A resting metabolic rate assessment (RMR) is an incredibly useful tool for understanding a person’s energy needs and overall health. Your RMR is the amount of energy that is required for the body to carry out its basic functions at rest, such as breathing, circulating blood, and maintaining body temperature.
We offer this service to athletes and also fat loss clients as we believe it is vital for everyone that we work with. It allows you to understand their resting metabolic rate in order to manage their weight and optimise their individual nutrition plan.
There are several ways to assess your RMR which include predictive equations and indirect calorimetry – which we offer at Pro Sport Lab.
Predictive equations are common place and used by anyone who tracks their calories on apps like MyFitnessPal. They’re based on certain variables, such as gender, age, weight, and height, and provide you with an estimated RMR figure which is based on population averages.
It’s a very simple way to assess RMR but there is a significant margin of error, especially for individuals with high amounts of body fat or muscle mass.
The issue with any predictive formula is that a one size fits all approach often doesn’t provide value for anyone! Just as we all look different on the outside, we all function differently on the inside and an individual’s resting metabolic rate will vary greatly from one person to the other.
Indirect calorimetry is considered the most accurate method of measuring RMR. This method measures how much oxygen the body uses and how much carbon dioxide it produces over a certain period of time. The measurements are then used to calculate RMR using equations that take into account the individual’s age, gender, height, and weight.
When it comes to RMR, no two people are the same and it is important to note that this is never a fixed figure. Understanding where you are now is just the beginning of the process. Using that information and make the necessary changes to your diet and training can see significant improvements in a matter of weeks.
Our resting metabolic rate assessment will inform you of three key areas.
Firstly, the way you body uses fuel at rest. The assessment will enable you to understand the percentage of fat and carbohydrate your body uses in a rested state. High reliance on fat as a fuel source is one of the most reliable indictors of cellular health and is strongly associated with a low likelihood of weight gain.
This is typically linked to your dietary intake, but doesn’t mean that you need to completely avoid carbs. The good news is your metabolism can change over time – usually within a couple of months if there are positive changes in diet and/or training.
Secondly you can understand if you have a fast or slow metabolism. Generally, if you have followed calorie restrictive diets for many years and operated below your RMR for a significant period of time, you may have a slow metabolism which can have an impact on your energy and hormone levels and may also impact you physical and mental health.
As with your fuel source, nothing is set in stone and making subtle changes to the way you eat, train and recover can have a huge impact on improving all of these factors
Obviously, our assessment will also provide you with the magic RMR number. I’ve deliberately listed this as the least important factor as I believe most people that come to us for a resting metabolic rate assessment do so because they have hit a plateau and simply counting calories is no longer working for them.
Our goal at Pro Sport Lab is provide you with more than just a number and to also give you a deeper understanding of your own physiology, provide you with insights into your health, and allow you to understand any potential metabolic conditions.
We then aim to provide you with the knowledge and tools to optimise your training, nutrition and lifestyle choices to bring about positive change.
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