Metabolism: Bust the Myths (Part 1)

Reyna F

I often get asked “what is my metabolism?” or “how do I boost my metabolism?”  Depending upon the person, they can get the short, simplified answer or the long explanation.  You are the lucky ones who are getting the long, scientific answer.  It is so long that I split this into two parts. Part 1, which you are reading, defines metabolism and how you can determine your metabolism. Part 2 will explain what will and what will not improve metabolism.  So continue reading to learn more.

What is Metabolism?              

Metabolism is the sum total of all chemical reactions involved in maintaining the living state of the cells, and thus the organism. Metabolism is divided into two categories: catabolism or the break down of molecules to obtain energy; and anabolism or the synthesis of all compounds needed by the cells (examples are DNA, RNA, and protein synthesis).

Difference Between BMR and RMR

BMR and RMR are estimates of how many calories you would burn if you were to do nothing but rest for 24 hours. It is the minimal rate of energy consumption necessary to support all cellular functions and accounts for 50-75% of total energy expenditure in humans. They represent the minimum amount of energy required to keep your body functioning, including your heart beating, lungs breathing, and body temperature normal.

·        BMR stands for Basal Metabolic Rate, and is synonymous with Basal Energy Expenditure or BEE. BMR measurements are typically taken in a darkened room upon waking after 8 hours of sleep; 12 hours of fasting to ensure that the digestive system is inactive; and with the subject resting in a reclining position. BMR is measured by indirect calorimetry after the subject has fasted ~12 h (usually overnight), then rested motionless in a supine position 20-30 min in a thermally neutral environment. The subject is instructed to remain still for the next 30-40 min while the indirect calorimetry measurements are taken. The procedure is not only time-consuming but requires extensive subject cooperation as well as accurate and precise flow and concentration measurements, using sophisticated flow and gas analyzers.

• RMR stands for Resting Metabolic Rate, and is synonymous with Resting Energy Expenditure or REE. RMR measurements are typically taken under less restricted conditions than BMR, and do not require that the subject spend the night sleeping in the test facility prior to testing. An example of a device used to determine RMR is “BodyGem.”  

Several factors impact metabolism:

• Body size and composition. The bodies of people who are larger or have more muscle burn up more calories, even at rest.
• Gender. Men generally have less body fat and more muscle than women of the same age and weight, thereby burning more calories.
• Age. As one get older, the amount of muscle tends to decrease and fat accounts for a greater percentage of weight, slowing down metabolism.
• Heredity. Some people are born with faster metabolisms, while others naturally have slower metabolisms.
• Hormones such as thyroid and insulin.
• Medication
• Stress
• Sleep
• Thermogenesis or the Thermic Effect of Food (TEF).  Digesting, absorbing, transporting and storing of food consumed. This accounts for about 10 percent of the calories used each day. For the most part, the body's energy requirement to process food stays relatively steady and isn't easily changed.
• Calorie expenditure. Lifestyle, exercise, movement.

Calculating BMR/RMR

There are several calculations and apps for determining metabolism.  As you see below, there are quite a few.  Which is the best? Most programs and apps use the Harris-Benedict equation.  But Mufflin is a bit more accurate for average adults.  Two formulas that consider lean body mass (LBM) include the Katch-McArdle equation (BMR) and the Cunningham equation (RMR). These formulas should be used for athletic adults where muscle mass is significantly higher than average.

Online: www.caloriesperhour.com

BMR and RMR Equations

The Harris-Benedict equation for BMR:

• For men: (13.75 x w) + (5 x h) - (6.76 x a) + 66
• For women: (9.56 x w) + (1.85 x h) - (4.68 x a) + 655

The Mufflin equation for RMR:

• For men: (10 x w) + (6.25 x h) - (5 x a) + 5
• For women: (10 x w) + (6.25 x h) - (5 x a) - 161

Where:

w = weight in kg

h = height in cm

a = age

Katch-McArdle (BMR):  370 + (21.6 x LBM)

• To calculate LBM, multiple total body weight by body-fat percentage. If one has 10% body fat and weighs 80 kg, his LBM would be 72 kg (i.e., body weight of 80 kg – 10% body fat of 8 kg = 72 kg of LBM). Therefore, using the Katch-McArdle equation: 370 + (21.6 x 72) = 1,925

Note that this result is significantly higher than the non-LBM formulas (Harris-Benedict and Mifflin).

