie

How you can get your BMR accurately or medically measured? I had no idea you could do that. Is it done by a doctor? How do they do it? Thanks

I had a hydrostatic body composition analysis done at this place (they have them all over): http://www.bodyfattest.com/ The report included RMR, body fat, LBM (lean body mass: muscle, bones, organs). It also charted where I fell according to gender, age, etc.

Not in the UK

TheRealParisLove

How you can get your BMR accurately or medically measured? I had no idea you could do that. Is it done by a doctor? How do they do it? Thanks

I want to know this, too. Is it covered by insurance or is this an out-of-pocket expense?

Kim55555

@ OP - Thank you SO much for all the responses but I still don't know YOUR AGE and that makes a huge difference! I am assuming that since you're playing footy you're in your lower 20s, but you never know. (If you don't mind telling...and apologizing in advance if I've missed that somewhere!)
Thank you!!

40

christianteach

I've only been eating under 1200 for 3 weeks so I'm still losing at a good rate. I have more energy than I did when I was overeating. Do you think I've already messed up my metabolism? My doctor put me on a 1200 calorie diet and gave me a prescription to help me get started. I'm usually not hungry enough to eat that much. This weekend I've been trying to eat more. I would like to stay at 1200 until our cruise in 2 weeks, so I will keep losing. I'm sure my calories will go up considerably while on vacation. According to what I've been reading on here I should be eating around 1600-1700 per day. If I were to start that now, I'm sure I would gain! But again, my doctor told me to eat 1200.

amanda_gent

Wow! You're 40!!! Excellent news.

bpmichael

How you can get your BMR accurately or medically measured? I had no idea you could do that. Is it done by a doctor? How do they do it? Thanks

I want to know this, too. Is it covered by insurance or is this an out-of-pocket expense?

bpmichael

How you can get your BMR accurately or medically measured? I had no idea you could do that. Is it done by a doctor? How do they do it? Thanks

I want to know this, too. Is it covered by insurance or is this an out-of-pocket expense?

It is normally around 40 or 50 dollars, but not usually covered by insurance. From what I have seen you can get it done at certain gyms, universities w/ exercise physiology major, and some diet clinics

norcal_yogi

congrats to you!

heybales

I've only been eating under 1200 for 3 weeks so I'm still losing at a good rate. I have more energy than I did when I was overeating. Do you think I've already messed up my metabolism? My doctor put me on a 1200 calorie diet and gave me a prescription to help me get started. I'm usually not hungry enough to eat that much. This weekend I've been trying to eat more. I would like to stay at 1200 until our cruise in 2 weeks, so I will keep losing. I'm sure my calories will go up considerably while on vacation. According to what I've been reading on here I should be eating around 1600-1700 per day. If I were to start that now, I'm sure I would gain! But again, my doctor told me to eat 1200.

So, what are you losing exactly?

And how will it affect your future ability to either lose more, or maintain?
Had experience with it before?

And don't even let feeling hungry be a factor, your hormones get messed up, of course you won't feel hungry. People that fast get to that point, so that is really immaterial.

Kim55555

I've only been eating under 1200 for 3 weeks so I'm still losing at a good rate. I have more energy than I did when I was overeating. Do you think I've already messed up my metabolism? My doctor put me on a 1200 calorie diet and gave me a prescription to help me get started. I'm usually not hungry enough to eat that much. This weekend I've been trying to eat more. I would like to stay at 1200 until our cruise in 2 weeks, so I will keep losing. I'm sure my calories will go up considerably while on vacation. According to what I've been reading on here I should be eating around 1600-1700 per day. If I were to start that now, I'm sure I would gain! But again, my doctor told me to eat 1200.

So, what are you losing exactly?

And how will it affect your future ability to either lose more, or maintain?
Had experience with it before?

And don't even let feeling hungry be a factor, your hormones get messed up, of course you won't feel hungry. People that fast get to that point, so that is really immaterial.

bump, Will reply later when home On a short lunch break right now and pretty much only have time to lurk.


Also i wish I could find Banks's topic from last year re underfeeding, and metabolism. The one that is 18 pages long. Does anyone have the link? I want to save it to my topics list as it has some great info! hmmm i might do a name search although i cant remember his username spelling.

JuniperT

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SoDamnHungry

Neat.