I had my RMR tested...

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BadFatPants
BadFatPants Posts: 8
in Fitness and Exercise
I had my RMR and body fat tested yesterday at the hospital. While I'll just leave my body fat number out of here (lol), I will say that my metabolism showed up low for someone my age/height/weight. These were my results...

I am 5'10, 24 years old. Fairly active, though I work a sedentary job.

Highest amount of calories for maintaining: just over 2100
Weight loss range: Just over 1200 and no more than 1550 (the numbers were more precise, but no one is gunning for 1234 calories in a day, exactly)

If you browse the forums, 1200 calories is "starvation mode" and we should all eat TDEE, so on so fourth. That might work for some people, but for instance, it wasn't working for me personally and now I have a clearer picture as to why.

BUT in any case, has anyone else had this test done? I find it to be pretty interesting, and fun to have a personalized number just for you :-)

Replies

  • phjorg1
    phjorg1 Posts: 642 Member
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    What exactly isn't working for you? A sedentary person would eat about 1200 to lose weight. If you're active, then you add that..
  • BadFatPants
    BadFatPants Posts: 8
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    Well what's not working for me, and I'm sure others, is the flood of information on what we should eat, and what considered not quite enough. What's more, it averaged out how many calories I burn per 30 minutes of exercise. It was WAY lower than my heart rate monitor. WAAAAY lower. And I have a nice one!

    Secondly.... I was just curious if anyone else had this test done and their experience with it, cause it was kinda fun...
  • gfroniewski
    gfroniewski Posts: 168
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    What was the test like?
  • BadFatPants
    BadFatPants Posts: 8
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    You breathe through a tube into a fancy machine, after fasting and consuming no stimulants, for 10 minutes in a dark quite room... it measures the gasses you breathe out. I, personally, played Candy Crush while this went on haha.
  • Sh5073a
    Sh5073a Posts: 21 Member
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    Random but... does your insurance cover this test? Did you have to ask your doctor for it? Did you have to provide some kind of medical need to have it approved?
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    I had my RMR and body fat tested yesterday at the hospital. While I'll just leave my body fat number out of here (lol), I will say that my metabolism showed up low for someone my age/height/weight. These were my results...

    I am 5'10, 24 years old. Fairly active, though I work a sedentary job.

    Highest amount of calories for maintaining: just over 2100
    Weight loss range: Just over 1200 and no more than 1550 (the numbers were more precise, but no one is gunning for 1234 calories in a day, exactly)

    If you browse the forums, 1200 calories is "starvation mode" and we should all eat TDEE, so on so fourth. That might work for some people, but for instance, it wasn't working for me personally and now I have a clearer picture as to why.

    BUT in any case, has anyone else had this test done? I find it to be pretty interesting, and fun to have a personalized number just for you :-)

    First off, "starvation mode" is a widely miss-understood term and is greatly exaggerated and overused. Secondly, there is a difference between being at a high body fat % and eating a VLCD and being a little 110 Lb nothing netting 500 calories per day because they have body issues, not fat issues. Thirdly, yes...their are outliers who have medical conditions and/or otherwise don't meet the average metabolic rates per their stats...they (in this case you) would be an outlier, not the norm.

    When people get on other people about the 1200 calorie thing it is because they're grossing 1200 calories and then exercising their *kitten* off and netting very low calories which doesn't give their bodies sufficient nutrients or energy to perform basic functions..their hair falls out...nails turn yellow, crack, and fall out...they wonder why....people say to eat more...then they just say **** you because obviously they know what they're doing. Usually these individuals have very little to NO weight to really lose...they just have body composition issues and EDs.

    If I were you, personally, I'd consult a doctor now as well to see if there's anything else going on...hyperthyroidism, PCOS, insulin resistance, etc....
  • BadFatPants
    BadFatPants Posts: 8
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    No, I did have to pay for it out of pocket. I just requested the test. It was $50.00.
  • BadFatPants
    BadFatPants Posts: 8
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    My thyroid is really low, but still considered normal. No PCOS that region looks just fine. I have no idea about insulin resistance, though. I think the real factor is seeing those numbers, and knowing they're mine, and knowing that no internet calculator can really tell me what's "right". That's all. And it was fun. :-)
  • granitendirt
    granitendirt Posts: 76
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    I'm a bit confused... I don't think 2100 is unusually low to maintain. My calculated TDEE is something like 2200. I'm 24, female, 5'6", 157 lbs, fairly active.

