I Got Metabolic Testing Done Today!
OvershareUsername
Posts: 36 Member
After a successful start in August and losing 20lbs, I have been at a plateau/slow loss since about Halloween. My hunger has been rivaling that of a bear pre-hibernation!! Even when eating at a loss of .5lb/week! I am blessed with a fast metabolism, but I felt like I was starving!
So, I made an appointment with an RD to figure it out and got KORR metabolic testing done! My results confirmed what I had been feeling all along- the TDEE calculators were off by 30% for me. All in all it is a very neat process. Working with a professional was very helpful!
Is this for everyone? Probably not, but I’m a big ol’ nerd and I like facts. Why not eat more if I was hungry? Well I’m eating in deficit, so some hunger is expected... and as someone who struggles with binge-eating, it was reaffirming to know that the hunger wasn’t all in my head. I still use HALT, practice mindful eating, and close my kitchen at 7pm, so I view this as one more tool in my toolbox. Very cool stuff!
Edited for spelling... 🙄
So, I made an appointment with an RD to figure it out and got KORR metabolic testing done! My results confirmed what I had been feeling all along- the TDEE calculators were off by 30% for me. All in all it is a very neat process. Working with a professional was very helpful!
Is this for everyone? Probably not, but I’m a big ol’ nerd and I like facts. Why not eat more if I was hungry? Well I’m eating in deficit, so some hunger is expected... and as someone who struggles with binge-eating, it was reaffirming to know that the hunger wasn’t all in my head. I still use HALT, practice mindful eating, and close my kitchen at 7pm, so I view this as one more tool in my toolbox. Very cool stuff!
Edited for spelling... 🙄
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Replies
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Had it done before - mine according to machine wasn’t that high (they said maintain on 1900) but I can maintain on 2500 with little effort - def a good tool to have/understand2
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How much did this cost?1
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How does this compare to what your intake has been? Have you been eating the same/less/more than this while you’ve been stalled/losing slower than expected?
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As long as you understand ALL that was measured was your RMR.
Your TDEE is still estimated based on formula starting with that.
For instance the 1.3 they used would be similar to Lightly-Active used with BMR.
Are you really Lightly-Active including exercise?
Also - would be interesting to see what RMR formula they are comparing to to say you are high.
Did you indeed follow correct test protocol - no workout yesterday like resistance training, really anything?
No food at least 4-5 hrs prior?
Those things would raise your RMR or give invalid breath test.
Also love how they say most people must eat below their Metabolic Rate (opposite side shows this to mean your RMR so they are using term correctly) in order to successfully lose weight.
You most absolutely do NOT have to eat that low, the TDEE estimate shows the huge range available before you must go below RMR.
That's common issue not specific to them - but it sure supports misunderstanding of weight loss for people.
If it's right, that's great it's higher than average, and that eating too little didn't start to lower it.9 -
Nice.0
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pierinifitness wrote: »How much did this cost?
It’s $75 in my area. It’s an easy test- the worst part of the test is the nose clips! 😆Duck_Puddle wrote: »How does this compare to what your intake has been? Have you been eating the same/less/more than this while you’ve been stalled/losing slower than expected?
I had been eating about 1400-1600 before Halloween, but that candy-binge wrecked my resolve. As I struggle with binge eating, since then I have been on a whiplash of hangry 1400 calories/day, combined with ‘good’ 1700 calorie days, interspersed with binge days of anywhere from 2500-3800+.
I have been doing the mental work of weight loss this time around (hardest part) and recognize that this pattern is unhealthy disordered eating. I feel like I’m pretty good at addressing psychological hunger, but I binge when I get too physically hungry. It was important for me to have a better understanding of how much I should be eating on a daily basis (more, yay!), in order to help prevent binges.As long as you understand ALL that was measured was your RMR.
Your TDEE is still estimated based on formula starting with that.
For instance the 1.3 they used would be similar to Lightly-Active used with BMR.
Are you really Lightly-Active including exercise?
Also - would be interesting to see what RMR formula they are comparing to to say you are high.
Did you indeed follow correct test protocol - no workout yesterday like resistance training, really anything?
