Had my metabolism tested and...

now I know what I'm going to do. Some of you may know that for more than 3 years, I had been eating net calories of 6-700 on a good day, while trying to lose weight I gained during a pregnancy. Did not work, and I actually very slowly gained weight. Then, I quit smoking on May 22 last year, began using MFP, joined a gym in June, lost 15 pounds and two pants sizes. Then my progress ground to a halt last August. Since then, I've tried every trick in the book to break the plateau, to no avail. So I decided to have my metabolism professionally tested.

First of all, the test itself is was done by a testing lab, using a 'MetaCheck' machine.

Some info about the machine:

***** How does MetaCheck measure metabolic rate? For every calorie your body burns, it consumes a fixed amount of oxygen. Actually, your body is burning (also called, oxidizing) food…this is why our internal temperature is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, rather than the same as the air around us. Metacheck measures the oxygen you inhale then calculates the precise number of calories you are burning. Volume of Oxygen (V02) is a scientific, or medical, notation for the rate at which Oxygen (02) is consumed. RMR is calculated directly from the V02 that is measured during the test. What is Total Metabolic Rate (TMR)? Total Metabolic Rate is the number of calories burned in a day including calories burned due to normal daily activities such as walking, working, etc. This is also referred to as Total Energy Expenditure (TEE). Taking into account the sorts of activities that are typically included in your day, we can then estimate Total Energy Expenditure. Our measurement of Resting Metabolic Rate is a direct and accurate measurement which is our primary interest about your nutritional functioning. Total Energy Expenditure depends on activity level, which you control with the advice of your nutritionist. ***

My RMR is 1,800 calories. That is Resting Metabolic Rate and is what my body uses for my organs to function while completely at rest (and assuming I was completely at rest for a 24 hour period). Everything I do during my day, from brushing my teeth to sitting on the couch, watching TV, burns additional energy. They testers estimate that I burn an additional 700-750 a day doing my normal activities. So my TDEE is about 2,500.

I fasted prior to the test and had a long, 45 minute talk with the administrators, a fitness trainer and nutritionist, after the results were in. Basically, they said I'm doing everything right. Eating 5-6 meals a day, eating unprocessed, natural foods, organic when possible, exercising 3-5 times a week, and had even taken 6 weeks off while eating at maintenance. The missing factor is that my calories have been too low. In looking at my average calories for the last 90 days, there were only 3 days that I even came close to 1.800 calories, in fact, the majority of the time, I didn't even come close to 1,500 calories. The analysis form indicated that any intake under 1,440 was to be considered a 'very low calorie diet' and should ONLY be attempted under close medical supervision. Well....that was pretty much my upper limits!!

Another thing they mentioned was hunger pangs. They said that we need to listen to our bodies and when we feel hunger pangs, we need to supply fuel. It need only be a light carb/protein fix (ie: crackers/cheese or cottage cheese/fruit), but if we ignore those hunger pangs, our body assumes that it is NOT going to be fueled in a timely fashion and immediately begins to conserve. So, in order to keep our bodies functioning at top capacity, keep healthy snacks on hand to satisfy those hunger pangs any time they arise. In discussing this with my husband, he says he doesn't think he knows what true hunger pangs feel like. He eats from boredom, habit, stress, and routine, but rarely ever, from hunger.

Finally, they said that eating immediately after a workout is extremely important. Not 45 minutes or an hour later, but within 15 minutes or so...at least, while you're still flushed and heated. They recommended Think Thin bars, as I said I refused to eat the artificial crap that is in most protein bars. Although I haven't tried one, they look better than most commercial bars - http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/tt/low.html


So I will be eating a net of 1800 a day, while increasing my workouts, and making the tweaks they suggested above. They said if I have no changes in 3-4 months, that I should be checked by a doctor for medical issues.

Hope some of this helps someone, somehow :flowerforyou: :bigsmile: