How to Understand Your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) Results: Master Your Metabolism
Why Your RMR Results Matter
Your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) is the foundation of your metabolism — the number of calories your body burns at rest to power essential functions like breathing, circulation, and brain activity.
Unlike online calculators or smartwatch estimates, this test measures your metabolism directly, providing a clinical-grade look at how efficiently your body burns energy.
The RMR section of your DexaFit report includes four key metrics that work together to paint a full picture of your metabolic health and recovery: RMR, RHR, RER, and TDEE.
1. Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR): Your Baseline Burn
What It Means
Your RMR represents the minimum number of calories your body needs per day to sustain vital functions — even if you were to rest all day.
It’s primarily influenced by:
Lean muscle mass (your biggest metabolic driver)
Age and biological sex
Hormone balance and thyroid health
Sleep, stress, and nutrition habits
Knowing your exact RMR allows you to build a plan that matches your body’s true energy needs — not generic estimates.
How to Interpret It
Higher-than-expected RMR: Often a result of more lean muscle, regular training, or a more active metabolism.
Lower-than-expected RMR: May occur due to muscle loss, under-eating, stress, or metabolic adaptation from long-term dieting.
Action Steps
Lift weights or do resistance training 2–4x per week to maintain muscle.
Prioritize protein (1.6–2.2g/kg of body weight daily).
Avoid extreme calorie restriction — it slows metabolism over time.
Re-test every 3–6 months to ensure your plan is working.
💡 When you know your RMR, every nutrition and training decision becomes data-driven instead of guesswork.
2. Resting Heart Rate (RHR): Your Recovery and Readiness Gauge
What It Means
Your Resting Heart Rate (RHR) reflects how efficiently your heart and cardiovascular system function at rest.
It’s measured during your RMR test and provides valuable context for your overall health, fitness, and recovery status.
How to Interpret It
Excellent:
Men: <55 bpm
Women: <60 bpm
Good:
Men: 55–65 bpm
Women: 60–70 bpm
Needs Focus:
Men: >70 bpm
Women: >75 bpm
Why It Matters
A lower RHR typically means your heart is strong, efficient, and well-recovered.
An elevated RHR can signal stress, overtraining, poor sleep, or illness.
Action Steps
Prioritize 7–9 hours of sleep per night.
Manage stress with light movement, breathing, or recovery days.
Include a mix of aerobic and resistance training for balance.
Track trends — if RHR is rising, your body might need rest or more recovery.
❤️ Think of RHR as your body’s daily “status check.” It shows how well you’re adapting to your training and lifestyle.
3. Respiratory Exchange Ratio (RER): What Fuel You’re Burning
What It Means
Your RER indicates whether your body primarily burns fat or carbohydrates for fuel while at rest.
It’s the ratio of carbon dioxide produced (VCO₂) to oxygen consumed (VO₂), and it’s one of the most telling signs of metabolic flexibility.
How to Interpret It
RER ~0.70: You’re primarily burning fat for fuel — a healthy, efficient metabolism.
RER ~0.85: You’re using a mix of fat and carbohydrates.
RER ~1.00: You’re relying mostly on carbohydrates — often seen in people under stress, after eating, or who are under-recovered.
Why It Matters
Your RER reflects how adaptable your metabolism is.
A lower or more flexible RER suggests your body can easily switch between energy sources.
A consistently high RER can indicate your metabolism is “stuck” in carb-burning mode, which may make fat loss harder and energy levels more unstable.
Action Steps
Add Zone 2 aerobic training (moderate steady-state cardio) 3–5x per week.
Allow time between meals (avoid constant snacking) to encourage fat oxidation.
Prioritize sleep and stress management, as cortisol directly affects RER.
Re-test RMR + RER every few months to monitor improvements in flexibility.
🧠 RER doesn’t just show how many calories you burn — it shows how your body chooses to burn them.
4. Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE): Your True Daily Calorie Needs
What It Means
Your TDEE combines your RMR with all the calories you burn through movement, exercise, and digestion.
It’s your total daily burn — the most practical number for planning nutrition and setting goals.
TDEE = RMR × Activity Factor
Typical Activity Multipliers:
Sedentary (little to no exercise): ×1.2
Lightly active: ×1.3–1.4
Moderately active: ×1.5–1.6
Very active: ×1.7–1.9
How to Use It
Fat Loss: Eat about 10–20% below TDEE.
Maintenance: Match your TDEE intake.
Muscle Gain: Eat 5–15% above TDEE with strength training and adequate recovery.
Tracking your TDEE trends allows you to see how your metabolism responds as your body composition changes — especially when combined with your DEXA scan results.
⚙️ TDEE connects your resting metabolism to your real-world habits — it’s the number that reflects your lifestyle.
5. Tracking Trends: Why Follow-Up Tests Matter
Your metabolism is dynamic — it changes as your body adapts to training, nutrition, stress, and recovery.
A single RMR test gives you valuable insight, but consistent testing reveals your true progress.
Why Re-Testing Every 3–6 Months Matters
Track RMR changes as you gain or lose muscle.
See if your RHR is improving with better recovery.
Monitor RER shifts to evaluate fat-burning efficiency.
Update your TDEE as your lifestyle and goals evolve.
Regular testing ensures your nutrition and training remain optimized — so you’re not just guessing, you’re tracking proof of progress.
📈 Your metabolism adapts to what you do — testing it regularly helps you adapt smarter.
6. Putting It All Together
Each metric in your RMR section tells a different part of your story:
RMR — how many calories you burn at rest
RHR — how efficiently your heart recovers
RER — what fuel your body prefers
TDEE — your total daily energy needs
Together, they give you a 360° view of your metabolism, recovery, and energy use.
When tracked over time, they reveal exactly how your habits are shaping your results.
Next Steps
Keep your momentum going:
Schedule your next RMR test in 3–6 months to track progress.
Combine it with your DEXA scan for a complete picture of body composition and metabolism.
Measure your metabolism. Recover smarter. Fuel your progress.