LEVEL UP

Considering a change in lifestyle habits? It’s not all about the number on the scale. The Nutrition and Exercise Testing (NEXT) Lab at Ryerson University in Toronto offers a number of fitness tests using research equipment that can be used to track your progress in conjunction with your doctor and/or dietitian. One such test is for resting metabolic rate (RMR), which measures the number of calories you burn while at rest (i.e., if you did nothing all day). “As you’re losing weight, you want to make sure that it is preserved,” says Nick Bellissimo, associate professor of nutrition and director at NEXT Lab. When you lose lean body mass instead of fat, your RMR can drop, and this can put you at a metabolically disadvantaged state for weight regain, he explains. One way to preserve your RMR is to ensure that you consume enough protein throughout the day—about 25 to 30 grams at each meal—and that you are building lean muscle mass by incorporating something like resistance training into your workout routine.