Cunningham (RMR) - 500 + (22 x LBM)

• This formula is similar to Katch-McArdle, but provides a slightly higher estimate.

500 + (22 x 72) = 2,084

Using the Calculations

As BMR and RMR only represent resting energy expenditure, an adjustment must be made to reflect activity level. This is done by multiplying BMR or RMR by an activity factor. Note that the following activity factors also take into account the thermic effect of food:

Activity Factor	Category	Definition
1.2	Sedentary	Little or no exercise and desk job
1.375	Lightly Active	Light exercise or sports 1-3 days a week
1.55	Moderately Active	Moderate exercise or sports 3-5 days a week
1.725	Very Active	Hard exercise or sports 6-7 days a week
1.9	Extremely Active	Hard daily exercise or sports and physical job

Use of these activity factors produces a very rough estimate, and there are many different opinions on what these activity factors should be.

Now that you estimated your metabolism, what can be done to change it?  Stay tuned for Part 2 of Metabolism: Bust the Myth.

-Reyna F 

Blogmaster's Note:  For more information, contact Reyna Franco (Reyna@reynafranco.com). She is a registered dietitian, certified personal trainer, certified specialist in sports dietetics and NY Flyers member.  Her office is located on the upper west side and she counsels individuals and groups on sports and medical nutrition.  Her website which is in the process of being upgraded is www.reynafranco.com.

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The Bronx is Up, Manhattan is Down —

2 miles too far, 10 degrees too hot, and about an hour too long!

Note: I ran this run in April, about a month before my marathon (see this), and as you can see I had really had enough of long runs!  The account has been adapted from an account on my web site, which you are welcome to read: The Bronx is Up, Manhattan is Down

April 21st — My Last 20 Miler  (Holy Cow, it was 22.1 miles!)

H

ooray! This was my last 20 miler. Of course there is that little matter of a 26 miler coming up, but those are always a lot of fun .  But there were a couple of unanticipated things: it got hot — no, not summer hot, but late spring hot — and I figured my mileage wrong and ended up running over 22 miles. I didn't actually figure it wrong, but I did some extra side trips which added up, and took a different route back from Van Cortlandt Park to avoid the long unshaded route along the Harlem River I had originally planned. But it's done, I feel fine (I'm writing this on Sunday) and what do they say, "No pain, no gain," whatever.

Flyers Susan S and Melissa C both joined me but decided to take a different route back and they ended up with around 16 miles. We all felt the effects of the warmer weather but I would say everyone was satisfied that it was a good run. Just below are a couple of maps, one for the northbound and one for the south bound section. They  were generated by the USA Track and Field route tracking software. If you click on the links under each map you will get the live Google Map from the USA Track and Field web site. This will also give an elevation profile of the route.

If you are interested in these routes, email me using the link at the bottom of the page and I'll give you all the details you want. If you decide to do this run, I strongly suggest you click on the links for the USATF interactive maps and zoom in, since some of the fine details of the route are not given in this report (such as "zig-zagging over to the Grand Concourse").

There are two small albums on the net, one for the northbound route and one for the southbound. Just click on the link under the photos for those sections. When the album comes up, click on the “Slideshow” link on the upper left of the page.

