Re: Accurate measurement of Resting Metabolic Rate?

[Guest guest]

I have had that test done. It seems to be accurate. I have the diet tracking

software the Healthetech offers. It helped me lose weight and gain muscle. The

cool thing about using the program you don't have to plan your meals you can do

it on the fly. So if you eat too much fat at one meal you can cut back at

dinner. It tracks food intake and exercise. The good thing about the test

compared to calculators you can find on the web is that the caculators only take

into consideration body weight and not body composition. The calculators would

be more accurate if it took into consideration body composition. It's

interesting to see your RMR at different body weights and body fat levels. When

I first tested I weighed 230 with 20% body fat with a RMR of 2100 and now I'm

238 with a bodyfat of 9% and an RMR of 2300. I would recommend buying the

package HealtheTech has online. You get the device loaded with four tests the

diet software and it comes out to be about $40 a test plus you get the diet

software.

Regards,

Wylie

Dallas, TX

>From : " avandelay_99 "

>To :Supertraining

>CC :

>Subject : Accurate measurement of Resting Metabolic Rate?

>Date :Fri, 26 Mar 2004 22:12:17 -0000

[Guest guest]

Steve:

I reviewed the BodyGem and MedGem previously. I was not impressed. You have

to be in a lying position free from other stimuli for 20-40 minutes. That

number then has to be plugged into any one of the standard energy

expenditure calculations and the potential error can be as high as 25%. If

you are looking to purchase a more accurate and valid technology I would

look at www.bodymedia.com <http://www.bodymedia.com/>

The error with these devices is closer to about 5% and perhaps most

importantly you do not need to prepare yourself before using it.

If you just want to calculate your own predicted energy expenditure

equations, I would suggest reading the dietary reference intakes energy

calculations at: http://books.nap.edu/books/0309085373/html/93.html#pagetop

It is free and you can come up with your own values and with the same or

slightly less error than the

BodyGem.

Regards,

Tom

Incledon, PhD©, RD, LD/LN, RPT, NSCA-CPT, CSCS, CFT

Human Performance Specialists, Inc.

1534 East Locust Place

Chandler, AZ 85249-2631

office

fax

cell

tom@...

www.thomasincledon.com

[Guest guest]

Hey Steve,

I think the BodyGem is a pretty nice tool. However, unless you

intend to use it regularly ($40 bucks a pop I don't see that

happening)you might be best to use any of the number of formulas

to establish a base RMR.

Bally's uses this in conjunction w/ their partnership w/ the

software DietMaster. They plug in your RMR to build the

nutritional base. Same as you would via any other method. I know

they sell training packages w/ this included. How often they

check your RMR, I don't know. However that is the key. Regardless

of what your initial RMR is, because it will change it should be

recalculated frequently.

The BodyGem simply gives you a starting number, as would a

mathematical formula. One thing I believe people fail to

remember, your RMR can fluctuate based on environmental factors,

(i.e. stress) and more importantly the physiological changes to

your body put upon by exercise and nutrition. This includes both

positive and negative changes. (i.e. improper training, over

training, or when your body has reached optimal performance, via

the proper balance)

In fact even the BodyGem test itself can be influenced by several factors.

* Test should be performed in quite stress free environment (

I've never been in a quiet Bally's or any Gym for that matter)

* Client should not have eaten or exercised for several hours before hand.

* Client should be relaxed and free of stress. (The fact that the

client is being tested can be stress enough)

(There maybe some other factors, I don't recall)

As this number can still be skewed one way or the other, It's

still a 'guesstimate'. It also represents the minimum calories

you need to simply exist. The rest of the kilocalorie

requirements are what will make or break you. Different foods

require more or less energy to digest, different exercise

protocols will require more or less energy. Your body requires

more or less calories based on the physiological changes to your program.

Anyone serious about optimal results will review their training

logs. Those that have hit a plateau or are not getting the

desired results are quick to change their exercise program. How

many folks review their nutrition log (if they keep one) and

recalculate their kilocalorie needs to best meet their goals.

(assuming they established goals in the first place)

As the fat comes off and the muscle is put on (great side effects

of resistance training)your nutritional needs change. If your

diet does not reflect these changes, the pendulum stops, or worse

yet, physiological changes reverse. our body burns the newly

formed muscle, stores more fat etc etc...

