Why you should ignore your Body Mass Index

BMI, which stands for Body Mass Index, has proved to be one of the most unreliable tools to determine whether a person is overweight or obese.

Sports figures, extremely tall people, extremely short people, bodybuilders, gymnasts, are very likely to have high BMI’s as it fails to take into account things like body fat, muscle, bone structure, and who knows what else.

A better option for weight loss is RMR or Resting Metabolic Rate.

This is an indirect measure of the number of calories your body needs to maintain normal physiological function i.e. the amount of calories your body would need at rest to keep your heart, lungs, brain and other organs working properly.

Even people with a similar age, gender, and body composition can have very different RMRs so it is important to get data that relates specifically to you.

An RMR test will give you the information you need to set and reach realistic goals related to weight management, proper nutrition, and health.

Fast and slow metabolisms are phrases that are common in everyday life, but may be difficult to comprehend.

A good way to understand the body’s metabolism is to think about it as fuel efficiency, as one would a car.

A person with a fast metabolism would have low fuel efficiency, in car terms a Hummer. In contrast, a person with a slow metabolism would have high fuel efficiency, in car terms a Toyota Prius (51mpg).

The main determiner in the speed of a person’s metabolism is genetics; however lifestyle and body composition can play a role as well.

How is RMR performed?

RMR is done with gas analysis through indirect calorimetry which calculates the heat we produce from production of carbon dioxide and nitrogen waste or from oxygen consumption.

This process is easy and not invasive; it only takes about 30 minutes.

The specialist puts the patient’s information into the RMR machine while the patient relaxes in a chair and breaths into a tube that is connected to the RMR machine for 30 minutes.

After the test, results are discussed with the patient to ensure understanding and to answer any questions.

To know your RMR is to know how many calories you can eat in a day to maintain, lose or gain weight.

Knowing these numbers would mean people would be less likely to give up on their weight-loss effort.

Tips to increase your metabolism:

Get plenty of sleep

Decrease stress

Stay hydrated

Eat small frequent meals

Exercise regularly (particularly resistance training)

For more information visit www.simplecarehealthplan.com