'What I Learned About My Metabolism'

How a simple test helped one woman lose weight

	Before weight loss	After weight loss
Resting metabolic rate	1,340	1,590
Calories to maintain weight	1,700 a day	2,000

Chris Morehouse, R.N., had always followed a healthy diet and exercised regularly (see her strength-training, in photo). But as she got older, Morehouse—who assists callers to Lehigh Valley Hospital’s 402-CARE phone line —found it harder to shed those extra pounds. “I was eating very little and still hardly losing weight,” she says.

Two years ago, she learned about a new metabolism test at the hospital’s Weight Management Center. The test measures how effectively your body converts calories into energy. Morehouse, an active 59-year-old grandmother, was intrigued not only on behalf of her callers, but also for herself. “I was interested in the fuel-in/fuel-out concept—how much fuel I actually burned,” she says.

When she arrived for the test, she was instructed to breathe through her mouth into a tube for 10 minutes to measure how much oxygen she consumed and expended. Then her height, weight and age were factored in to find her resting metabolic rate (RMR)—the number of calories needed to power her basic functions, like breathing. Morehouse’s RMR was 1,340.

Next, her “activity factor”—how much added energy she expended in daily activities and regular workouts—was added to her RMR. The result (1,700) was the number of calories she needed to maintain her weight.

To lose weight, though, she’d have to cut down. “As you age, your metabolism slows because you’re less active and you lose calorie-burning lean muscle mass,” says clinical dietitian Jennifer Acevedo of the Weight Management Center. “Fortunately, you can boost your metabolism at any age through regular exercise and a healthy diet.”

Morehouse set out to lose a healthy pound-a-week. She learned to watch portion sizes, scrutinize food labels and exercise more effectively. This combined approach helped her shed 17 pounds and keep it off. “The metabolic test was another tool to help me,” she says.

Recently, Morehouse repeated the test. To her surprise, her RMR had risen to 1,590. “Research shows your metabolic rate decreases every 10 years,” she notes. “I’m older, but I’ve increased mine. I can eat about 2,000 calories a day now and still not gain weight.”

Want to Know More about how to get your metabolism tested? Call 610-402-CARE.

Published from Healthy You Magazine May-June 2007

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