Resting Metabolic Rate Measurement
Gaining weight and don’t know why? Can’t lose weight despite a diet? Knowing your resting metabolic rate might well be the means to an answer. Once your resting metabolic rate is known, an eating plan can be created to meet your specific calorie needs.
The resting metabolic rate test accurately measures your body’s metabolism to determine the exact number of calories you burn at rest. Research has shown that mathematical equations for estimating metabolism can result in errors of up to 500 calories per day.
What Does It Mean?
The resting metabolic rate indicates the number of caloriesA calorie is a measurement of energy. It is a unit of energy-producing potential equal to this amount of heat that is contained in food and released upon oxidation by the body.
American Heritage© Dictionary the
body burns to maintain vital functions such as heart rate, breathing,
brain function, and body temperature regulation.
Your resting metabolic rate is the bare minimum number of calories your body requires each day, which accounts for up to 75% of your total caloric needs.
Why Is It Important?
Once your resting metabolic rate is known, an appropriate eating plan can be created to meet your specific calorie needs. This type of plan helps people become more successful in achieving their desired weight goals, whether that is weight gain, loss, or maintenance.
Weight or Muscle Gain
If a person is not eating sufficient calories each day, their body will not be able to gain as much benefit from a strength training program. As workouts are increased in intensity or duration, so are calorie requirements. If adequate calories are not consumed, strength and muscle mass gains cannot occur and the result might be undesired weight loss.
Knowing your resting metabolic rate will allow you to tailor your food intake to account for the extra calories required to not only sustain activity, but allow for greater muscle mass and strength gains, as well.
Weight Loss
If a person eats below their resting metabolic rate for a sustained period of time, their metabolism gets suppressed, causing the body to slow down its functions and conserve energy. This sabotages weight loss efforts.
Knowing your resting metabolic rate helps prevent this slowing of the metabolism because your eating plan can be tailored to meet your specific needs and prevent under-eating.
What the Test Entails
The resting metabolic rate test is a simple 10-minute test that measures breathing rate and oxygen consumption. It is painless, non-invasive, and easy. Most people say is actually quite relaxing.
The test is performed using a small, light-weight, hand-held device with a plastic filter that fits just inside your mouth. As you sit comfortably and relax, the device measures the amount of oxygen you are breathing in. A soft, plastic nose clip is also worn to ensure accurate oxygen exchange through the mouth is measured.
Prior to the Test
To ensure an accurate measurement, there are a few rules to be followed prior to performing the text. To learn more, see the Resting Metabolic Rate Pre-Test Checklist.
Who Needs This Test?
- Anyone who is having difficulty gaining weight or improving muscle mass and would like to know how many calories they need to eat each day to gain weight or muscle
- Anyone who is following a weight-loss diet plan or considering trying to lose weight and wants to prevent the slowing of metabolism that occurs with quick weight loss
- Anyone with a thyroid condition who is struggling to maintain a healthy body weight
- Anyone who just wants to know what their metabolism is in order to create a plan specifically tailored to their body’s needs