First Half: Going North, Mostly in the Bronx 

USATF Northbound Map

The route was a combination of various other routes we had done with a few new pieces thrown in. Going up, we started up the East River, crossed over the Willis Avenue Bridge and did our South Bronx Route. This involves zig-zagging over to the Grand Concourse and running up through Franz Sigel Park and Joyce Kilmer Park . At this point we broke some new ground and made our way up to the Bronx section of the Old Croton Aqueduct (aka the OCA), via the Edward Grant Highway and University Avenue. Then we retraced the route we had taken 2 weeks ago along the OCA (see the April 7th MiniBlog post) up to and into Van Cortlandt Park to the Golf Club House. The part of this on the streets was a bit gritty, but hey, this is the South Bronx.

Elevation Profile, Northbound

The elevation profile is interesting in that you can spot the relatively flat and elevated portion when we were running along the Aqueduct (roughly miles 6.5 to 10.5. That dip just before mile 8 is where the Aqueduct is interrupted at Burnside Avenue. See this and this for that story. It's also interesting to see how you go down when you enter Van Cortlandt Park (the last half mile or so), That makes sense since if you've run on the OCA in that park, you know it's up on the side of a hill. The fact that the Aqueduct is at a higher elevation than just about anything else in the South Bronx shows how expertly the surveyors laid out the route in the 1830s. Remember, the water was entirely gravity fed in that era.

Along the OCA in the Bronx

Cick for Northbound Album

One thing that was very noticeable to us was that the trees were much more in leaf than they were just two weeks before. Take a look at the above photo  and compare it with some of the scenes looking along the Aqueduct in the April 7th MiniBlog post (especially the one showing the the playgound at Tremont Avenue and the next one showing the locked gate, which show the same section of the Aqueduct, although from a different view), you'll see the difference.

Taking a Break in Van Cortlandt Park

We took a break at the Golf Club House in VC Park and after some discussion, the women decided to do around 3 miles on the cross country trails and then head back along the #4 line. Then they would hop on the train when they got the mileage they were looking for. For my part, I would head out to Broadway, fill up on Gatorade from a local deli, and then figure how to get the least exposure to the sun on my way back to Central Park.

Second Half: Going South, Mostly in Manhattan

USATF Southbound Map

I had taken my shirt off when we got to Van Cortlandt Park and when I got back to Broadway I put it on briefly when I went into a deli to get some Gatorade. I ended up carrying the bottle about 2 miles. Meanwhile my shirt was hot a sticky so I took it off again. I was amused by the 3 or 4 comments I got, exclusively from young males. One memorable one was "Put your shirt back on, you're scaring the women". Hmmm .. Some how I doubt that. I crossed into Manhattan and stayed on the shady side of Broadway (the east side) till 190th Street. There I took a little known shortcut: there is a subway entrance for the 190th Street stop on the #1 train, even though that train runs under St. Nicholoas Avenue at this point. Well, there is a long horizontal tunnel that heads east under the steep escarpment, and at the end, an elevator that brings you up the 120 odd feet. It's shown as a dotted line on the Google map. A great saver for a hot tired runner. It also explains the unusually steep climb on the elevation profile (below) around mile 3.5.

Elevation Profile, Southbound

Once I was on the top of the hill at St. Nicholas Avenue, I ran the two blocks to High Bridge Park and ran down on the park road and the OCA the length of the park. The very steep down hill, just before mile 5 on the profile, is the stairway down from the tower to the Aqueduct. Each part of this route was chosen to minimize exposure to the sun. This route through High Bridge Park is almost the same (in reverse) to that taken many times, the latest on my "Manhattan Parks 20 Miler" which you can read about via the link.

Looking across St. Nicholas Park to City College Cick for Southbound Album

Once past this diversion, you can see the long lazy down slope along St. Nicholas Avenue from about mile 7 right into Central Park on the profile. I was sure glad there were no hills at this point in my run.

2 miles too far, 10 degrees too hot, and about an hour too long! 

Well, Central Park was a welcome sight and I went down around the Meer and through the Conservatory Garden and finally ended up at the Boat House — 2 miles too far, 10 degrees too hot, and about an hour too long.

