Lost. reverse diet method to repair metabolism?

aobuchanan

I am a 5' 8" tall 38 year old female with 4 kids. I started a weightloss/fitness Journey 6 years ago. I started at 238 lb. after countless diets tons of different exercise programs I had gotten myself down to 164lb. some of the programs healthy and some, like not eating at all, not so healthy. I had shoulder surgery and 2 other surgeries along the journey from non-exercise related injuries and I should mention that I am pretty strong, as females go and I have quite a bit of muscle. Lately the past year or so I have struggled. I tend to hate my body and don't stick to diets for very long, because the results are null. I have actually gotten back up to 180 and feel desperate for an answer. I lift weights consistently 4-5 times a week at least. add in some cardio now and then but even when I'm being good on my diet I don't get results. I was on a 1200 cal diet for months and months little to no results. I have tried a ketogenic diet, as atkins seemed to work for me in the beginning 6 years ago, but it doesn't seem to be working now either. I am at a point that I think I have killed my metabolism dieting and was wondering if anyone that is not a fitness competitor has tried the reverse diet method to repair their metabolism and weather or not it's worth a shot? I have seen a lot of fitness competitors use this method and have a great result but at my body fat % i wonder if i'm just not being strict enough with myself, or do I really have a metabolism problem? My plan as of now is to find where my cal and macros have to be to stay the same and decide if that amount is low or high and decide what to do from there. open to suggestions and would love to hear about your experiences with reverse diet since i think that may be something i need to do. Thank you.

DeguelloTex

My guess is that you weren't really eating just 1200 calories a day.

HeySwoleSister

DeguelloTex wrote: »

My guess is that you weren't really eating just 1200 calories a day.

This. Have you been weighing and measuring every bite you take?

People blame metabolism WAY more than it warrants.

Also, at your stats, why on EARTH were you only aiming for 1200 calories a day? That's absurdly low. Your BMR is around 1500 (that's what you'd burn each day if you were in a coma) so you really shouldn't go under that, just as a rule of thumb.

cardbucfan

1. Have you been checked by a doctor for any medical issues-thyroid etc?
2. Weigh and measure your food to make certain you know how much you really are eating.
3. 1200 is way too little for your size. I'm 51, 5'9, weigh around 145 and lose on 1800 a day and I exercise a lot.

Go to this thread:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p23

And read the first post. TONS of very helpful info!

rybo

EWJLang wrote: »

DeguelloTex wrote: »

My guess is that you weren't really eating just 1200 calories a day.

This. Have you been weighing and measuring every bite you take?

People blame metabolism WAY more than it warrants.

Also, at your stats, why on EARTH were you only aiming for 1200 calories a day? That's absurdly low. Your BMR is around 1500 (that's what you'd burn each day if you were in a coma) so you really shouldn't go under that, just as a rule of thumb.

So you insinuate that she was eating more than she thought, hence not losing weight. Then you proceed to tell her to eat more. So which is it?

HeySwoleSister

rybo wrote: »

EWJLang wrote: »

DeguelloTex wrote: »

My guess is that you weren't really eating just 1200 calories a day.

This. Have you been weighing and measuring every bite you take?

People blame metabolism WAY more than it warrants.

Also, at your stats, why on EARTH were you only aiming for 1200 calories a day? That's absurdly low. Your BMR is around 1500 (that's what you'd burn each day if you were in a coma) so you really shouldn't go under that, just as a rule of thumb.

So you insinuate that she was eating more than she thought, hence not losing weight. Then you proceed to tell her to eat more. So which is it?

I'm telling her to set an appropriate goal and stick to that with accuracy.

tmblack79

I'm not a fitness competitor, but I do work out regularly (mostly weight training & HIIT). I too, like many women, have tried numerous calorie-restrictive diets that only work in the short-term. You can't maintain it (or at least I can't - I like food too much). And, once you hit a plateau, that's it. Your body essentially has adapted to this new daily calorie amount as 'maintenance'. Now, who wants to keep adding hours of exercise to break through a plateau? A few months ago, I discovered Reverse Dieting and am now up to nearly 2000cals/day and have maintained my weight! I'm increasing calories at a rate of about 25-35 daily calories per week. I track my macros with MFP, using an IIFYM / flexible dieting approach.

All that said, I'm certainly no expert. If you want to learn more about reverse dieting, check out Dr. Layne Norton's video logs on YouTube. He's a wealth of information, and has the science to back it all up. Yes, he's a bodybuilder and so most of his examples are based on fitness competitors... But this is working for me, and I'm just your average 36yr old mother of 2. Other good resources that I've found are EM2WL and Corina Neilsen's blog.

Hope this helps! And best of luck!