Extremely low metabolism
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snowflakesav wrote: »I think a check on your thyroid is in order.
Then monitor your sleep...if you are not averaging over 7 hours a night then you aren't giving your cells a chance to repair themselves. I am constantly amazed the effect rest has on my weight and everything else.
I would not necessarily classify what you are reporting as a slow metabolism based on your weight, moderate to light activity (10k steps is moderate) and you have been restricting for a while.
If you have been on low carb....there is some opinion that it can be stressful over the long haul. (As evidenced by all the threads on plateaus)
Actually, the sleep comment could be relative. I usually get between 5 and 6 hours. I hate going to bed, but my body clock gets me up around 6:00 AM or so (because in fall I teach a very early class). I have to admit that not going to bed at a decent hour is my most unhealthy habit. I know I should go to bed at 10, but for me, it's as if the evening is just beginning. Also, at one of the places I work, I serve as student writing advisor, and I have students who will send me papers at night, so I'll review them, even if it's after 10 PM.0 -
snowflakesav wrote: »I think a check on your thyroid is in order.
Then monitor your sleep...if you are not averaging over 7 hours a night then you aren't giving your cells a chance to repair themselves. I am constantly amazed the effect rest has on my weight and everything else.
I would not necessarily classify what you are reporting as a slow metabolism based on your weight, moderate to light activity (10k steps is moderate) and you have been restricting for a while.
If you have been on low carb....there is some opinion that it can be stressful over the long haul. (As evidenced by all the threads on plateaus)
Actually, the sleep comment could be relative. I usually get between 5 and 6 hours. I hate going to bed, but my body clock gets me up around 6:00 AM or so (because in fall I teach a very early class). I have to admit that not going to bed at a decent hour is my most unhealthy habit. I know I should go to bed at 10, but for me, it's as if the evening is just beginning. Also, at one of the places I work, I serve as student writing advisor, and I have students who will send me papers at night, so I'll review them, even if it's after 10 PM.
I have to force myself away from the computer at night. It's a discipline, like flossing nightly.
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There's not much of a change in metabolism and aging as people once believed. This is largely due to decreased muscle mass, but even then to a very small degree.
As far as hormones, this is a terminal cascade and hormone regulation will be much more difficult or in many cases impossible if you are overweight.0 -
I had my metabolism analyzed by one of those machines, I forget what they're called... you sit at rest before you've eaten anything for the day and it analyzes your exhalations for a period of time, and gives you a number. Have you had this done yet? I recommend it so that you can be sure about your metabolism. Mine is "average" for my height and age, but as I'm short and 46, you can imagine I don't get many calories to work with! My BMR is barely over 1200 cals! Lifting weights and building muscle is the only way I know to permanently improve how many calories you burn all day every day. So try lifting heavy 2 or 3 times a week, and also do cardio to burn some extra cals daily.0
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It's pretty unfair but given your height, age and current weight your TDEE (rather than metabolism) is going to be low.
I agree. It's not that your actual burn seems to be lower than what Fitbit is reporting, it's that the Fitbit calorie burn itself (which uses a estimation formula incorporating age, sex, height and weight) is just a depressingly low number.
I'm 47, 5'7" and 122 lbs. Between my Fitbit and MFP logging, I've determined that I am completely average. My sedentary maintenance calorie needs are 1530 calories. If I bought into the "average woman needs 2000 calories" rule of thumb, I would gain a pound a week. The only thing I can do to be able to eat more is be more active.0 -
You don't need to lose any weight as it is, I'm only 1/2" taller, I'm slim at 132lbs at 46yrs I'm extremely active. If I weren't my TDEE would also be low. I keep very active so I have a high TDEE, 10000 steps although you may feel thats doing well its not enough to let you eat a bit more unfortunately. I like to eat 2100 cals a day now in maintenance - to be able to eat that I have to do 17000 steps + / I average 20k as I am naturally active.
The simple fact is to eat more we must move more. If you're ok with your current activity I would say you could maintain on around 1600-1800 calories.
