Doing the happy dance over my RMR!

I had my resting metabolic rate (RMR) measured this morning at Swedish Hospital in downtown Seattle. They used a little machine called a MedGem. It somehow figures out your RMR by your breathing, how much oxygen your body absorbs indicates your metabolic rate.

When the test was done, the dietitian looked at my number of 1900 and said, "Wow! That's a great number!" Remember my 29-year old friend, the skinny one that eats all the time? Her RMR is 1700, and that was considered really good.

I was literally doing the happy dance around the room. My metabolism is better than a 29-year old that's training for a marathon. Woohoo!

Factoring in for my sedentary job, here are my base calories to maintain my current weight.

My RMR: 1900 X Lifestyle Factor: 1.2 = Daily Energy Expenditure: 2280 Calories/Day

That number is based on me sitting still all day, no exercise. Considering I usually burn at least 400 to 500 calories (or more) a day in exercise, I probably need to eat a little more than has been my goal of 28 Points or about 1400 calories to lose two pounds a week, maybe around 1600-1700. This might explain why I feel so starved when I only eat 28 Points.

The dietitian asked me about my exercise and if I strength train. I told him I do 30-40 minutes cardio and 40 minutes of strength five to six days a week. Technically I probably only lift weights for 30 minutes a day, considering rest time between sets. He said that's why my RMR is so high, the strength training.

The dietitian told me about a woman my age that had been in his office a few weeks earlier. She had been working out for six years, but only cardio, no strength. Her RMR was 1200 calories. He said she was really disappointed it was so low (almost in tears). He told her to lift weights. He said I was proof that it works. That thrilled me beyond words that I'm an example of someone doing something right.

I'm counting calories today, which is really different. I haven't done this in years. Even pre-Weight Watchers I was doing South Beach and before that it was Jenny Craig. Does anyone have a good website they use where it keeps track of your calories? I'm using CalorieKing.com to look up the counts, but I miss the online Points tracker. I feel like I'm back in the dark ages writing in a little notebook.

I'm thrilled over my RMR. I was really afraid my metabolism had been broken from years of dieting and starving myself, then gaining and losing hundreds of pounds. It appears with hard work that damage was reversed. Still doing the happy dance!