No food at least 4-5 hrs prior?
Those things would raise your RMR or give invalid breath test.
Also love how they say most people must eat below their Metabolic Rate (opposite side shows this to mean your RMR so they are using term correctly) in order to successfully lose weight.
You most absolutely do NOT have to eat that low, the TDEE estimate shows the huge range available before you must go below RMR.
That's common issue not specific to them - but it sure supports misunderstanding of weight loss for people.
If it's right, that's great it's higher than average, and that eating too little didn't start to lower it.
Wow! Thank you so much for your thoughtful reply! I too am a bit skeptical. I did follow the prep instructions exactly. This result is based on 28 hours without exercise (prior day, light cardio), 6 hours of fasting, normal activity the day-of, and a 15min test prior to testing.
My RR is not usually 10... more like 12-14. I can’t speak to the other stats. I was always pretty underweight growing up and continue to struggle with brittle blood-sugar as an adult (not diabetic), so my metabolism is fast. But maybe not that fast.
That said, I am happy I did it. It view it as another useful tool for me to have- and as a reaffirmation that I need to to trust what my body is telling me.2 -
Great job following the program then, and appears better than average.
In which case I'd suggest the whole period of what turns out to be eating so low - is likely causing a few reactions that typically occur in studies.
Your body is stressed out and cortisol is causing water to slowly but surely be retained - which can mask the fact fat loss is going on.
Of course a body that stressed out it reacts that way usually means other negative things are going on.
One, body responds by first slowing you down - not metabolism, but your daily burn, by you moving less. Not even step level moving, just extra movement, fidgeting, ect. Above metabolism burn can also be slowed down - hair/nail growth, skin replacement rate, ect.
So lets say the suggested REE was right on correct (if you exercise much though, or get more than 6K steps daily, you are well above), eventually smaller calorie burn actions are slowed down and you could lose 200-300 calories of daily burn that way - not really being in the deficit you'd think you are.
Workouts will many times also suffer - feels like pushing as hard, but that because it's with a tired body, there's not the same need for repair and elevated metabolism from it, besides not burning as much during the workout.
Combine that with stress water retained - totally hide the fact fat is slowly coming off still.
But it also means each binge day is pushing you more above a daily burn than other would occur otherwise.
So the idea of eating more to control the binges and sustain a reasonable deficit is great - allow body to likely speed back up, get back up to higher TDEE, and drop some stress water weight.
This is why refeeds and diet breaks has become more recognized as a very useful part of a diet.
First 2 pages of this topic have all the info you find useful on that.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks
Many will report eating just a tad more - 200-300 say, and losing weight.
Water weight, but then they keep losing and feel they have more energy. Yep, higher TDEE means the deficit is the same if not better - workouts are better, better body transformation, ect.
Reasonable rate is always better - now you have a better handle on what that number may mean.
Too many just say keeping eating less and less until body is just forced to drop the weight despite the above reactions, body getting in worse state from the stress. Fat can be lost that way, and other things.
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OvershareUsername wrote: »pierinifitness wrote: »How much did this cost?
It’s $75 in my area. It’s an easy test- the worst part of the test is the nose clips! 😆Duck_Puddle wrote: »How does this compare to what your intake has been? Have you been eating the same/less/more than this while you’ve been stalled/losing slower than expected?
I had been eating about 1400-1600 before Halloween, but that candy-binge wrecked my resolve. As I struggle with binge eating, since then I have been on a whiplash of hangry 1400 calories/day, combined with ‘good’ 1700 calorie days, interspersed with binge days of anywhere from 2500-3800+.
I have been doing the mental work of weight loss this time around (hardest part) and recognize that this pattern is unhealthy disordered eating. I feel like I’m pretty good at addressing psychological hunger, but I binge when I get too physically hungry. It was important for me to have a better understanding of how much I should be eating on a daily basis (more, yay!), in order to help prevent binges.
This is not uncommon when people select a calorie goal too low for them. Here it is in chart form:
https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/1200-calorie-diet/
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This makes perfect sense! Thank you for all the all the info! So cool to understand some of the physiology behind my plateau and bingeing behaviors.0
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