DC: metabolic testing - worth it? Where?

[Anonymous]

I am mentally and emotionally prepared to lose the weight I gained over a decade in a marriage I didn’t want to be in.

Now for the physical part - I’ve been tracking but realize that I have no friggin clue how many calories my body actually needs.

Has anyone had metabolic testing done as part of a weight loss / life style shift? Where? Was it worth it? Helpful?

[Anonymous]

Metabolic testing is very expensive and really not necessary for the average person embarking on a weight loss program.

Google the navy BMI calculator to get your most accurate BMI - you’ll need a measuring tape and accurate scale. Then Google a BMR calculator to get your basal metabolic rate, which tells you how many calories your body requires for basic operations, then a range of caloric requirements depending on the level of activity/exercise you engage in daily.

Heavier people require more calories and will burn more calories at exercise. As you lose you’ll need to update your bmr calculations accordingly.

[Anonymous]

I encourage you to read about and consider intermittent fasting. It’s a very healthy lifestyle that many folks find easy to adhere to - probably because it’s what our bodies are evolutionarily designed to do because for hundreds of thousands of years we didn’t have regular access to food. It doesn’t require counting calories or eliminating whole categories of foods - though during your eating window you shouldn’t go crazy and it’s always good at middle age to cut down on carbs and sugars since both are linked to development of type 2 diabetes.

Check out Gin Stephens’s books Fast. Feast. Repeat. and Delay, Don’t Deny.

[Anonymous]

Get a Fitbit or other fitness watch with a heart rate monitor. It is not exact but it will give you a good baseline idea of how much you burn. BMR alone is not useful, you need to account for activity calories too.

[Anonymous]

It was super helpful for me. The math equations said my resting metabolic rate was 1700-1850 calories per day. Actual results: 950. (I'm very short.)

Sorry, no local recommendations -- I had it done at a university lab in Florida.

[Anonymous]

George mason university does it.

[Anonymous]

Composition ID does it, but I really would not bother. Get a Fitbit for a first estimate, subtract 20% to get your calories in, stick to it for a few weeks. If you do not see any change, reduce your calories further or increase your activity if they are very low already.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It was super helpful for me. The math equations said my resting metabolic rate was 1700-1850 calories per day. Actual results: 950. (I'm very short.)

Sorry, no local recommendations -- I had it done at a university lab in Florida.

Wow! What a difference. Did you change your caloric intake? What was that like?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It was super helpful for me. The math equations said my resting metabolic rate was 1700-1850 calories per day. Actual results: 950. (I'm very short.)

Sorry, no local recommendations -- I had it done at a university lab in Florida.

Wow! What a difference. Did you change your caloric intake? What was that like?

I would love to hear about this, too. I'm 4'11 and my weight isn't budging even though I've been hitting about 1200 calories a day (I'm diligently weighing my food, so I'm pretty confident in my numbers).

[Anonymous]

I did a resting metabolic rate test at composition ID and it was under $160 I think and found it helpful. They also have the scanner and offer you some analysis. There’s one in Arlington and DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am mentally and emotionally prepared to lose the weight I gained over a decade in a marriage I didn’t want to be in.

Now for the physical part - I’ve been tracking but realize that I have no friggin clue how many calories my body actually needs.

Has anyone had metabolic testing done as part of a weight loss / life style shift? Where? Was it worth it? Helpful?

How can you have no clue what your BMR is? There are a gazillion calculators. Type in your gender, age, weight and voila, you get your BMR.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It was super helpful for me. The math equations said my resting metabolic rate was 1700-1850 calories per day. Actual results: 950. (I'm very short.)

Sorry, no local recommendations -- I had it done at a university lab in Florida.

What does being short have to do with it? Doesn’t it depend more on your weight?

[Anonymous]

This will not be popular here, but just eat 900 calories a day. Make sure it’s well balanced, perhaps more protein balanced, and eat it all once a day. It’s more satisfying and your body eventually gets used to it.
I’ve tried eating 900 calories in the past and was never able to do it, but it’s so much more tolerable when I can have one satisfying meal a day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This will not be popular here, but just eat 900 calories a day. Make sure it’s well balanced, perhaps more protein balanced, and eat it all once a day. It’s more satisfying and your body eventually gets used to it.
I’ve tried eating 900 calories in the past and was never able to do it, but it’s so much more tolerable when I can have one satisfying meal a day.

Yeah, and then gain it all back once you stop doing this non-sense..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This will not be popular here, but just eat 900 calories a day. Make sure it’s well balanced, perhaps more protein balanced, and eat it all once a day. It’s more satisfying and your body eventually gets used to it.
I’ve tried eating 900 calories in the past and was never able to do it, but it’s so much more tolerable when I can have one satisfying meal a day.

Yeah, and then gain it all back once you stop doing this non-sense..

You gain it all back if you go back to your old ways, regardless of what you did to lose the weight.
Tons of people have lost weight off 1500 calories a day and gained it back as well.