All About the RMR Test

7/14/15 - BodySpec is proud to announce that we are now offering the Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) test at our California locations!

The RMR test enables you to have an accurate baseline from which to set individualized calorie intake targets for your goals.

How does this work? Fundamentally, your body needs a certain amount of energy to stay alive – to keep your heart beating, your brain functioning, etc.

Larger people will need more energy than smaller people because larger people have more tissue to sustain. Additionally, your body composition will also affect your RMR because fat tissue and lean tissue burn calories at different rates. However, factors other than body composition – including genetics, stress, hormone levels, and age – will contribute to your RMR as well.

Getting an RMR test and measuring this number enables you to set personalized calorie targets that ensure you don’t consume less or more than you need. To see how this works, let’s look at an RMR case study...

How to Use RMR for Nutrition Planning

Brooke, a 32-year-old mother of 2, had been struggling to lose body fat around her midsection. She had gotten a new gym membership and was working out 4 days a week. But her weight and body fat were not heading in the right direction. How did the RMR test help her?

After measuring her RMR, Brooke discovered that her RMR was only 1485 calories! This led to some realizations.

Brooke’s old eating habits were based on a generic 2,000 calorie diet. Brooke’s workouts burned 500 calories four days a week, and her other daily activities burned about 200 calories per day. So, on four days a week, Brooke was consuming fewer calories than she burned, and had a 185 calorie deficit.

But the three days when she did not work out, Brooke was over consuming by 315 calories. So over the course of one week, Brooke was overconsuming by 205 calories. It doesn’t sound like much, but compounded over a year that’s 10,660 calories more than she needed! 1 pound of fat could contain anywhere between 2,843 and 3,752 calories , so Brooke could pack on anywhere from 2.8 to 3.75 pounds of body fat each year.

The RMR test gave her not only the insight to realize that her current eating habits were not working, but also the ability to design a more effective plan. This time, she set calorie targets that put her at a 200 calorie deficit on both her workout days and non-workout days – 1,985 calories and 1,485 calories, respectively. A caloric intake that was consistent with Brooke’s daily activity allowed her body to efficiently consume calories and helped her steadily shed body fat.

Want to be as awesome as Brooke?

Doing the RMR test is the best way to set an accurate baseline from which to determine your personal calorie targets and achieve your goals. So come get your RMR tested with BodySpec!

The test will take about 20 minutes. Because you'll want to be fasted, we'll be primarily doing these tests in the mornings. The test will be available at our Culver City location, our San Francisco location, and around the SF Bay area via our RMR truck.

We hope to see you soon – on the recliner!