I am very pleased to announce that AHI is now providing metabolic testing.
You may ask whether or not this has any interest for you. Ask yourself the following questions:

  • Do you have trouble losing weight?
  • Have you ever wondered what your metabolism is?
  • Do you want to know the exact right amount of calories to eat?
  • Do you want to know how you can burn more fat at rest?
  • Do you want to burn more fat while exercising to maximize weight loss?
  • Do you want to be able to perform better in competitions such as running races?

If you answered YES to ANY of these questions, metabolic testing is important for you!

Metabolic testing is truly the science of nutrition and exercise to maximize your efficiency at achieving your goals whether it is to lose the last 10lbs or run a faster 10k time. Everyone can benefit from the amazing information provided by this testing. Let me explain how.

Why is it important for weight loss?

Metabolic testing occurs in both rest and exercise. The resting test is called a Basal Metabolic Rate Test (BMR). During this test your BMR is calculated and it represents how many calories your body burns at rest if you were to sit down and not move for 24 hours. It is considered the vital calories your body needs for its functions that keep you alive! From this calculation, we are able to figure out how many calories you need to eat by factoring in your lifestyle. In addition, the test also determines how many calories at rest are from the breakdown of fat or carbohydrates. If your diet teaches your body to burn carbs at rest, you will not be able to lose weight, simple as that. You need to eat right in order to teach your body to become more efficient at burning fat. Your body WANTS to burn fat because your body wants to be efficient and 1 gram of fat gives 9 calories while 1 gram of carbs gives only 4 calories. If it wants you to burn fat, why not teach it how? With all this information, we can set you up on your way to achieving your goals! Best of all, the test is easy and you only need to lie down and breath into a mask!

As for the exercise test, it is a VO2max test. In other words, we are measuring your aerobic capacity ie. how fit you are. With regards to weight loss, this test helps calculate at which heart rate intensities you are burning the most fat. The saying “no pain no gain” just does not work for losing weight, but “work smarter not harder” is right on the nose. The intensity in which you burn the most fat may surprise you as it is actually at a moderate intensity. So why keep spending those hours working as hard as you can and not seeing any results. This exercise test takes around 8-12 minutes and typically occurs on a treadmill where the speed is kept moderate but the incline can go up to higher levels. After all, we are trying to have you exercise as close to your max as possible.

Why is it important for sport performance?

First off, let me just say that it is not only athletes that can benefit, but any recreational exerciser as well. Let me tell you how. On top of the information given regarding weight loss, there is much more information given to help you achieve your performance goals. Along with your fat burning intensities, you are also shown your ‘fat burning profile’. In other words, it’s how you burn fat throughout your range of intensities. The better athletes will be able to burn fat throughout a wider range of intensities while a new athlete will have a small window of fat burning ability. When you are exercising for a long time, people will burn out because their glycogen stores get depleted. If you are able to use fat for longer, you will be able to save those glycogen stores and perform for a longer period of time. In addition, your anaerobic threshold is calculated which represents your highest sustainable exercise intensity. If you want to improve your fitness, you need to exercise around this intensity. All of this information and a cardio training program with these ideas in mind will help you better achieve your performance goals!

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Ben by email at ben@activehealthinstitute.com. In addition, we will be having an info session on Thursday June 14th at 7:15pm.