I have been blessed with the internet!
Yesterday I went online testing RMR calculators to determine people's metabolic burn and it's funny how off they all are. First of all, they do not take into consideration how much of someone's weight is fat or muscle. With muscle burning a whopping 30 to 70 times more calories than fat per pound, its no wonder they do not work.
I tested a few numbers and discovered something rather shocking. Obviously, with my body fat percentage being less than 15% and weighing over 140 lbs, you would be correct to assume I burn more calories than a woman the same height and weight and at 40% body fat.... yet our numbers are exactly the same. I even calculated in a few places where an totally sedentary woman of the same numbers would require 2400 calories to maintain her weight, 2600 for a moderately active lifestyle and 2800 for a very active lifestyle.... WTF?
In 2005 I had my metabolism tested using 2 state of the art processes that measured actual oxygen consumption. The tests are required I sit still for an hour or so while the machine was able to establish a baseline of how much oxygen I was breathing in and then burning at rest. It was amazing; with breakfast I burned around 1400-1800 and without breakfast I burned about 800 -1200. So to all of you who skip breakfast, keep that in mind. Also keep in mind, this was a caloric burn for me at rest, not sleep. So I can only assume that while I am actually asleep, I burn on the low end of 800-1200 or lower.
I have always known that if "I" want to lose fat, if I keep my calories between 1000 and 1200, I'd be successful. My maintenance numbers while keeping a decent workout load of just weights is only 1400-1600 ( I figured this out for myself after years of trial and error... not math). According to all the calculators; I'd require about 1500-1800 to lose a pound of fat a week!
So here is some math, using myself as an example
If I burn 1400 calories awake but at rest, and I am up for only 16 hours a day...
1400/24 = 58.3 calories per hour... 58.3 x 16 hours (which I am awake) 933 calories I'd be burning a day at rest
800/24 = 33.33 cal/hour... x 8 (hours I sleep at night) = 266.66
if I was burning 1800 cal....
1800/24 = 75 cal/hr x 16 = 1200 calories awake
1200/24 = 50 cal/hr x 8 = 400 calories asleep
933+267 = 1200 on the low end
1200 + 400 = 1800 on the high end.
1200 to 1800 is my calculated caloric range to maintain... pretty dang close to the 1400 to 1600 I came up after trial and error..... not 1500 to 1800 to lose one pound
So now you see how I managed to determine most calculators are incorrect for ME.
Now, can YOU apply this same concept to yourself and determine your own numbers? Remember, I have a high metabolism because of all my muscle.
If you are unable to locate a facility that offers a metabolic test using oxygen consumption, locate a university with a kinesiology program. They may have one. OR you can purchase a Body Gem appartus for about less than a grand. I am in the process of getting one
http://metabolicratetest.com/
Be well and train hard my hot sexy fitness fans
Trainer Jo
Las Vegas personal trainer
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