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According to the fitbit charge HR's numbers, I would gain on 1600-1800 calories a day. Fibit Charge HR is basing the calorie burn on my heartrate throughout the day, age, weight, and height. If I'm using only 1300-1500 by the end of a moderately active day, eating more than that would start packing on the pounds. I don't expect to get to eat 2000 calories a day, of course -- that's too much food, more of a "cheat" day. But to be able to eat 1600 a day without worrying would be nice.0
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According to the fitbit charge HR's numbers, I would gain on 1600-1800 calories a day. Fibit Charge HR is basing the calorie burn on my heartrate throughout the day, age, weight, and height. If I'm using only 1300-1500 by the end of a moderately active day, eating more than that would start packing on the pounds. I don't expect to get to eat 2000 calories a day, of course -- that's too much food, more of a "cheat" day. But to be able to eat 1600 a day without worrying would be nice.
You could, theoretically, you'd just have to add in a calorie burn of 300 to do it.0 -
Which is easier said than done -- it would mean a kickboxing type workout every day. I'm not a wimp, but I'm not a youngster, either.0
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Which is easier said than done -- it would mean a kickboxing type workout every day. I'm not a wimp, but I'm not a youngster, either.
That's not the only workout you could do. Kickboxing is hard on the body. there are other ways to burn 300 calories that are much lower impact. Of course it's your choice - I'm just saying there are many different exercise possibilities. For the days you wanted to eat a higher number of calories.0 -
I think you might be expecting too much of yourself, to be honest. You don't mention if you've been to the doctor and had any bloodwork done to confirm that you have normal thyroid levels, iron level, etc. First thing to do would be a physical to ensure you are in normal health.
If you are, you also need to accept that you are in your 50s and fairly active, and doing what you can. I'm 42,5'7", 123 lbs, and with an hour and fifteen minutes of cardio per day, plus my 10,000 steps, I can make it to 2,000 calories. Otherwise I am around 1700 calories, and I'm 6 inches taller than you. I'm not seeing a high HR burn in your day anywhere, other than the kickboxing class, which isn't every day. So it's going to be difficult to hit a very high number of calories for a TDEE for you.
You're 42?!?! Never would have guessed. I swear exercise is the fountain of youth. Good for you!0 -
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princessbride42 wrote: »My grandma is 4 foot 11 and maintains a healthy weight. She was explaining to me once that she can only eat like tea and toast for breakfast, half a sandwich for lunch, etc. It's lame for her but she's figured out how to sustain a healthy weight with her small body. Makes me glad I'm a few inches taller...
My mom is 68, 4 foot 11 too, still chubby (I'd say probably overweight), and she eats like a bird! It's scary. The good news I guess is that she's also never really hungry.0 -
kyrannosaurus wrote: »If you are weighing everything why are you logging everything in cups, tablespoons, pieces instead of the actual weight of the item? This makes no sense to me. If you are weighing it, why not log the weight?
I weigh meats, but use cups for things like yogurt, rice, etc.
You need to be weighing those things as well, measuring cups are simply not accurate for anything other than straight liquids. This could also account for your lack of progress, as there can be considerable overages if you are using measuring cups. :-)
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I'm 46 and also menopausal. I can tell you what I do. A half hour of either elliptical or exercise bike, a half hour of walking on the treadmill, a half hour of lifting. I didn't start out doing that much though. I started off with a half hour of bike and 15 minutes of lifting.
I'm also arthritic. So I work out every other day, allowing my joints and muscles to rest on the off days. I don't do anything higher impact than walking, ever, and I avoid all high torque motions. I used to take karate but I ended up in surgery because I fubared my knees doing round house kicks and such. Swimming is also a good low impact activity if a pool is available to you.
Are there any parts of this that would work for you so that you could burn more cals and increase muscle?0 -
Thyroid check take your temperature each day PRIOR to getting out of bed for 10 days straight. If your body temp is below or at 97 then go to your doc with results. You eat about half what some women your same height are consuming; difference they lift weights, and their age, but it isn't that much of a difference. You may want to consider changing your workouts, then again, maybe it is too much. The stress of teaching classes can't be understated either.0
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I'm 48
Lifting rocks0 -
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I'm 46 and also menopausal. I can tell you what I do. A half hour of either elliptical or exercise bike, a half hour of walking on the treadmill, a half hour of lifting. I didn't start out doing that much though. I started off with a half hour of bike and 15 minutes of lifting.
