Metabolism Testing and Weight-loss
Metabolism is an important part of weight-loss that is often forgotten about. Most people focus solely on decreasing calories, but eventually they reach a point where they are not losing weight anymore and cannot eat less without feeling deprived. Deprivation can often lead to frustration and result in going back to old unhealthy habits. Metabolism is a critical aspect of weight-loss.
I worked with Amy Beliveau, a dietitian from Nutrition in Motion, an outpatient nutrition office with locations all over Southern New Hampshire. Amy tests the metabolism of many of her patients using a MedGem indirect calorimeter device. The MedGem measures the amount of oxygen the patient consumes (VO2) while at rest and then converts it into calories to get the resting metabolic rate (RMR). RMR is a measure of how many calories our body needs to do vital functions such as breathing and pumping our heart. Amy explains to patients that lean body mass (all cells except fat cells) contributes to metabolism; therefore, if there is more lean body mass, metabolism will be higher. The only amount of lean body mass that we can control is our muscles. Building muscle increases metabolism, which helps patients lose weight, not to mention better their lipid profile and increase blood glucose control. Increasing metabolism helps the body work for you while you are not exercising, which is enticing to many patients.
I decided I wanted to experience what the patients experience during the test, so I gave it a try. Like the patients, I was instructed to fast for four hours prior to the test. Then, Amy placed a mouthpiece on the MedGem, and instructed me to bite down on it, forming a tight seal with my lips so that all of the air I breathe goes through the MedGem. She then handed me a disposable nose plug, and when the machine beeped, she gave it to me. I put it in my mouth as instructed and breathed normally for six to eight minutes. Frankly, it is a pretty uncomfortable experience because you have to breath out of your mouth through this machine “normally” but it feels far form normal. You cannot swallow while you breath either, so it makes you drool a little bit, which is embarrassing for some patients. Overall, it yields important results, so the patients and I believe it is worth it. It also illustrates the power of exercise, especially strength training, in numbers that make sense. In a few months after the patient has been exercising, they can come back to see how much of a difference they made, even if it is not just the numbers on the scale.
Metabolism is an important part of weight-loss that is often forgotten about. Most people focus solely on decreasing calories, but eventually they reach a point where they are not losing weight anymore and cannot eat less without feeling deprived. Deprivation can often lead to frustration and result in going back to old unhealthy habits. Metabolism is a critical aspect of weight-loss.
I worked with Amy Beliveau, a dietitian from Nutrition in Motion, an outpatient nutrition office with locations all over Southern New Hampshire. Amy tests the metabolism of many of her patients using a MedGem indirect calorimeter device. The MedGem measures the amount of oxygen the patient consumes (VO2) while at rest and then converts it into calories to get the resting metabolic rate (RMR). RMR is a measure of how many calories our body needs to do vital functions such as breathing and pumping our heart. Amy explains to patients that lean body mass (all cells except fat cells) contributes to metabolism; therefore, if there is more lean body mass, metabolism will be higher. The only amount of lean body mass that we can control is our muscles. Building muscle increases metabolism, which helps patients lose weight, not to mention better their lipid profile and increase blood glucose control. Increasing metabolism helps the body work for you while you are not exercising, which is enticing to many patients.
I decided I wanted to experience what the patients experience during the test, so I gave it a try. Like the patients, I was instructed to fast for four hours prior to the test. Then, Amy placed a mouthpiece on the MedGem, and instructed me to bite down on it, forming a tight seal with my lips so that all of the air I breathe goes through the MedGem. She then handed me a disposable nose plug, and when the machine beeped, she gave it to me. I put it in my mouth as instructed and breathed normally for six to eight minutes. Frankly, it is a pretty uncomfortable experience because you have to breath out of your mouth through this machine “normally” but it feels far form normal. You cannot swallow while you breath either, so it makes you drool a little bit, which is embarrassing for some patients. Overall, it yields important results, so the patients and I believe it is worth it. It also illustrates the power of exercise, especially strength training, in numbers that make sense. In a few months after the patient has been exercising, they can come back to see how much of a difference they made, even if it is not just the numbers on the scale.
