Vo2 Max Testing & Metabolic Rate Assessment & Nutrition & Firefighter Fitness Wellness

Find out precisely how many calories you burn each day and eat for your metabolism

An RMR test is not a measure of your metabolism, but of your metabolic rate, which is how many calories you burn.

Your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) is the minimum number of calories your body needs to support its basic physiological functions, including breathing, circulating blood and all of the numerous biochemical reactions required to keep you alive. Your RMR is generally 60-80% of your total daily caloric expenditure.

Knowing the minimum number of calories your body needs is important if you're trying to lose, gain or maintain your current weight.

Resting Metabolic Rate is the amount of calories you would burn if you continued to sit in a chair all day, doing nothing at all. RMR is determined by measuring all the oxygen you used during the test. Indirect calorimetry measures the amount of oxygen you breathe in and subtract the amount of oxygen you exhale to get the amount of oxygen your body uses. That's it!

By simply breathing into our Metacheck we are able to calculate an individual's unique RMR based off of oxygen consumption. For every calorie we burn, we consume a fixed amount of oxygen. By measuring oxygen consumption we can then calculate the caloric burn rate. This allows for a precise baseline in which we may then formulate nutritional and guidelines. It also allows us to see beforehand if an individual has a slow, fast, or normal metabolism. If a metabolism is abnormally slow this could possibly indicate underlying medical factors that needs to be further evaluated by a physician.

Why you need to KNOW YOUR RMR

When you cut calories to BELOW your RMR, your body fights back. Restricting calories below your RMR is like asking your car's engine to run on too little gas. If your car is sitting in the driveway with the engine on, it is burning gas as it sits there. If you put the car in drive and step on the gas, it burns gas at a faster rate. What happens if you choke off the supply of gas to your engine? It sputters and eventually stalls. The same is true for your metabolism.

Many individuals severely restrict their caloric intake when trying to shed unwanted pounds. This can actually cause an adverse affect, causing the metabolism to slow. This is why we so often see individuals not losing the weight while they are consuming a low caloric intake because they are in a "Starvation Zone". This type of severe restriction can go on for an extended period of time (weeks or months), but NOT WITHOUT PAYING A PRICE. That price may be your health.

Why estimate when so much effort is involved in weight maintenance? Understand your body and yours alone!

Some medications may affect metabolic rate, respiration or heart rate, leading to an inaccurate metabolic rate measurement. Stimulants and weight loss drugs such as Ephedrine, Pseudoephedrine, Caffeine, Ionamin (Phentermine), Meridia (Sibutramine) and Dexedrine (Amphetamine) will increase metabolic rate, as will thyroid medications such as Synthroid and Eltroxin (Levothyroxine). Some medications for heart conditions, such as Lanoxin (Digoxin) and beta-blockers such as Inderal, Apo-Propranolol, Novo Pranol (Propranolol), Lopressor, Betaloc, Apo Metoprolol (Metoprolol), Tenormin, Apo Atenolol (Atenolol), Sotalor (Sotalol), Apo Timolol, Novo Timol (Timolol), Trandate (Labetolol), Sectral, and Monitan (Acebutolol) will slow the heart rate. Anti-asthmatics such as Theophyllin and Ventolin (Salbutamol) can increase heart rate.