Resting Metabolic Rate Testing
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MaddMaestro wrote: »deannalfisher wrote: »MaddMaestro wrote: »I actually has it done at a Chiropractor's office for $50. It was SUPER useful in helping me set my caloric intake goals. I was surprised to find out I didn't burn as many calories as most people think they would. 2000 cals a day? That's entirely too much for me when I only burn 1460. After that, I've tried to keep my calories under 1300 everyday while also exercising. I've lost 50 pounds in 6 months after being thorough with calorie counting
Try asking your primary doctor or maybe a local gym or community center to find a cheaper version of the test.
remember that RMR does not include calories burnt through the day - it is the basic sedentary calorie burn
Oh I know. I still restrict though. RMR is assumed that you do absolutely nothing for 24hrs, It doesn';t help that I have a sit down job
I have a heavily sitting job with a 2-3hr daily commute - but I focus on getting walk breaks in every hour; working out every night - I avg 1900cal and weight stable (focusing on performance)0 -
@kar328 if you don't mind me asking... you said you do this once a year, have you noticed much difference in the results each time? If so, is it easily explained by something you've done differently? E.g did you lose or gain weight or muscle or fitness in between? How many have you done?0
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as a follow-up if you don't want to pay the $100 for the BMR test - I had an inbody scan done this weekend (body comp) and one of the read-outs they give you is BMR - the guy testing said its not as accurate as the face mask - but for me the difference was like 20cal - so decently accurate and potentially cheaper (the test was $40 for me)1
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BMR/RMR are arbitrary numbers for weight loss.
TDEE is easy to calculate and is what you need to focus on to calculate your calorie deficit.2 -
while I sort of agree, they were slightly helpful to me in understanding my non-activity level calories burn a day - and the OP asked1
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deannalfisher wrote: »while I sort of agree, they were slightly helpful to me in understanding my non-activity level calories burn a day - and the OP asked
Even on non-activity days; BMR/RMR are not what you can measure. It's still TDEE.2 -
but your BMR is relatively static - mine has remained stable in the 1450 range since I had the initial testing done (I got a package deal from a local university) - but my TDEE varies depending on where I am in triathlon training cycle - so I always aim to eat above my BMR no matter what - and adjust for TDEE accordingly1
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Depends on how much weight one has to lose. If they are very overweight or obese, eating under their BMR is fine.courtneyfabulous wrote: »For weight loss you need to eat less than TDEE and more than BMR.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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I've done it and I found it pretty helpful because the formula based BMR calculations really don't take into account our different metabolisms. I also did a VO2 max test which I think has almost been more helpful. If you know your VO2 max you can use that and your heart rate during a workout to get a much closer approximation of how many calories you burned. I knew that the cardio machines were never accurate but this was eye opening. But there is still some margin of error with the tests so you will still need to track and monitor your progress. I'm a numbers geek so having this information was very helpful to me.1
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If people are wondering how this is done, it's usually done by an indirect calorimeter. Not expensive, but not cheap either. Usually a college, University or hospital treating obese people will have them.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition 0 -
trigden1991 wrote: »BMR/RMR are arbitrary numbers for weight loss.
TDEE is easy to calculate and is what you need to focus on to calculate your calorie deficit.
While TDEE is the most important factor, for some, finding your BMR gives you a more important starting point to estimate TDEE.0 -
Thanks everyone for all the awesome feedback!! This have given me a lot to think about. I did several (like 12) online calculators for my bmr and tdee the other day, entering the same stats each time and they were ALL different. Sometimes up to 200 kcals. So I took the average of them all for maintenance and loss calories and I will try eating that for the month and see if I get any movement. If not, I will suck it up and pay for a test. You urban folks are lucky to have fitness centers etc that will do this cheaper. The $100 I found was after a $50 coupon and is still an hour away!! Sigh. Farmland life.0
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barefootdahl wrote: »Thanks everyone for all the awesome feedback!! This have given me a lot to think about. I did several (like 12) online calculators for my bmr and tdee the other day, entering the same stats each time and they were ALL different. Sometimes up to 200 kcals. So I took the average of them all for maintenance and loss calories and I will try eating that for the month and see if I get any movement. If not, I will suck it up and pay for a test. You urban folks are lucky to have fitness centers etc that will do this cheaper. The $100 I found was after a $50 coupon and is still an hour away!! Sigh. Farmland life.
