The Results

So I went in for the metabolic tests on Saturday. It was extremely difficult to get up at 5:30 after a very late night, particularly given that it was pouring rain outside and I just wanted to sleeeeep... but, I made it for my 6 am appointment. First up: calorie assessment. I sat comfortably in a chair with a mask that covered my nose and mouth and breathed into a machine that monitored my carbon monoxide output vs. carbon dioxide intake for about 20 minutes. From that, the computer program determined my resting metabolic rate to tell me exactly how many calories I should be consuming. It wasn't all that difficult, except that I was becoming extremely claustrophobic with the mask on and I wonder if that affected my breathing or the results??? And why is it that it's so much harder to actually relax just because someone tells you to relax? I was thinking about being completely relaxed to the point that I was not so relaxed at all at points. Stupid mind games. Oh well. The test ended and I was told that I should be taking in no less than 1466 calories a day. If I maintain that rate, I can expect to lose 3/4- 1 pound a week (which at this point sounds great... it's possible that I'll lose more, but the trainer didn't want me to expect too much in case it doesn't happen some weeks). Of course, if I work out and burn 600 calories in a day, then I need to add 600 calories to my diet. The trainer explained that because I have likely been consuming fewer calories than I've needed recently, my body has adjusted to maintaining at that number of calories and stores fat despite the fact that I'm working hard to burn it. Theoretically, if I give my body what it really needs, it will respond in kind and do what I want it to. We shall see. I have avoided counting calories to this point but it appears that in order to get to the next level, I need to get a little more serious. And while 1466 calories seems somewhat low, I was told that the number will actually increase as I reach new levels of fitness. Weight lifting is apparently key here and while I have been doing that four days a week for more than two years (I worked out when I was prego), I haven't changed things enough to stimulate muscle growth and strength for added calorie burn. My body got very accustomed to what I was doing so it's a good thing I've recently changed gyms and my entire program.
The next test was the cardio test. I was hooked up to the same mask and got on a treadmill while the trainer monitored my heart rate and breathing to determine my cardio fitness and optimal fat burning heart rate zones. This was actually fairly painful. I was only on the treadmill for 12 minutes or so but the mask was killing me! I was so claustrophobic on this test that I just wanted to tear it off. She had me gradually increase the speed and incline to reach my maximum rate so I was in some pain by the last couple of minutes. I made it through and although we have not yet had the chance to discuss the results, I did learn a few things. First of all, when it comes to cardio fitness, I'm in the top 96th percent of my demographic. I was pretty happy about that... looks like all of that running has paid off and left me with a happy heart! I learned that my optimal fat burning heart rate zone is 173-178 bpm. (That's actually higher than most people's would be so don't go by that for your own target.) I'll have my heart rate monitor and watch, which will programmed with 12 weeks of workouts so that I can work out much more efficiently. I'm meeting with the trainer again tomorrow to talk more about the work out part and to get on a program (we ran out of time on Saturday) so we'll see what more she says. It has all been very interesting to learn about and I'm looking forward to seeing how this affects my progress. I am committed to sticking with the 12-week- program to really put this to the test. And now that I'll be counting calories fairly religously, I'll likely start keeping track of all of that here, as well as menu plans and recipes. It's going to be great to have all of this to look back to after I've had more babies and need to do it all over again. Isn't being a woman grand?? :)