Earlier this summer I hooked my face up to a large tube and face mask and sat down for 15 minutes. This was done to examine my resting metabolic rate—how many Calories I burn at rest. The general rule of thumb is that most people expend 2,000 Cal/day, and so I thought that I would find myself in this general range. This was not the case, according to my reading I spend 1,400 Cal/day at rest, and according to another test—during my usually exercise I usually spend about 300 Cal/day, which amounts to 1,700 Cal/day (+ additional cost for the thermic effect of food). If I were to be eating 2,000 Cal/day I would gain a pound every 2 weeks. How could this be when I was at normal weight for my age and body type?
Muscle mass directly relates to your resting/basal metabolic rate. The more muscle mass the more Calories you burn just by sitting. Exemplified in the following equation:
BMR/RMR (kcal/day)= (Fat free mass in kg) x 30 kcals/kg FFM/day
So, although my weight was at normal range, because I was about 25% fat, I wasn’t burning as many Calories at rest. Over the summer I began training with a weight lifter to increase my lean muscle mass. After 3 months of weight lifting I had decreased my fat mass (to about 22%) and increased my fat free mass. Last week I took another resting metabolic rate reading and was happy to report that my reading increased to 1,598 Cal/day at rest. Now I can sleep more and not feel guilty about working out every second of the day!
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