This would have a greater impact if you said "cityfolk"
Spent the vast majority of my life rural - I feel your pain, but wish I was back there.0 -
I've had it done twice and am going back in a couple of weeks. I was surprised the first two times to find that my RMR tested about 10% *higher* than expected. I really thought I'd be on the low side. But, both times it came back 10% higher than expected (and I was about 25 lbs. different in weight between the two tests). I haven't had it done in about 3 years now and it seems like my metabolism has really dropped. I've been tracking food and exercise daily for about 6 years now. If my BMR/RMR was the same as it was 3 years ago, I would've lost about 40 lbs. over the last year. Instead, I gained 7! So, I'll be interested to see what my test results say in a couple of weeks. I would caution you to have it done at a hospital system, rather than a fitness place. The fitness places don't always have good equipment, or people that know how to use the equipment. If they're only telling you not to eat or drink for a few hours, look elsewhere. It should be like a fasting blood test. The place I go to is a research lab affiliated with the local university hospital system. They require at least 10 hours of fasting, no exercise for at least 24 hours, no food or drink, etc. The test takes about an hour (30 minutes resting then 30 minutes testing).
In the past, the test results didn't alter what I was doing, but I am a data geek so I did find it very helpful. This time, the results could alter my course, depending on what the results say. If it comes back similar to before, then I'll have to talk with my endocrinologist about other reasons I'm not losing weight.1 -
The debate about what you need to calculate seems rather circular. MFP estimates your TDEE on a daily basis by using a base calculator (which we've all seen) and adding in additional "exercise calories." For me, it works fine.
We can't forget that the proof is in the pudding: are you getting measurable results, in terms of weight and/or measurements. I know it takes some patience (e.g., a few weeks), but you will know if it's working.
If it doesn't, there's every reason you should get your BMR measured, talk to experts, read books, join support groups, etc.
In the end, the laws of physics dictate that if you get your calorie intake below your expenditure you will lose weight. Yay!1 -
I had it done and found it useful in figuring out my maintenance range. My calc'd BMR was 1000 calories, but due to decent muscle mass, my actual was closer to 1400.1
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Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »The debate about what you need to calculate seems rather circular. MFP estimates your TDEE on a daily basis by using a base calculator (which we've all seen) and adding in additional "exercise calories." For me, it works fine.
We can't forget that the proof is in the pudding: are you getting measurable results, in terms of weight and/or measurements. I know it takes some patience (e.g., a few weeks), but you will know if it's working.
If it doesn't, there's every reason you should get your BMR measured, talk to experts, read books, join support groups, etc.
In the end, the laws of physics dictate that if you get your calorie intake below your expenditure you will lose weight. Yay!
Agree.
I think a lot of people struggle with the patience/consistency it takes to really see how accurate the estimate is. One day of the week "off" tracking and I very well might not lose any weight that week, despite the estimate being spot on, or at least close enough to see progress even if it's not at the expected rate. For these people I would discourage paying to be tested, because the true issue is more with their adherence to the estimated calories than an incorrect estimate. They still may not succeed even after the testing because the problem was not the estimate to begin with.
(Maybe paying for the test and gaining a sense of security is helpful to some. For me, I know my own estimate is pretty much spot on but I still struggle with adherence from time to time. I think the confusion for some lies in not adhering as well as you think you are/not enough patience.)1 -
MaddMaestro wrote: »I actually has it done at a Chiropractor's office for $50. It was SUPER useful in helping me set my caloric intake goals. I was surprised to find out I didn't burn as many calories as most people think they would. 2000 cals a day? That's entirely too much for me when I only burn 1460. After that, I've tried to keep my calories under 1300 everyday while also exercising. I've lost 50 pounds in 6 months after being thorough with calorie counting
Try asking your primary doctor or maybe a local gym or community center to find a cheaper version of the test.
Your BMR of 1460 is the calories you burn merely existing on this planet...I assume you do more than that. If you do the math, at your level of consumption relative to your rate of loss, that puts your TDEE (maintenance calories) at around 2,300ish calories. You'd still lose weight eating 2,000 calories.
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I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest you did something wrong with your inputs...2
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