I met Melissa for brunch, got home and crashed. But you know what? No more 20s! Yes, life is good.

- Papa Bear (Richard G.)

This account and a number of others featuring long training runs in the greater New York area primarily lying outsider of central Park can be found on Papa Bear's web site: Beyond Central Park

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NY FLYERS 2012 TOYS FOR TOTS RUN

Scott S

The Flyers annual Toys for Tots Run is one of many longstanding Flyer traditions. For years Sandy A arranged the toy drive to benefit children with serious illnesses staying in the Pediatric Center at Mt. Sinai Hospital on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Participants would typically gather at the Engineers’ Gate, put their donated toys in Jerry F’s car, run down Central Park’s East Drive, exit the Park, stroll past the holiday windows on Fifth Avenue, and sing holiday songs underneath the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree with Laurent N conducting. Then the singers would run north through Central Park to Mt. Sinai, go room to room singing for the appreciative children (and their parents) and distribute toys as they sang.  The event concluded with a celebratory holiday brunch.

This Year's Singer's Show Off Their Dance Moves, Too!

Several years ago, for the sake of the health of both the patients and the singers, Mt. Sinai forbade the Flyer choir’s singing in the children’s rooms. Instead, the Flyers were ushered into the hospital’s new internal television studio, where the singers would perform live for approximately half an hour. Children were able to call in with their requests, which inevitably were dominated by songs the Flyers had just sung, songs the Flyers didn’t know, or everyone’s favorite musical tribute to holiday sadism “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.” Thankfully, the mellifluous bagpipe stylings of Flyer Patrick D kept the singers’ holiday spirits bright.

Unfortunately, the toy drive was canceled in 2011 when the Flyers and the Mt. Sinai staff could not agree on a suitable time for a visit (“could you come in at 6:30pm on the third Sunday in December?”) However, this venerable Flyers’ holiday tradition returned this year thanks to Sandy A’s tireless efforts. She arranged a toy drive to benefit kids affected by the recent Hurricane Sandy and coordinated with the Central Park Zoo to accept the donated toys (no, we didn’t sing for the animals). As an added benefit, those who gave toys were given a ticket good for future admission to the Bronx Zoo (note: Sandy also volunteers as a guide at the zoo, so be on the lookout for a Flyer day at the zoo in 2013!).

Jodie F, Laurent N, Laurie H (with her dog Paco), Steve K, Debbie P, Robert B, Scott S, Amy S, Jennifer B, David W

The Flyer singers met near the Central Park Zoo entrance at the appointed time – this year’s participants included Sandy A, Jennifer B, Robert B, Maribeth C, Jodie F, Laurie H and her dog Paco, Laurent N, Steve K, Debbie P, Amy S, Scott S, and David W. After introducing ourselves to each other and posing for some group photos, the singers dropped off their toys at the Central Park Zoo, then headed out of the Park and down Fifth Avenue to see the 2012 holiday windows.

Laurent was waiting for us underneath the Rock Center tree when we arrived, but as has been the case the last several times the event has been held, our group was prevented from singing directly underneath the tree by the Center’s crack security force. Apparently, there’s now a formal sign-up process in place for groups wishing to perform underneath the tree, and groups that attempt to circumvent this process are threatened with eviction, incarceration, and forcible removal of vocal cords with a sharp instrument (my apologies to any junior Flyers who may be reading this). After posing for several group photos underneath the tree, we found an unguarded area across the street and belted out several up-tempo holiday favorites before the wind and steady rain conspired to dampen our spirits.

Click the Arrrow:

Then Sing Along with The Von Flyer Family Singers

The group had planned to return to Central Park and enjoy a four-mile run together, but due to the weather the group decided to forego the run and proceed directly to the brunch portion of our program. After securing a table for twelve at a café in the Rock Center concourse, the group decided to leave after discovering that the cafe didn’t see fit to include brunch items on its menu.

