How to Reset Your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) and Optimise Your Training
Many people search for ways to reset their Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) in an effort to improve their metabolism, burn fat more efficiently, and reach their fitness goals. If you’ve landed here after reading one of my older articles about RMR testing—welcome! While we no longer offer RMR testing at the gym due to its inconsistencies, I want to share alternative strategies that are far more practical and effective for optimizing your metabolism.
What Is Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR)?
RMR refers to the number of calories your body burns at rest to maintain vital functions such as breathing, circulation, and cell production. While genetics play a role in your RMR, there are several ways you can influence it to work in your favor.
Can You Reset Your RMR?
Your body is constantly adapting to your diet, activity levels, and environment. While you may not be able to “reset” your RMR entirely, you can certainly manipulate it over time by:
- Building Muscle: Muscle tissue burns more calories than fat tissue, even at rest. Strength training is one of the best ways to increase your metabolic rate.
- Eating More Protein: Protein has a higher thermic effect than carbs or fats, meaning your body burns more calories digesting it.
- Cycling Your Nutrition: Implementing different eating patterns, such as intermittent fasting or calorie cycling, can help keep your metabolism adaptive and responsive.
- Staying Active Throughout the Day: Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) accounts for a significant portion of daily calorie burn. Small movements like walking, fidgeting, or standing more often can add up!
- Prioritizing Sleep and Managing Stress: Poor sleep and high stress levels can negatively impact your metabolism and make it harder to lose weight. Ensuring you get enough quality sleep and managing stress through mindfulness or relaxation techniques can make a big difference.
- Using Ketone Strips: Ketone strips can indicate the level of ketones in your urine, providing insights into how much fat your body is burning. This method can be useful when trying to monitor and optimize fat loss strategies.
My Approach to Boosting Metabolism and Fat Loss
Since traditional RMR testing wasn’t always accurate, I focus on real-world strategies that work. Here’s what I personally do and recommend to clients:
- Adjust Meal Timing and Composition
- Eating fiber before meals helps slow down digestion and keeps blood sugar levels stable.
- I incorporate intermittent fasting or full fasting days to encourage metabolic flexibility.
- Right now, I’m fasting for Ramadan and staying as active as possible despite lower energy levels—strategic fasting can have metabolic benefits beyond just weight loss.
- Try a 5-Day Eating Cycle
- Day 1: Fast Day – A complete or partial fast to allow the body to reset.
- Day 2: Feast Day – Higher-calorie intake to prevent metabolic slowdown.
- Day 3: Low-Calorie Day – A mild deficit to encourage fat loss.
- Day 4: Low-Carb Day – Keeping insulin levels lower to promote fat metabolism.
- Day 5: Balanced Diet – A well-rounded day to keep things sustainable.
- Strength Training & Movement
- Resistance training increases muscle mass, which in turn boosts your metabolism.
- I customize workout programs based on body composition tests and adjust every 8 weeks based on progress.
- Staying active throughout the day (not just during workouts) is key to long-term metabolic health.
- A cost-effective method I use is setting my diet to the same pattern from Monday to Sunday for two weeks while setting my exercise routine to a specific heart rate.
- For weight loss, we aim with clients to keep their heart rate at 115 bpm or under.
- For athletic performance, I set the heart rate between 125-135 bpm.
- While these numbers are still estimates without a machine, checking the changes in body composition between Day 1 and Day 14 provides a rough idea of where my heart rate should be for optimal results.
- Depending on your goal, you also have to consider how much time you can dedicate to training. Fat burning often requires long steady-state cardio sessions, but not everyone has time for a 3-hour walk every day.
- It’s also important to understand the difference between burning calories during exercise vs. burning calories while recovering.
- You should also determine whether your body responds better to cardio, weight training, or a mix of both.
- Ideally, separate cardio days from weight training days, and also do the same for strength, cardio, and power training days.
- There are many factors to consider when optimizing your training routine.
The Role of RMR Testing & Ketone Strips
After reading this blog, if you still decide to do an RMR test, please understand that while it works for many people, it is not a bulletproof system. Measuring the ketones in your urine after exercise while keeping a specific heart rate, as mentioned above, will likely give you better insights into what works best for you!
Want to Learn More?
If you’re struggling with weight loss, metabolism issues, or finding the right workout routine, I’d love to help! I offer personalised training plans that take a data-driven approach to fat loss, muscle gain, and long-term health.
📩 Let’s Chat! Whether you have questions or want to book a consultation, feel free to reach out. Your fitness journey is unique, and I’d love to help you navigate it!