Met with dietician - got RMR tested - help!
imagine977
Posts: 14 Member
In May of 2012 I joined MFP to lose about 5 pounds. I started at 120. Currently, I am at 130. Yes, I gained 10 pounds trying to lose just 5. Out of frustration, I decided to visit a dietician. On my first visit, she told me to concentrate not on calories, but on eating more veggies, whole foods, less "easy" foods like English muffins (my fave). Today we tested my RMR, and it was only 1140. Which means with my level of exercise (5 days a week, about 3.5 hours weekly total) I can only eat 1280 calories a day. Not net. That is so low!! I mean, maybe it will work, but I'm scared that I've already ruined my metabolism by dieting so hard the past year. I mean last year when I was 120, I was eating whatever I wanted. Pasta, sandwiches, ordering out, eating late at night... And I was only 120. Now I am so paranoid about everything that goes in my body - and I'm 10 pounds heavier!!! I'm so confused about everything. Has anyone gone through something similar?
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Replies
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1. 5 lbs is not much. Given how body weight can change just over the course of the day with fluid retention, I'm not sure how 5 lbs is even significant.
---Instead I would suggest looking at why you want to lose 5 lbs. Do you want to look better? If so,then take measurements and try to get some resistance training in during those workouts if you're not already doing so.
2. Is this a *registered* dietitian? Because there's some mixed signals. I'm all for eating whole foods that are nutritionally dense. But telling you not to focus on calories and then giving you a calorie limit is...odd? Did she give you that limit or did MFP.
It's just my 2 cents, but stop worrying about the scale, and pay more attention to how clothes feel and body measurements. You shouldn't be afraid of your food.0 -
I suggest plugging in your numbers to an online calculator - I think your BMR calculation is probably too low. Even if you are 4 ft 6, my numbers suggest that at your weight and age your BMR should be about 1300. So to lose weight you probably want to be on:
1300 * 1.2 * 0.9 = 1400 calories per day net.
Or at least that's what I calculate - anyone disagree?
P.S. my calculation is based on the assumption that TDEE for a sedentary person is BMR plus 20%. For a small weight loss, a 10% deficit off your TDEE should be reasonable, then you log excercise and eat back calories.0 -
Or at least that's what I calculate - anyone disagree?
It was a measurement of her actual RMR not a BMR estimate from a regression equation.
If the 1150 is correct, sedentary you would use 1380, add on 320 for exercise gets you to 1700. Take off 250 for a modest deficit gets you to 1450 of food.0 -
Or at least that's what I calculate - anyone disagree?
It was a measurement of her actual RMR not a BMR estimate from a regression equation.
Aaah ok, how do you do that? How is the measurement done and how accurate is it? Are you supposed to eat back excercise calories when you do weightloss with measured RMR?0 -
Aaah ok, how do you do that? How is the measurement done and how accurate is it? Are you supposed to eat back excercise calories when you do weightloss with measured RMR?
Breathing through a flowmeter with O2 and CO2 analysers tells you the O2 used and the CO2 produced from which you can calculate how much food was oxidised (having made a shedful of assumptions).
The BMR equations catch about 70% of people within 10% of their predictions when tested against measurements, so I'm not surprised the OP is under the prediction - I was 16% under. Note there are several calculation options too.
I edited my post suggesting a similar amount of food to yourself, but I included a guess at the exercise cals.
In principle if you know your RMR you can plug that into any chosen methodology instead of the predicted value.0 -
Aaah ok, how do you do that? How is the measurement done and how accurate is it? Are you supposed to eat back excercise calories when you do weightloss with measured RMR?
Breathing through a flowmeter with O2 and CO2 analysers tells you the O2 used and the CO2 used from which you can calculate how much food was oxidised (having made a shedful of assumptions).
The BMR equations catch about 70% of people within 10% of their predictions when tested against measurements, so I'm not surprised the OP is under the prediction - I was 16% under. Note there are several calculation options too.
I edited my post suggesting a similar amount of food to yourself, but I included a guess at the exercise cals.
In principle if you know your RMR you can plug that into any chosen methodology instead of the predicted value.
Thanks! I enjoy getting my nerd on for dieting..... or anything else for that matter
I don't know about you but I'm thinking the dietician is aiming for a much faster weight loss than most people seem to suggest is healthy for someone with only a few pounds to lose. Maybe that's why their suggestion is so low?0 -
Or at least that's what I calculate - anyone disagree?
I don't disagree that it's what you calculated but a personal measurement is ALWAYS more accurate than a generic online calculator based on population averages.
OP, I would go with what you dietician recommends.0 -
I don't know about you but I'm thinking the dietician is aiming for a much faster weight loss than most people seem to suggest is healthy for someone with only a few pounds to lose. Maybe that's why their suggestion is so low?