I'm also arthritic. So I work out every other day, allowing my joints and muscles to rest on the off days. I don't do anything higher impact than walking, ever, and I avoid all high torque motions. I used to take karate but I ended up in surgery because I fubared my knees doing round house kicks and such. Swimming is also a good low impact activity if a pool is available to you.
Are there any parts of this that would work for you so that you could burn more cals and increase muscle?
I'm actually doing at least that much. Here's my typical week -- Sunday -- 30-45 minute walk, Monday 5000 steps campus walking, stair climbing, with roller bag, 30 minute additional walk when I get home, Tuesday - 60 minute Fitness class with low impact aerobics, weights, abs, stretching, 30 minute walk; Wednesday - same as Monday, Thursday - Same as Tuesday; Friday - Yoga (sometimes), Kickboxing, plus 30 minute minimum walk (today I did an hour), Saturday - 30-45 minute walk. If I'm not teaching in a week-end program, I might do yoga on Saturday. The week-end campus where I teach is smaller, so I don't put in the steps that I would on Mon and Wed. I used to do a much more challenging weight classes and weights on my own, but as I said, I'm coming back from an injury. The class I'm doing now is targeted at older women, so focus is on correct form and maintaining strength, rather than building big muscles. I'm hoping to progress to something more challenging in the fall.
I just figured out how to get the fitibit to actually calculate calories burned for duration of a workout (I'm a technomoron), as well as calories for the day. Kickboxing and an hour walk (I go up a big hill) both get me 300 calories.0 -
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Now I'm starting to feel like people are seeing me as this pig who is in denial, especially after the video of the obese woman who is eating 3000 calories a day whose metabolism is measured as around only 2000, which I find a bit insulting.
As far a weighing liquids like yogurt and such, I assume you put the cup on the scale, 0 the scale, and then add the yogurt? And stuff you spoon? How do you do that with peanut butter/almond butter, not that it's something I eat too much of anyway. Or olive oil that you cook with -- you measure that by the spoon. Already, I'm seeing my meal prep and clean up lengthen by about 30 minutes.0 -
For yogurt, I just put my bowl on the scale, tare it out, and spoon the yogurt into the bowl. For peanut butter, I put the plate on the scale, put the bread on the plate, use the knife to scoop out the peanut butter onto the bread, then spread it after I've weighed it. I was hesitant to get a food scale at first, but it made things faster, not slower. I never have to wash measuring cups and spoons anymore!As far a weighing liquids like yogurt and such, I assume you put the cup on the scale, 0 the scale, and then add the yogurt? And stuff you spoon? How do you do that with peanut butter/almond butter, not that it's something I eat too much of anyway. Or olive oil that you cook with -- you measure that by the spoon. Already, I'm seeing my meal prep and clean up lengthen by about 30 minutes.
It's fine to use measuring cups and spoons (not table spoons) for liquids and oils.
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I do use the scale, but haven't been for yogurt, rice, and pasta. I use measuring cups, but perhaps I should try your method. Even with a dry measure cup, 1/2 cup of cooked rice is not a heck of a lot of rice. I also use measuring spoons for peanut butter, salad dressing, and such, not "flatware."
I guess part of my issue is not whether I'm eating the right amount, but the actual metabolism number. Unlike the woman in the video, who has the standard 2000 number, I have a device that's telling me what that number is, and it's quite low. I also had my metabolism measured last fall using a special scale at my gym -- the BMR was only 1136. Today was my big workout day -- with kickboxing and an hour and 15 minute walk, I got to 2000. MFP is giving me around 1600 to eat, which is fine, but that's not a typical day for me.0 -
Weighing things like peanut butter is super easy. Put the jar on the scale and zero it. Scoop out the desired amount of peanut butter etc and then place the jar back on the scale. It will come up with a negative number, so if it reads for example -27g you know you ate 27 grams. That way you can lick the knife and know every gram was accounted for.0
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Hypothetically if I eat 3 ounces of turkey breast I eat about 120 calories, not 75; if I eat something calorically dense like walnuts, cashews, etc, I weight them in grams. Accuracy is your friend. Newsflash: you are consuming more then you think. If you think better weighing and measuring takes longer you'll be pleasantly surprised. If it takes 30 minutes you are doing other activities and falsely believe multi-tasking allows you do more. It is isn't difficult, you are close to your goal, and you need to weigh more foods and find better entries (hypothetically) to provide you more accurate information about your calories day in and day out.0
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Take the advice that is helpful and ignore the advice that is hurtful.Now I'm starting to feel like people are seeing me as this pig who is in denial, especially after the video of the obese woman who is eating 3000 calories a day whose metabolism is measured as around only 2000, which I find a bit insulting.
