Metabolism Makeover # 1

The new mom

Karen, age 31, 5'4" 136 lb.

Bodyfat 28% Lean Body Mass 72%

Resting Matabolic Rate (RMR) 1420 calories

Activity Calories Burned: 1060

Average Total Expended: 2480 calories/day

Average Calories consumed: 1800 to 1900

Her Healthy Diet Goal: Cutting out junk food and breaking the "grab something quick" cycle that sabbotages her efforts to eat well. "When my energy gets low I just eat anything thats available" to raise my blood sugar as fast as possible. Then I feel horribly guilty that I ate so poorly when I know better.

Her Fitness Status: Stays active by keeping up with her 22-month-old son who is always "on the move". Karen also fits in a 20 minute treadmill and light weight training routine 2-3 days per week.

Her RMR Test and David's (RD)Analysis: The one thing that new moms need to remember is their own physical needs, even while they run around taking care of their child's. Karen's diet was analyzed using the food records she provided to me and had entered in using my-nutrition-coach.com online meal planner. My analysis revealed she had a fairly well balanced diet and was getting mostly A's and B's except for total calories, calcium, vitamin D and fiber.

Like many of my female clients Karen does not get enough calcium. She also needs to make sure she consumes enough total calories because motherhood is physically demanding. Carrying around a 25- pound baby is serious exercise! While metabolism gets a boost during breast-feeding, thanks to the extra energy it requires to produe milk, your post-motherhood metabolism should not vary significantly from your pre-motherhood one- unless, of course, your weight or body-fat percentages changes dramatically.

First of all Karen is doing quite well. She could stay on track nutritionally by setting herself up with quick but healthy meals like 1/2 sandwiches, low sodium soups and mixing in whole grain breakfast cereals with yogurt and fruit. I suggestd she have items like these pre-portioned in single serving tupperware containers to take "to go". Prep them the night before and be prepared for those situations when low energy times draw you to bad food choices. I also suggested she use the Ultimate Meal Plan Project found in my-nutrition-coach.com to get additional meal templates to print out and have on hand to help her get all A's for her calorie level.

I also suggested she needed to try to up the tempo of her exercise routine by completing a more intense circuit training cycle 3 non consecutive days per week. I had her download a copy of my Smart Moves Circuit for home use by going to my exercise membership site. My Smart Moves Circuit is an effective way to boost metabolism by alternating aerobic and muscle building (and metabolism revving) anaerobic moves. For example, fast walk on the treadmill for 6 minutes, then do "baby" squats or lunges for 90 seconds, then plyo jumps for 30 seconds, biceps curls with shoulder rotational presses to fatigue, then return to the treadmill, etc.

In addition, I suggested she take one day per week to complete a longer walking workout with her son/family. I encouraged her to map out a 30-40 minute safe course in her neighborhood that was not "too flat". Pushing a jog stroller up an incline can be a very effective interval workout. Adding this additional day would also get her outside, away from the treadmill at least one day per week to add to the variety of her routine and spend more time just having fun!

To learn more on measuring your resting metabolic rate click here

Metabolism Makeover # 2

Sherri, age 23, 5'9" 127 lb.

Bodyfat 17% Lean Body Mass 83%

Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) 1240 calories

Activity Calories Burned: 640

Average Total Expended: 1880 calories/day

Average Calories consumed: 2100 to 2400

Her Current Diet: A lot of junk food. Typically a croissant and coffee every morning for breakfast,french fries and diet coke at least 4 times per week by take out. "Most days" a Krispy Kreme doughnut with a large latte or coffee in the afternoon before sitting down to study. Poor selection of food most days, "only time I see a vegetable" is when I go out to dinner on weekends with my fiance.

Sherri's Fitness Status: She does not exercise presently and would be interested in adding a few more curves to her figure.

Her RMR Test and David's (RD) Analysis: Sherri's concern about her poor diet and food selection effecting her mood was the main focus of our initial meeting. Even though she was not experiencing problems managing her weight she had requested an RMR measurement because she was sure her metabolism had slowed down "or something" because her energy level was so low.

Even though a girl like this who is naturally tall and thin will probably not ever get seriously over weight on Body Mass Index(BMI) charts, she eventually will gain body fat and lose valuable muscle. She is a perfect example of someone who could eventually still rate well by commonly used measures like BMI but actually could almost double her bodyfat as she ages!

Here's how: When's she's 50, let's assume she might even actually weight the same as she does now, but her body composition (ratio of lean to fat body weight) will have definately changed. After all those years of inactivity she will have lost about 15 pounds of muscle. This will have slowed her metabolism down so much that eating the same amount will have caused her to gain 15 pounds of fat. As a result, her bodyfat will have hiked up from the current 17 percent now to just over 30 percent later.

Also her tall stature and her current avoidance of exercise, especially the lack of any strength training, will put her at increased risk for osteoporosis later in life. I demonstrated to Sherri how her poor nutrition and exercise habits now will make it likey that she would grow frail later in life. I think that visual helped her, even though she certainly didn't come to see me to get a visual of herself in her 50's!

Metabolism Makeover: I know you don't want to hear this but I suggested to Sherri that she probably could get away with a minimal amount of exercise and still make significant improvements in the amount of lean muscle mass she maintains. I discussed with her the important role of cardiovascular fitness and improved endurance capacity for improving her energy levels as well as beginning a meal plan that had some "real foods". When most of your calories are served out of styrofoam containers, you are not eating real food. Even though Sherri was not eating an enormous amount of food in total it was certainly all the wrong food and the average total intake for the day was over what she typically was expending. Also when I showed Sherri just how poor her diet rated on the Interactive Nutrition Report Card using my-nutrition-coach.com online meal planner, I believe it really opened her eyes how much improvement was needed. (All C's, D's and F's on average over a three day report).

Finally, I also suggested a strength routine that also incorporated a focus on some of Sherri's postural (mid/upper back and core muscles) as she demonstrated the beginning of poor (forward head and shoulder) posture. Her abdominals were also very weak for someone her age. I started her on this routine 3-4 days per week and then she later came back to me after 3 months where we advanced her to a full body routine to address some of the muscles she was interested in to "add a few more curves" to her figure.

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We have been using metabolic testing successfully in our practice to demonstrate to clients how important understanding this vital sign is to their weight management success. If you have more questions on this topic I have posted answers to several common FAQ's

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