Personalized Metabolism Evaluation
for Weight Loss

Reaching your weight loss goal can be a long journey – but the most important part of your quest is to lose weight in a healthy, sustainable way. One thing that many people overlook when trying to lose weight by themselves is how their metabolism factors into how easily they can shed unwanted pounds. At Timeless Wellness Clinic in Pleasanton, CA, we know that a personalized metabolism evaluation for weight loss can be a critical first step.

What Is Personalized Metabolism Evaluation for Weight Loss?

When most people start to seriously commit to losing weight, they usually dive right into dieting and exercising. But if you want to make the most of your lifestyle changes, it might be best if your first step is a personalized metabolism evaluation for weight loss. Metabolic testing is available at many medical and health clinics as part of a healthy weight loss plan.

So, what does this test do? The general goal for metabolic testing is to gather information about how your body uses calories and oxygen during rest and activities. Knowing these numbers will help you determine how many calories you need to burn a day to maintain or lose weight, and these tests can even help you make the most out of your exercise routine.

Resting Metabolic Rate

This is usually the first measurement that will be taken for your metabolism evaluation. This test calculates the number of calories you burn while you are at rest. During this test, indirect calorimetry will measure the amount of oxygen you consume versus the amount of carbon dioxide you expel while you are at rest or in a motionless state.

For this test, you should not eat or exercise for at least three to four hours. It’s common for this test to be performed during the morning. The test will take about 20 minutes to complete.

Basic Metabolic Rate

This test is a specific calculation of the estimated number of calories you need to consume each day to maintain the basic functioning of your body. Basic metabolic rates take factors such as your age, height, weight, and activity level to calculate the minimum number of calories necessary to maintain your current weight. From here, you can more easily calculate the number of calories you need to burn through exercise or diet to lose weight safely.

Exercise Testing

Exercise testing or a VO2 Max test is a way to assess how much your body uses oxygen during different levels of activity. This calculation will provide an estimate of the amount of fat your body burns while you exercise, walk, or perform other activities. It’s most common for this test to be performed on a treadmill or a stationary bike while you breathe into a mask that analyzes your oxygen and carbon dioxide levels.

Which Test Is Most Accurate?

Knowing your metabolic numbers is helpful in specific contexts, such as when you are using a supervised weight loss program to modify your diet and exercise. Additionally, some tests are more appropriate for certain people. For example, a resting metabolic rate test is helpful for most clients, while an exercise test may be necessary to gather objective data about very fit or very unfit people.

Is Metabolic Testing Helpful?

Some metabolic testing can be very helpful, particularly if you want to gain insight into how you can better tailor your habits to promote healthy weight loss. Metabolic testing provides data that experts can use to give you advice on how to eat and exercise in a way that will maximize your weight loss efforts. Many people feel more confident about cutting calories or changing exercise routines when they can understand how their metabolism works.

Why Does Metabolism Matter?

When you’re trying to lose weight, one of the things you might have heard through the grapevine is the idea of “increasing your metabolism” to burn more calories. But what is metabolism? To put it simply, this is the process of how your body breaks down calories into energy you use to function. People with higher metabolic rates tend to lose and maintain weight more quickly, while those with slow metabolism might have a hard time losing weight or keeping weight off.

Metabolism matters in the grand scheme because it’s related directly to health. Women and men have specific hormones that may determine their metabolic rates, and even your genetics can play a role in your metabolic behavior. Understanding your metabolism gives you additional tools to take control of your health.

Why Should Your Weight Loss Be Supervised?

For many people, the easiest way to lose weight is to simultaneously cut calories and integrate exercise into your routine. However, doing this unsupervised could open the door for certain health risks. Regardless of how fast or slow your metabolism is, your body still needs enough calories to survive – and when you are cutting too many calories and burning more calories, you run the risk of throwing your body off.

Although weight loss is healthy, there are a few common signs that you might be overdoing your health changes. Signs like anemia, protein deficiency, hair loss, and more can all be signals from your body that you have cut too many calories out during weight loss. This is one of the cardinal reasons why supervised weight loss under physician care is the healthiest, safest way to start your weight loss journey.

Who Is Right for Personalized Metabolism Evaluations?

The people who will benefit the most from metabolic testing are those who are trying to safely lose weight, those who are trying to maintain their weight, and athletes who are trying to maximize their performance. Metabolism evaluations can give you the tools you need to make healthier decisions about weight loss.

Try Personalized Metabolism Evaluation for Weight Loss

If you want to lose weight in a healthy way that you can sustain in the long term, then it might be time to consider metabolic testing. These tests are used to assess your metabolic rate while resting and active so you can have a better idea of how to tailor your diet and exercise plans to fit your weight loss and health goals.