Wondering if anyone knows what this means?

[thisisasurvivor]

Sorry if this is a very obvious question

So yesterday I got a wonderful free check up with the chest , heart and stroke foundation

It was so so helpful
Lots of useful info

The lady was concerned as my basal metabolic rate was the lowest she has seen in a long time

Now in my 30s I was so much slimmer and found it easier to lose weight

Now early 40s naturally it is much harder

But why such a huge difference ??

Sorry if this seems like a daft question

Your BMR is how many calories your body burns just to stay alive. So if you literally sat and didn't move all day. It slows down naturally as we get older, and that's why it can be harder to lose weight

It's calculated by using your height, weight and age. So it's not scientifically accurate.

Can I ask how she calculated it?

Unless she did in direct calorimetry on you I wouldn't worry too much.

Did she check your thyroid? Under active thyroid causes low metabolism.

It was on a very high tech machine

I'm overweight after my 2nd baby

So I'm trying my best to lose weight

Was slim a few years back
Now. Def have 5 stone to lose

I'm just confused at why it was so low

And also wondering if HIIIT is the way forward? Fasting etc ?

No I had my thyroid checked last year all fine

Eat a good protein intake, weight train. No stupid low diets or tonnes of cardio.

Definitely don't over restrict as can reduce metabolic rate, increase resistance exercise and general activity to help build muscle, eat a balanced diet Mediterranean style, and enjoy regular meals. I think if many women had their BMR assessed it could be lower as we gradually lose metabolically active lean body mass ie muscle as we age unless we keep active. Try not to worry too much but if you have any symptoms of hypo thyroid in future ask them to re check levels as they can change

Excellent

Thank you guys

It just stumped me

Lots of the other results were positive thankfully

Protein meals

And more weights for workouts

High tech machine? What exactly did it do?

Measured weight , body fat composition etc

I did not ask enough questions about the machine

So that's why I'm feeling a bit confused

Ah okay. So I'm guessing they used some 'smart' scales or body composition monitor. They work by measuring how an electrical current flows through the body, and uses that to estimate your fat and muscle mass. As your metabolic rate is mainly determined by the amount of muscle you have the machine will have a go at calculating that based on what it thinks your fat mass is, along with things like age and sex.

So at best it's an estimate based on a few things and some assumptions, it's not actually measuring your metabolic rate. That way of measuring muscle mass itself isn't necessarily too accurate and can be affected by different things like hydration and where you carry weight as they mainly look at impedance in the legs and hips and extrapolate that info to the whole body.

In short, it could well be some way off what your actual metabolic rate is, so I wouldn't worry about it. Maybe useful as a guide to think about lifestyle, just be aware there's a big margin of error in that estimate.

Wow super helpful

Thanks so much