It's all about the numbers

Today something cool happened. Well, it was cool to me anyway.

I put on a pair of shorts right out of the dryer, and they were a bit loose on me. This is cool because in the past, these shorts right out of the dryer required a little bit of time to loosen up.

Last weekend, Steve and I had our RMR - Resting Metabolic rate tested.

From Wikipedia - Basal metabolic rate (BMR), and the closely related resting metabolic rate (RMR), is the amount of energy expended while at rest in a neutrally temperate environment, in the post-absorptive state (meaning that the digestive system is inactive, which requires about twelve hours of fasting in humans).
The release of energy in this state is sufficient only for the functioning of the vital organs, the heart, lungs and kidneys and the rest of the nervous system, intestine, liver, lungs, sex organs, muscles and skin.

So on Friday morning, we woke up and our friend Coach Aaron strapped this lovely mask to our faces and for about 15 minutes we just say on the couch and breathed. I like tests that are impossible to fail.

The results were for me about what I expected, for Steve, a total and complete shock that really explains a lot about some struggles he has had.

My RMR is 1512 which coincidentally is the street address of the house I grew up in in New Jersey. Not a surprise at all. Before the "real" test I did one on an on-line calculator and it said 1480 so pretty close.

Steve on the other hand was a big surprise. We figured him to be somewhere in the 2000 range. What Aaron said floored us both. Steve's RMR is 1224. 1224, are you serious? How in the world could his RMR be 288 calories a day less than me?

But, like I said, this is a test that is basically impossible to fail. You sit and you breathe. It does not get any simpler than that. But, this really explains why Steve has been struggling with weight loss. He has not really be gaining, but not losing. It's all about calories in versus calories out, but if you assume that the number of calories you can take in every day are about 800 more than you should...you see the issue here?

So, there have been sweeping changes in the Webster house. There has to be.

1. Start reading labels. When we really thought about the empty calories we were consuming on a daily basis, it is crazy. Little things. Like at the supermarket checkout, we would more often than not grab a Peppermint Patty for each of us. No real thought put into it. Did you know that there are 140 calories in a little Peppermint patty? That is about 10% of our DAILY calorie intake. And we never gave it a thought.


2. Pay attention to serving sizes. I know I was easily having at least 1.5 servings of cereal in the morning.


3. Measure and weigh. This is really not as big a PITA as you would think. Protein servings should be 4 oz. When I weighed out that amount on my new handy dandy digital scale I was amazed. While it is still a very healthy portion, I can only guess that we were eating twice that for dinner every night. Now, instead of just pouring cereal into the bowl, I pour it into a measuring cup and then into the bowl. Same with pasta, rice and really now everything except veggies. Those can be plentiful.


4. Log everything. We are now using Livestrong.com's food tracker to log everything we eat. And I mean everything. If you snack it...track it! Even those 15 calorie sugar-free Popsicles get tracked. Accountability is the key!


5. Eat to our RMR. For now, this will work for us. We are giving our bodies what they need. Now remember that RR does not take into account any normal movement you do in the course of your day, or any calories lost by working out. But for now, as we are about to enter the base phase of our IM training, that will work. As our activity level increases, our nutritional needs will change and we will adapt to that.

We are on track. We are motivated. We are committed. Look out world. Armed with a little knowledge we will be unstoppable!