Did my metabolism just return to normal?

carldun

I was around 110kg a year ago and I decided to go on a 1,400 calorie a day diet. The first month was VERY tough as I wasn't used to this kind of food deprivation but I successfully overcame it. For the following months I got used to the new calorie amount and even went lower to 1,200-,1300 occasionally. I was worried though since I've read and knew that this amount of deprivation would hit me with a yoyo effect once I stop doing it. I usually eat around 200 worth of calories for dinner (oatmeal, eggs, cereal or anything that could reach 200) but one day I ate a 500 calorie diner and found out I gained 1 whole kilo in a day. I then tried it again as I was so curious and I gained around .6kg the next day. What's worse is that this diet is slowly becoming less viable as I was losing weight at a slow rate and found out that over exceeding my 1,400 would have significant gains on my weight for who knows until what weight.

(85kg) February - April
I went to another country for almost two months and this is were it happened (well at least some of it). I stayed with a relative and I had to eat whatever they provided which was mostly around 2,000 calories a day and after 2 weeks I've noticed I gained around 5kg. I got worried so I tried eating 1,400 then the next day 2,000 then back to 1,400 and so on for nearly 2 months until I came home. What was surprising is that I only gained around .4kg from my first arrival (85kg before, 85.4kg after) after coming home. But when I got home I went with the diet again but for 2-3 days in a week would eat around 2,000 as I got used to it.

(83kg) Half of April - June
Things got worst, I now had the habit of eating a 200 calorie midnight snack almost every night. But for some reasons even to this day, I don't gain weight even if I ate around 2,000+ calories. Okay maybe I gain around .1/.2 kg a day but the next day would return me back to my previous weight. I contacted my doctor as I was worried I had ulcer or some sickness and after some tests he told me I was perfectly fine. So I assumed my metabolism returned to normal after almost 5 months of eating around 1,400-2,000 calories instead of just 1,200-1,400. I'm still unsatisfied though, I still have to lose 8kg to achieve my 75kg weight goal (I'm 5'9).

TimothyFish

You don't gain a kilogram of fat by eating 500 calories. What you are seeing is likely just normal weight fluctuations that result from changes in the diet and exercise. These fluctuations can be startling when you see them, but you shouldn't associate them with slight changes in the calories you consume. It is doubtful that your metabolism was ever abnormal, so no, I don't think it "returned" to anything.

Annie_01

OP...I think that you are over thinking this. The only advice that I can give you is...

1. Use the MFP calculator to figure out how many calories you should be eating to lose the weight at a reasonable rate.

2. Make sure that you are weighing and logging your food correctly.

3. Trust the system...stay with the amount set by the calculators at least for a couple of months. If you still aren't losing then lower your calorie allotment by small increments until you find the level that will let you lose. Maybe up your exercise just a little.

4. Be honest with yourself.

As far as your metabolism goes...possibly it could be slightly lower than what the calculators estimate...but probably not as much as what you would like to believe.

AsISmile

What I want to add:
If you were eating 2000 calories one day and 1400 the next day and kept switching then ((2000x3,5 +1400x3,5))/7) 1700 calories is you TDEE, you were eating as much as you were burning.
The weight gain of 0,5 kg the next day is not true weight gain. It could easily be water weight. So even at the 1400-2000 calories you are still eating at maintenance.

Are you more active than you used to be?