I went off on a tangent here, but bottom line, regardless of

method to establish a base; it needs to be revisited through out

your program.

I still think it's a pretty cool tool. I'm a gadget guy myself. I

have thought off purchasing the BodyGem. By the time I do, I know

there will be something better. At a recent seminar, I was privy

to a product being tested and developed by Tom Incledon.

http://www.thomasincledon.com I don't know what I can and can't

say about it. Let's just say it makes the BodyGem seem like a

FisherPrice toy. (well maybe not - but this thing is awesome)

Personal, portable, unobtrusive and no bigger than a walkman or

mp3 player you see strapped to people in the gym. He can tell you

what effect the powerbar you ate had on your metabolism and if

that new supplement or " fat burner " really elevates your

metabolism as much as the ad says it does.

Best of luck with your training.

Best In Health,

B. Shay

E-mail: ebshay@...

Web: www.totifit.com

Voice:

Post: 1217C Woodchase Lane

St. Louis, MO 63017

TotalMIND * TotalBODY * TotalSPIRIT

TotiFIT

>

>

>

> > Accurate measurement of Resting Metabolic Rate?

> >

> >

> > Is anybody familiar with a device that measures resting metabolic

> > rate called the BodyGem? I'm interested in determining my RMR. I

> > can go to the local Bally's and pay $40 to have my RMR measured. I

> > was wondering if the BodyGem was accurate, or if there is a better

> > way to measure your RMR.

> >

> > Here's a link to the product:

> > http://www.healthetech.com/consumer_bodygem.html

> >

> > Thanks,

> > Steve Clausson

> > Indianapolis, IN

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

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> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

B. Shay wrote:

> At a recent seminar, I was privy

> to a product being tested and developed by Tom Incledon.

> http://www.thomasincledon.com I don't know what I can and can't

> say about it. Let's just say it makes the BodyGem seem like a

> FisherPrice toy. (well maybe not - but this thing is awesome)

> Personal, portable, unobtrusive and no bigger than a walkman or

> mp3 player you see strapped to people in the gym. He can tell you

> what effect the powerbar you ate had on your metabolism and if

> that new supplement or " fat burner " really elevates your

> metabolism as much as the ad says it does.

****** Are you referring to LifeChek? (See

http://www.lifechek.com/InvestorPage.php) It's a cool concept-- measure the

heat aspect of metabolism vs. the O2 uptake (indirect calorimetry). My first

thought was " I bet this hasn't been studied extensively, " but there is some

research:

Excerpt from University of Illinois:

http://www.ag.uiuc.edu/~vista/html_pubs/9294rep/nutsci.html :

Due to inherent problems with both the direct and indirect calorimetry methods,

the development of a simple and direct method of assessing heat loss would be of

immense value. A new and viable method may be infrared thermography which uses a

lightweight, portable, and direct imaging radiometer. One of our faculty members

has shown that mean skin temperature and, ultimately, total heat loss can be

determined when infrared thermography is used in conjunction with heat loss

equations and specialized computer software. This technique has been validated

for use in adults and infants against indirect calorimetry. During the past two

years, studies have concentrated on human subjects with varying problems ranging

from critical illnesses such as cancer to use in infants in intensive care.

Available data obtained from these subjects indicate that infrared thermography

is a valid, sensitive, and reliable method for measuring energy expenditure. The

use of this technique to quantitate heat loss will be of considerable interest

to the medical and nutrition communities because it is noninvasive,

nonconfining, poses no risk to subjects, and can potentially deliver immediate

results.

If anyone knows of more research done in this area, please post a link. Would

anyone like to debate the relative merits of a person wearing a heat-sensing

device like LifeChek to measure total calories burned during an

activity/throughout the day vs. using indirect calorimetry and/or VO2 testing

(products available from New Leaf, Healthetech and Korr and probably others)to

establish a baseline and re-testing as fitness improves or significant weight is

lost? I think the subject of metabolism is fascinating, and I'd like to learn

as much as possible.

Regards,

Peggy Bowes

Mesa, AZ