I don't think the dietician suggested a calorie level, just to eat real food ? The OP used the RMR measurement to do her own calculation I suspect. Be interesting to see her food diary ;-)0 -
Learn to love exercise or take every opportunity you can during the day to be active.
Centre your eating mostly around nutrient dense but low calorie dense food.
It's challenging but not a disaster.0 -
No, this is totally wrong. She got RMR tested, not BMR.Or at least that's what I calculate - anyone disagree?
It was a measurement of her actual RMR not a BMR estimate from a regression equation.
If the 1150 is correct, sedentary you would use 1380, add on 320 for exercise gets you to 1700. Take off 250 for a modest deficit gets you to 1450 of food.
Dietician did the test wrong. Freaking people in comas don't have RMRs that low.0 -
Your TDEE is not just comprised of RMR + Exercise calories. There is also your NEAT. You do move around some during the day. That's probably another 200 calories at least (quite conservatively).
So if you have 1140 + 200 + 250 burned in exercise, you could eat 1340/day for a deficit of 250 calories daily... but honestly if your total exercise for the week is 3.5 hours, you could increase both your exercise and your non-exercise movement throughout the day and just simply burn more.0 -
Also, most RMR machines give a TDEE number too (it assumes moderate exercise).0
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Thanks everyone for your responses. I won't be able to respond till I get out of work later but to clarify a few things:
1. I'm 5'3.
2. 1140 was what the machine said my RMR was. After she plugged in my activity level and height and stuff in her comp she gave me the calorie level of 1280 for weight loss.0 -
No, this is totally wrong. She got RMR tested, not BMR.
how much different would you expect it to be ?0 -
I am in a similar situation. I got my RMR tested last month by a dietician. It was 1296. I am 5'1. She told me to get 1312 calories a day. I took that as net and eat back most of my exercise calories. She also said to increase fiber, reduce sugar, and recommended some vitamins as I got a blood test too. I only want to lose 10 lbs. Friend me if you would like so we can compare notes. I am guessing we are very similar.0
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My RMR is 2002, my BMR is around 1750. So almost 10% difference.No, this is totally wrong. She got RMR tested, not BMR.
how much different would you expect it to be ?0 -
Thanks everyone for your responses. I won't be able to respond till I get out of work later but to clarify a few things:
1. I'm 5'3.
2. 1140 was what the machine said my RMR was. After she plugged in my activity level and height and stuff in her comp she gave me the calorie level of 1280 for weight loss.
But 1280 for weight loss based on losing how much per week? If 1 lb/week, that would make sense. I can't imagine your TDEE to be much less than 1780 calories/day with 5 days a week of exercise and a normal life to live.
But if that is, in fact, the case... you could reduce your deficit to less than 500 calories/day. That's pretty steep for someone with very little weight to lose. Eat closer to 1400 and you'd still have a nearly 400 calorie deficit.
If, otoh, her recommendation was already based on only losing 1/2 a pound weekly, then I'd say you should try moving more. That's a really low daily burn.
EDIT: If it's 1280 plus exercise calories - the MFP way - then that makes more sense.0 -
She said eating that amount daily I would get to my goal weight of 120 by the end of March 2014. So def not a pound a week. I always thought my tdee was higher. I used to wear a fitbit daily and I never ended a day less than 1700 calories. I walk around a lot at work so I'm always on my feet, and I work out in the mornings for around half hour, usually doing a jillian michaels circuit training DVD. Which is why the idea of eating 1280 (total, not net) freaks me out.0
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Sucks being a small petite female when it comes to food. You just dont have the muscle mass to support a lot of calories for weight loss. How much do you want to lose or what is your overall fitness goal? Did you talk to the dietitian about some ideas for resistance training and maybe helping to improve some of that muscle mass and maybe eventually being able to eat a little more than 1300?
What was your weight loss like at 1700?0 -
No, this is totally wrong. She got RMR tested, not BMR.Or at least that's what I calculate - anyone disagree?
It was a measurement of her actual RMR not a BMR estimate from a regression equation.
If the 1150 is correct, sedentary you would use 1380, add on 320 for exercise gets you to 1700. Take off 250 for a modest deficit gets you to 1450 of food.
Dietician did the test wrong. Freaking people in comas don't have RMRs that low.
Now this is a thought there could be possible user error or user calculations. Do you have a copy of how the RD calculated your final numbers?0 -
...I'm scared that I've already ruined my metabolism...
You can't "ruin" your metabolism. If you want your RMR to go up, start slowly increasing the amount you eat, and add in at least that many calories worth of exercise.