Brunchtime for Hungry Singers

A new venue was chosen, brunch was ordered, and a good time was had by all. Thanks again to the hearty souls who chose to participate this year, and special thanks, as always, to Sandy for organizing the event and Laurent for leading us in song!

-Scott S

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Rachel G: New Flyer

Rachel G

Hey! My name is Rachel.  I live in what I like to call the grey area of Manhattan, not exactly Midtown East and not Gramercy, however a stone throw from some great Korean and Indian food. During the winter months, I try to escape the cold and venture to candy land aka Miami Beach. For me, the cold is good for one thing only – running. Yes, I am one of those crazy runners you see running the streets of New York in 30 degree temps, dressed like its summer out while passersby think I'm clinically insane.

Similar to recent new Flyer, Catie B (click HERE to read about Catie), I also was a dancer and had zero interest in running for most of life. I still consider myself a dancer, but for now that means just being in the moment with music.  I find myself dancing at very inopportune times while listening to my iPod, waiting for the light to change during my runs, and at the end of a 20 miler when I hear Payphone by Maroon 5 playing.

Beginning of an Obsession

I have always been a health and fitness enthusiast. This began at an early age. You know what they say; you do exactly as your parents or the complete opposite. Their sedentary lifestyle coupled with bad eating habits, led them to be overweight and riddled with health issues.
I knew this was not at all what I wanted for myself. So I think this made me obsessed with my physicality and health. There are definitely worse things to be obsessed with, right?

Game Changer

Prior to 2008, I never ran a step.  In fact, I would see runners and think they looked miserable. Why on earth would I want to voluntarily inflict pain on myself. That same year the economy crumbled and I was at a personal and financial crossroad.  I needed to deflect from all of the uncertainty in my life and figure out where to channel feelings of anger,
frustration and hopelessness.  

Fortunately for me, I stumbled upon TFK online and the idea of running to help others was born for me. Mind you at this point I hated running and did not know many people who ran. Most of my friends would ask "how far is that marathon?" Lol. 

I think I was drawn to having to plan my weeks and weekends and the progression you can clearly see week by week. While most everything else in my life was uncertain my running plan was a constant. 

NYC Marathon 2008

I accredit running for changing my life. Some might say that is extreme, but the way it makes me feel and the energy it allows me to put forth to the universe is incomparable.

Philly Marathon
2012

Running has allowed me to see that anything is possible. From running my first marathon hoping to break 4:00 hours and actually ran 3:50:56, to my 6th marathon hoping to run sub 3:05 and ran 3:10:27. I have learned one should strive for progress, not perfection. Most long distance runners would agree that running is mostly mental. This has allowed me to extrapolate this concept further and say that all of life is mental and with the right attitude and the guidance of a few great people along the way, each of us can achieve greatness.

Chasing Times and the Flyers

This summer I set out to train and break 3:05 at the NYC Marathon. I wanted to do some or all of my long runs with runners that had a similar goal. I did just that and felt I was on my way to achieving my goals. It was early summer and running felt like a chore; it had lost its meaning for me. I needed something to recharge me.

By accident, I found the Flyers and their need for pacers for the NYC Marathon Long Training Run in July. I thought to myself maybe if I could help someone perhaps run farther and faster than ever before, that might recharge my love of running.

Rachel G and Catie B
8:30 Pace Group Leaders

Not only did this recharge me, but it was a game changer for me. I found more joy in helping the 8:30 pace group get to the finish line than achieving my own running goals. During this pace run, I met some of the strongest and interesting women. 

They thanked me numerous times, not realizing how much I should be the one thanking them for helping me realize it is not about chasing times, but the journey along the way.

8:30 Pace Group Runners:
Smiling Faces At the Finish

Although finding the NY Flyers was what most would say was an accident, I believe this was divine intervention. I look forward to spreading my love of running, positive energy, and desire for helping others achieve greatness, with the help of other Flyers.

-Rachel G

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