Do you have PCOS and are unable to lose weight in spite of an intense exercise regime and a disciplined diet? Have you hit a plateau in your weight loss? Would you like to take the “guesswork” out of determining your calories to achieve your goals? Well if you answered “heck yes” to any of the questions about then you may be interested in learning more about metabolism testing for PCOS. Knowing your exact metabolic rate can help alleviate all these problems and more.
What is Metabolism
First things first, before we talk about metabolism testing and PCOS (and why it is so friggin’ important for women with PCOS!) we need to define metabolism. Did you know even when you’re at rest, your body needs energy for all of its “silent” functions, such as breathing, circulating blood, adjusting hormone levels, and growing and repairing cells? The number of calories your body uses to carry out these basic functions is known as your resting metabolic rate (RMR).
There are many factors that determine our metabolism. They include:
- Your body size and composition. People who are larger or have more muscle burn more calories. Even at rest, these folks tend to have higher RMRs.
- Your sex. Men usually have less body fat and more muscle than women of the same age and weight, which means men burn more calories at rest (Boo!) But don’t worry, I will be sharing some tips for how we chicks can optimize our metabolisms.
- Your age. As you get older (sigh), the amount of muscle you carry tends to decrease. Fat accounts for more of your weight, slowing down calorie burning.
Two other important factors that determine how many calories your body burns each day:
Food processing (we call this thermogenesis!)
Did you know that digesting, absorbing, transporting, and storing the food you consume also burns calories? Score! About 10 percent of the calories your burn each day come from the digestion and absorption of food and nutrients.
Physical activity
Physical activity and exercise— account for the rest of the calories your body burns up each day. Physical activity is by far the most variable of the factors that determine how many calories you burn each day.
So now you know what makes up your metabolism we can finally get down to good stuff!
Below are my top three reasons why metabolism testing for PCOS is so stinking important.
No more guesswork
How many times have you entered your height and weight into an online metabolism calculator only to get some crazy number which you have no idea how to interpret?
I cannot tell you how many times patients come into my office following a calorie level that is completely wrong for the goals they are trying to accomplish. This frustrates the heck out of me. It’s not that they are unsuccessful for lack of trying. It’s simply because they have been provided with the wrong information.
By having your metabolism tested you will now know the exact number of calories your body needs to accomplish your dietary and fitness-related goals. There is no more guessing or even second-guessing where your calories need to be! Through the use of cutting-edge technology, we can help you determine the exact amount of calories you need to reach your goals. Headache solved. Period. End of story.
Provides an accurate baseline
Girl, you have BIG goals which I love and admire. However, how can you accomplish your goals if you don’t know where to start? Conducting metabolism testing for PCOS will allow you to establish a solid baseline. Therefore, as things like your body composition, weight, or performance markers change over time you can adjust your calories relative to your new goals.
Independent of what your specific goals are we all need a caloric starting point. If we don’t have a starting point or baseline and we start making changes to our diet how can we tell what specific calorie level is working? Simply put – we can’t.
Therefore, by having your metabolism tested before making any significant dietary and workout changes you are armed with an accurate, reliable calorie level to base your goals on.
It helps when you are stumped
Knowing your metabolic rate when you have PCOS can be critical when you are stumped. As mentioned previously many women base their goals around a calorie level that is not in tune with their goals.
Trying to gain lean muscle mass but struggling like crazy? It could be that your calories are too low. We all know that in order to build anything we need ‘extra’ resources, right? That extra might be money, resources, or time. The same goes for putting on muscle. In this case, the ‘extra’ needs to be in the form of calories. Therefore, for a woman aiming to put on muscle, they need to FIRST make sure they are taking in enough calories to do.
On the flip side, do you feel like you are at a weight loss plateau? Are you meticulously counting calories, carbs, protein, and everything under the sun and still not losing weight? Is MyFitnessPal definitely not your pal? For most people, the simple answer is their calories are not in tune with their weight loss goals. It could be that their calories are too low. Or it could mean that their calories are too high. How the heck will they know the store if they test their metabolism?
Next steps for metabolism testing for PCOS
So those are my top three reasons in support of metabolism testing for PCOS. I hope you found this information helpful. If you want to have your metabolism tested the cost is $150.00 and you would need to come to our Orange, CT office. It is a quick breathing test that takes less than 10 minutes. Plan for about 30 minutes for the entire visit.
Here is more info on how to prepare for the testing.
Shoot me an email at amy.plano@yahoo.com and I would be happy to provide additional deets. I go you, boo!