Hi, I had my RMR tested today and was pleasantly surprised to find out that I have a FAST metabolism! I am the cardio queen and work out alot. I've also lost a ton of weight in the last year and a half so it was cool to see that my hard work has paid off. Now, my question is...
the burn meter on CC is about 500 calories toooo low. The test administrator insisted that I up my calorie intake because I am not eating enough. I am still losing weight but it has slowed down alot. So, should I increase my activity level on CC to reflect my real burn meter and up my calories accordingly... OR... at this point, if it aint broke, dont fix it? LOL. Since I am still losing, should I leave it alone? OR, if I am really not eating enough calories a day, I am taking a chance on messing up my fast rate? or getting sick?
Any thoughts or suggestions?
You were probably losing so much because, in a sense, you were starving! Now you can up your calories and lose weight the slow, safe, and healthy way. =) Lucky you!!
What I've seen published shows a variance in the population of plus or minus 20% on individual RMR's compared to the average number. I know that you can jack metabolism around with activity level, but had always assumed that it drops back the second you quit exercising. I've never had my RMR tested, but have found by calorie-counting experience that it's pretty close to the average. For men that's about 10 times body weight: 200 lbs equals 2000 cal/day RMR.
The test was offered through my YMCA. It was an outside organization that came with a big ole truck. For the RMR test, I sat quietly in a room, having had no caffine or food yet for the day (it was done at 8:00 am). He put a plug on my nose so I couldnt breathe through my nose and a big mouthpiece attached to a machine. He asked to breath normal for 12 minutes. I sat and read People for 12 minutes. At the end, it prints out a report. Pretty cool.
For my age, I my metabolism is 21% faster than "normal" and I am deemed to have a fast metabolism. After I explained I work out nearly every and focus on cardio, he said it made perfect sense because you can change your metabolism (make it faster and better) through weight loss and exercise. He suggested that in future I have a VO2 test, which measures how many calories I burn when I actually exercise and at what level (heart-rate) I stop effectively burning calories. The cost for my test was 45.00 and it was worth it.
I am thinking, yeah me. LOL. The water dunk test is for measuring body fat and they offered that one too. Of course now that I have lost so much weight and have become the cardio queen, he told me I need to focus on weights and make muscle. I am pretty muscular but he doesnt want me to start burning my muscles, especially if I am not eating enough. By the way, I eat 1700 to 1800 calories a day so I am not skimping, just maybe not enough. :-)
We did this to lab rats in my third year comparative animal physiology class! Well, we didn't plug their noses and hook them up to a mouth piece, but we put them in an enclosed environment and measured how much oxygen they were consuming.
So cool. :)
Wow, that is really cool! It must feel great knowing that your metabolism is that fast and I'm sure exercise helped a lot. If your weight loss is slowing and they said you can eat more calories I would go for it. I know when I drop my cals too low I stop losing. As for changing your burn on CC, maybe just tell it that you're more active, I wouldn't think you would need to exercise anymore. Congrats!
Hi,
You might be interested in my recent post to a question on this topic entitled, How can I tell if I have a fast metabolism?
Mary
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