It only takes a matter of weeks to see increases in RMR, if you do it diligently.0 -
Thanks everyone for your responses. I won't be able to respond till I get out of work later but to clarify a few things:
1. I'm 5'3.
2. 1140 was what the machine said my RMR was. After she plugged in my activity level and height and stuff in her comp she gave me the calorie level of 1280 for weight loss.
Was this your first time getting the test done? Were there any difficulties in getting you hooked up or any unusual error readings? Sounds like she plugged in all your numbers into a predetermined calculator correct? So basically there was no pen and paper figuring out it was all done on computer.0 -
That seems low for calories!
I'm 5"1. I saw a dietician and she said I should get 1650 net cals a day to lose weight0 -
No pen and paper, everything was plugged into a calculator on the computer. There weren't any difficulties with the test. I tried to breathe as normal as possible and relax. Didn't eat anything or exercise prior to the test. Something to add that may be part of the problem is I am hypothyroid. My last blood test showed I was still slightly under, and meds were adjusted. That could play a part I thought but my doctor said my levels weren't off enough for it to affect my weight.
As for the 1700 calorie/fitbit comment, I meant that I was burning no less than 1700 cals a day according to my fitbit. The only times I've ever eaten 1700+ have been on "cheat days" which I used to have once a week. I still counted everything, and always made sure it never took my weekly average past my goal. Ugh, sometimes I think I just think too much lol.0 -
No pen and paper, everything was plugged into a calculator on the computer. There weren't any difficulties with the test. I tried to breathe as normal as possible and relax. Didn't eat anything or exercise prior to the test. Something to add that may be part of the problem is I am hypothyroid. My last blood test showed I was still slightly under, and meds were adjusted. That could play a part I thought but my doctor said my levels weren't off enough for it to affect my weight.
As for the 1700 calorie/fitbit comment, I meant that I was burning no less than 1700 cals a day according to my fitbit. The only times I've ever eaten 1700+ have been on "cheat days" which I used to have once a week. I still counted everything, and always made sure it never took my weekly average past my goal. Ugh, sometimes I think I just think too much lol.
Bull-crap ... I'm hypo as well, levels even slightly off can effect weight (well, metabolism i.e. all body processes, in general)... Get a new doctor .. I'm assuming you are on T4 only Synthroid, too, huh?
ETA: I'm bad at following these threads, so if you want to know more or have questions, just PM me ...0 -
I take levothryroxine, not sure about the T4 part...0
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I had my RMR tested a couple years ago by breathing into this machine for a couple minutes. I too had a really low RMR (1380) for my height, weight, and age ( 5'7" 180lbs 23). My dietitian checked my thyroid and it was fine. She suggested I lift weights as the increased muscle mass would increase my RMR.0
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Your RMR is what your body needs to function if you are lying down staring at the ceiling or sleeping all day. Usually an activity factor is applied to your RMR to come up with your actual daily energy needs since, well, most of us aren't lying on the couch staring at the ceiling 24 hours a day. For active people, multiplying your RMR by 1.2 should get you closer to where you need to be.0
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It's really hard to know if that is an expected RMR, or low RMR reading. Or maybe even high.
Because do you have the same ratio of fat to non-fat mass as someone else your age, weight, height?
But based on bodyfat %, and the Cunningham RMR formula, you may have exactly what is expected for your LBM.
Depending on amount of yo-yo dieting through the years and extreme deficits previously, you could have burned off some muscle mass. So lower LBM, lower RMR expected.
Or that is exactly what is expected for LBM, right on the mark.
Or it's slightly suppressed because of under-eating, lower than expected for LBM.
Only way to know is have decent bodyfat test - which I always think is more useful anyway. You can always eat to what BMR/RMR would be based on LBM, and lower if needed after testing.
But if RMR is already suppressed and you eat to a level based on that, you could cause more trouble.
Agree with many comments, use it as basis for math, but come up with your own figures based on your own activity.
For instance, your FitBit assumes BMR based on age, weight, height, gender, and all non-moving burns use that figure. So sleep and sitting. If that is 16 hrs of your day or more, 2/3's, and your RMR is lower than BMR calc, your FitBit is over-estimating calorie burns.0 -
Your RMR is what your body needs to function if you are lying down staring at the ceiling or sleeping all day. Usually an activity factor is applied to your RMR to come up with your actual daily energy needs since, well, most of us aren't lying on the couch staring at the ceiling 24 hours a day. For active people, multiplying your RMR by 1.2 should get you closer to where you need to be.
You got RMR and BMR mixed up. You mostly described BMR there.
And sedentary using 1.2 factor is hardly the correct level for "active" people.0
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