The path to health and nutritional wellness looks long from the starting point. Each step forward seems to come with a new challenge: change your diet, change your exercise habits, change your posture, change your drinking. Even more daunting, however, is the doubt that comes with having to make these changes unguided! How much exercise is too much? Can I still eat the foods I love? What does my body need, and how can I ensure that the plan I am following makes sense for my unique biology?

Experienced, certified nutritionists have the answers to these questions, and are the best guides on a wellness journey. What sets them apart? Information.

Nutritionists gather, interpret, and analyze data collected from their clients to determine the best course of action for each individual. This action plan allows the nutritionist and client to work as a team on the walk to personal wellness. Often, the first step nutritionists take with their clients is performing metabolic testing.

What are metabolism and metabolic rate?

Metabolism is the body's process of converting food and stored fat into energy. Metabolic rate, then, is the measure of the speed of that energy conversion.

How is metabolic rate tested?

Trained professionals in a nutritionist's office do non-invasive tests like KORR medical metabolic testing to measure resting metabolic rates (RMR).

Why measure resting metabolic rate?

A person's resting metabolic rate provides information about how many calories they burn during their basic daily activities. RMR measures the bare-minimum exertion in your day: eating, walking, peeing, shivering; the bare basics of existing, above and beyond the REAL basics (pumping blood, growing hair, digesting). With this information, clients and nutritionists can build a plan to increase, decrease, or support metabolic function. Whether you're trying to lose weight, gain weight, or, most importantly, support your overall health, knowing your RMR is critical information.

KORR Medical metabolic testing sounds great, but what is it, exactly? Put your mind at ease. You're not running on a treadmill with leads stuck to your chest. You're not even spending the night behind a one-way mirror wearing an electrode swimming cap. You're just sitting, breathing, and relaxing!

KORR Medical Metabolic Testing: Easy as 1, 2, 3.

1. Preparing for the test:

Clients arrive for their test after a four-hour fast, before exercise, and without having any caffeine or stimulants.

2. During the test:

Clients are invited to sit or recline comfortably, and are asked to breathe into a KORR mouthpiece. You won't be inhaling anything special through the mouthpiece, just good old-fashioned room air. The science is in the measurements being taken in the KORR machine as you exhale. Be sure to keep your lip sealed tightly around the mouthpiece, close your eyes, and in ten short minutes, the test is complete.

3. After the test:

Once your clinician has your test result, they will have information about how well your body converts oxygen to energy. There is a direct relationship between calories burned and oxygen consumed (burning one calorie requires 208.06 milliliters of oxygen), and your nutritionist can quickly ascertain whether your metabolic rate is sufficient to support your health goals.

Gathering information about how your unique body works is crucial to your wellness journey. While collaborating on a wellness plan, clinicians and dieticians will use all available tools, therapies, and technology to ensure that their clients lead long, healthy, fulfilling lives. KORR medical metabolic testing provides critical data that will help speed you on your path and work toward the goal of whole-body wellness. Contact us today to take the first step toward health!