As far a weighing liquids like yogurt and such, I assume you put the cup on the scale, 0 the scale, and then add the yogurt? And stuff you spoon? How do you do that with peanut butter/almond butter, not that it's something I eat too much of anyway. Or olive oil that you cook with -- you measure that by the spoon. Already, I'm seeing my meal prep and clean up lengthen by about 30 minutes.
Metabolisms slow as we age, especially after menopause. It happens. It's a real thing. People knew this before there was scientific proof, lol.
I have a pretty slow metabolism. The key, IMO, is patience. You do your best. It's the best you can do! Eat right, exercise, and adjust as you need to adjust.
Everyone is different. You have to do what works for you. It sounds to me like you've been kicking some butt so far and I have no doubt that you'll continue to do so.
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So I had yogurt for dessert tonight. Instead of using a measuring cup and just putting the yogurt in a bowl, I put the empty bowl on the scale, measured 1/2 cup of yogurt, and put it in a bowl. The yogurt ended up weighing 4 ounces, which is -- guess what -- 1/2 a cup!0
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Your bmr sounds about right for your age, height, weight and activity level.
I am the same height, weigh 15-20 lb less, and 61. My bmr is in the 980-1000 range and seems to be quite accurate.
I don't put in the steps you do, but I do nerd fitness every other day, and spend a lot of time moving around in the garden. That gives me a maintenance of 1200+
In the winter I do 1 hr of something every day ( aqua, Zumba, etc) and weight room x3 a week. That bumps me up to 1400-1450 cals.
Because I enjoy the weekend I bulk all my cals together and eat to a weekly goal of 8400 right now, winter is higher.
Because we aren't the biggest people in the world, accuracy in intake is really important. Spoons and cups can be so off! Rice, pasta, potatoes, oils and spreads can be almost doubled using them as opposed to a scale. Honest, my rice portion halved when I got a scale. It is now pathetically small, sob.
You will find a big difference once you are weighing everything.
For sloppy awkward things weigh the container pre and post extracting your portion, much less mess.
I don't do fit bits or hrm's etc so can't comment, but I do wish I had realised that you weren't weighing everything these past few months. I would have really encouraged you to do so, it will make all the difference, and really help you if you decide to stay in maintenance, or go back to your original weight loss goal.
Sorry your bmr can't be higher, but I do think it is quite normal and accurate.
NB. This is just comparing with me and my experience losing then maintaining for 5-6 yr.
Cheers, h.
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Now I'm starting to feel like people are seeing me as this pig who is in denial, especially after the video of the obese woman who is eating 3000 calories a day whose metabolism is measured as around only 2000, which I find a bit insulting.
As far a weighing liquids like yogurt and such, I assume you put the cup on the scale, 0 the scale, and then add the yogurt? And stuff you spoon? How do you do that with peanut butter/almond butter, not that it's something I eat too much of anyway. Or olive oil that you cook with -- you measure that by the spoon. Already, I'm seeing my meal prep and clean up lengthen by about 30 minutes.
We don't see you as a pig or anything of thr such. But you have to understand that statistically a trained person under reports caloric intake by as much as 400 calories. Since you aren't weighing everything, its the first thing that should be addressed.
If you are menopausal then it may be beneficial to eat a low carb diet. The women i worked with that have menopause have seen some great success with it. For what reason, i am unsure. Its potential that the additional fat is helping regulate hormones.
Also, have you considered trying a doing a structured lifting program instead of classes? Its possible that lifting heavy will help boost your metabolism a bit.. and worst case you could see some composition changes.
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https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KA9AdlhB18o
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