Understanding a person’s metabolism – the process in which the body converts food consumed into fuel to expend during all of its functions – is a key component to any successful weight/fat loss program. Resting metabolic rate (RMR) represents roughly 65% of all the calories a person expends during a day - keeping the heart beating, temperature control, breathing, and circulation activities.
Some people have a fast metabolism – one that effectively processes and converts the food you eat into energy, versus a slow metabolism that stores more of the energy from daily food intake.
RMR, also referred to as basal metabolic rate (BMR) - is the total amount of calories that a human body requires to maintain itself.
Other metabolic components include the thermal effect of eating – the energy cost of chewing, digesting, and absorbing nutrients, which increases the RMR by 5 to 15%; physical activity expenditure – daily exercise - that adds another 15 to 30% to RMR; and non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT), that represents walking, sitting down, getting up, and any restless-type activity.
During my thirty years of multiple hospital-affiliated sports performance, fitness, and wellness programs, we measured a person’s RMR using a metabolic cart, which was also used to determine their ventilatory threshold and maximum endurance capacity – all factored into a client’s macro-nutrient intake and exercise guidelines to reduce excess weight and body fat, while preserving or increasing lean muscle.
There are equations that have been used to compare against the RMR measurements.
Harris-Benedict (HB):
The main issue with the HB calculation is that it does not take into consideration your increase or decrease in lean body mass (muscle).
A more accurate formula is the Cunningham equation:
This formula requires obtaining a body composition from a DXA scan or the use of body composition devices, like bio-impedance, and skin calipers (less accurate with obese individuals). You divide your LMB in pounds by 2.2 to get kilograms.
If you would like to learn more about metabolic rate, check out maxwellnutrition.com. You can also find information on other RMR formulas at
https://www.lizino.net/facts-about-resting-metabolic-rate/
The Journal of the American College of Cardiology reported on the results of a modeling study in August 2022 that concluded, “the association of CRF (cardiorespiratory fitness) and mortality risk across the age spectrum (including septuagenarians and octogenarians), men, women, and all races was inverse, independent, and graded. No increased risk was observed with extreme fitness.”
The study – "Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Mortality Risk Across the Spectra of Age, Race, and Sex" – further concluded that, “being unfit carried a greater risk than any of the cardiac risk factors examined.”
The study group included a diverse group – age, gender, and race – of 750,302 U.S. veterans aged 30 to 95, who were followed for a median of 10.2 years. Age and gender-specific CFR categories were created based on peak MET (metabolic equivalent) achieved on a standardized treadmill test – one MET equal to 3.5 ml/kg/min.
According to the study investigators, “the lowest mortality risk was observed at approximately 14.0 METs for men and women, with no evidence of an increase in risk with extremely high CRF. The risk for least fit individuals (20th percentile) was 4-fold higher compared with extremely fit individuals.”
In a related editorial, my friend, Cardiologist, Carl (Chip) J. Lavie, MD, whom I worked closely with during my tenure as Director of Health and Fitness for the Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute, commented, “indeed, "improving CRF should be considered a target in CVD prevention, similar to improving lipids, blood sugar, blood pressure, and weight.”
If you would like to read the abstract from this study, here’s the link.
https://www.jacc.org/doi/abs/10.1016/j.jacc.2022.05.031
For more detailed information on similar studies, go to maxwellnutrition.com.
In August of 1985, I designed and implemented the performance nutrition and conditioning plan that transformed the former undisputed World Light Heavyweight Champion Michael Spinks from his light heavyweight weigh-in weight of 175 pounds to 200 pounds.
On September 21st, Spinks won a 15-round historic victory over the reining, undisputed World Heavyweight Champion Larry Holmes. Previously, no light heavyweight boxer had ever successfully moved up and beaten the world heavyweight champion. Both Spinks and I made history on that night.
Losing scale weight, while preserving or increasing fat free mass (FFM), can be quite challenging, as any bodybuilder can attest to.
Researchers from the University of Alicante in Spain and California State University in Northridge, California published research – Achieving an Optimal Fat Loss Phase in Resistance-Trained Athletes: A Narrative Review – in the September 2021 issue of the journal Nutrients.
The researchers used a literature review to develop an evidence-based overview of dietary-nutritional strategies for the loss of fat mass (FM) and maintenance of FFM in resistance-trained athletes.
The first area of concern is caloric intake, which for resistance athletes, “should be set based on a target BW (body weight) loss of 0.5–1.0%/week, in order to maximize retention of FFM.” The researchers point out that athletes with an initial lower percentage of body fat should take a more conservative approach to caloric restriction (CR).
As for protein intake, 2.2–3.0 grams/kilogram of body weight per day (g/kg BW/day) should be distributed throughout the day in three–six meals and ensuring in each of them an adequate amount of protein (0.40–0.55 g/kg BW/intake), note the investigators.
Relative to integrating protein intake around resistance training, “an intake 2-3 hours before training and another 2-3 hours post-training is preferable.”
Carbohydrate consumptions needs to be adapted to the athlete’s activity level, in order to support the energy demands of the training (2–5 g/kg BW/day). “Individuals, who wish to engage in more severe CHO restriction (e.g., ketogenic conditions),” comment the researchers, “may increase the risk of FFM loss, despite a similar capacity to preserve strength.”
The fat macro-nutrient intake should ensure a minimum of greater than or equal to 0.5 grams per kilogram of BW per day.
From a micronutrient standpoint, the researchers point out that there is a need to overcome any potential deficiencies in vitamin B1, B3, B6, vitamin D, and the minerals magnesium, calcium, zinc, and iron.
A good starting point is to use a multivitamin/mineral formula containing, note the researchers, 10 or more vitamins and minerals at recommended daily intake levels in healthy people.
Creatine - produced naturally in the body from the amino acids glycine, methionine and arginine - is used in the phosphocreatine energy system in explosive activities lasting 0–10 seconds.
The researchers comment that, “athletes may benefit from creatine supplementation indirectly, since it has been observed that creatine supplementation in combination with strength training could increase the training-induced proliferation of satellite cells and myonuclei in skeletal muscle, resulting in increased muscle fiber growth.”
For more information about developing a creatine muscle gain protocol in conjunction with your physician, I refer you to my book, Lean & Hard, the body you’ve always wanted in 24 workouts (John Wiley & Sons).
Read the rest at maxwellnutrition.com ...