    I also am a bit confused about the weight loss range they gave you. If they stated you must eat no more than 1500 per day to lose weight, that sort of implies that you'd be maintaining at 1600, as opposed to eating anything less than 2100. Are they shooting for a 1-2 lb/week weight loss goal?
  • phjorg1
    phjorg1 Posts: 642 Member
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    I'm a bit confused... I don't think 2100 is unusually low to maintain. My calculated TDEE is something like 2200. I'm 24, female, 5'6", 157 lbs, fairly active.

    I also am a bit confused about the weight loss range they gave you. If they stated you must eat no more than 1500 per day to lose weight, that sort of implies that you'd be maintaining at 1600, as opposed to eating anything less than 2100. Are they shooting for a 1-2 lb/week weight loss goal?
    or she could still be losing at 1600+ a week. But losing .05lbs a week might not be a viable weight loss plan by eating just a hair under your tdee...
  • phjorg1
    phjorg1 Posts: 642 Member
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    Well what's not working for me, and I'm sure others, is the flood of information on what we should eat, and what considered not quite enough. What's more, it averaged out how many calories I burn per 30 minutes of exercise. It was WAY lower than my heart rate monitor. WAAAAY lower. And I have a nice one!

    Secondly.... I was just curious if anyone else had this test done and their experience with it, cause it was kinda fun...
    what exactly are you reading that is in any way contradictory to anything you just posted here???? your report came back at 1200 a day, and most people on here see 1200 a day as a minimum. looks to me like you qualify for exactly what the flood of info says....

    As for the hrm, dur. once you know how they operate, you understand why a lot of the time they can be garbage.
  • allen4mlbj
    allen4mlbj Posts: 9
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    I am having mine done today, and also will find it interesting to have my own numbers. I had the body fat testing done last week.
    These are offered at the wellness center that is run by my employer (a hospital) and the tests are given to anyone who wants them for a nominal fee. The fee includes consultation with a trainer to recommend a personal diet and work out plan based on your goals and results. I think it was well worth the money.
  • savithny
    savithny Posts: 1,200 Member
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    For those saying 1200 is "just what you eat," notice that she's 5'10". Depending on body fat, her calculated BMR would be anywhere between 1500 and 1800.

    1200 might be "just what people eat to lose weight" for a short-to-average woman, but the point of taking your metabolism into account is that larger bodies need more energy (and a taller body will always be a larger body, even at a healthy weight!).

    I had my RMR tested through my work wellness program too, and it came back lower than the math suggested (without a true body fat measurement I can't be sure how off it was). I'd guess it came back close to the OP's numbers. In my case, I decided to eat close to maintenance and start doing some weight lifting to rebuild muscle I've lost with age. It seems to be working, because I lost another 5 eating what should have been "maintenance" and I'm now maintaining nicely at about what the math says I should be able to.

    If TDEE really is about 2100, then you should still be able to lose a reasonable amount on 1500-1600 a day.
  • FakingFitness
    FakingFitness Posts: 325 Member
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    You breathe through a tube into a fancy machine, after fasting and consuming no stimulants, for 10 minutes in a dark quite room... it measures the gasses you breathe out. I, personally, played Candy Crush while this went on haha.

    Candy crush is a stimulant. It seems to me it probably changed the outcome of the test.
  • JustJennie1
    JustJennie1 Posts: 3,843 Member
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    You breathe through a tube into a fancy machine, after fasting and consuming no stimulants, for 10 minutes in a dark quite room... it measures the gasses you breathe out. I, personally, played Candy Crush while this went on haha.

    Candy crush is a stimulant. It seems to me it probably changed the outcome of the test.

    Yeah I had something similar done and any movement would skew the numbers. Since there was a line to get it done they had chairs lined up where you sat and waited (unmoving) and then they wheeled you over to where the test was being done.
  • ShannonMpls
    ShannonMpls Posts: 1,936 Member
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    Highest amount of calories for maintaining: just over 2100
    Weight loss range: Just over 1200 and no more than 1550 (the numbers were more precise, but no one is gunning for 1234 calories in a day, exactly)

    This makes no sense. If your maintenance is 2100, any calorie consumption under that amount would be in the "weight loss range." 1200 would be a really aggressive deficit.
  • ATT949
    ATT949 Posts: 1,245 Member
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    I went to a physio lab last May (so the numbers are out of date) and was tested for body fat, RMR, and a few other stats.

    All of the tests (3) totaled about $150. The numbers were useful but the only test I'm going to do again has to do with running, not metabolism.

    Oh, my RMR was 2058 and one of the reports gave calorie estimates for a few dozen activities. Those values are quite a bit lower than the values suggested by MFP.

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