Testing Your Resting Metabolic Rate
Why should you know your resting metabolic rate?
Your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) is a measure of the number of calories your body burns each day to maintain life. Your RMR is equal to approximately 60-70% of daily total caloric expenditure and also relates to how much lean body mass you have. Basically, your resting metabolic rate gives you the number of calories your body would need if you were to lie in bed all day and not expend any other energy or exert effort. The remaining 30% percent of calories burned come from your body's daily physical activity such as digestion, daily living, and exercise.
Why should you measure your RMR?
Your body is unique and your metabolism and caloric needs will differ from the person next to you (even if you both weigh the same amount).
Here are some factors contributing to your body's metabolism:
• Age
• Height
• Gender
• Body composition – lean body mass to fat ratio
• Activity level
• Exercise intensity and duration
• Varying physical and environmental influences
How can you test your RMR?
The whole process takes about 15 minutes and is very easy and painless to complete. A qualified, registered dietician or health professional will have you lie or sit down and then place a soft, form-fitting mask around your mouth. The RMR program they use will then calculate the oxygen and carbon dioxide data collected. It will then analyze the data and provide you with your personal resting metabolic rate.
The testing is also fairly accurate, especially with a qualified technician fitting the mask to your face. I have personally seen discrepancies of up to 5-10% when completing the test within the same week. However, this is still better than estimating your own RMR, which is often off by as much as 20-25%. For example, if you calculate your RMR to be 2,000 calories and it's really 1,500 you can see why you would be gaining weight from consuming an additional 500 calories per day…
Make sure to retest your RMR every 8-12 weeks, as your energy and caloric needs may change depending on the results you have achieved through your weight loss program.
