Can you tell if your metabolism has increased?

ErinMichelle31
ErinMichelle31 Posts: 29 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hello! I'm wondering if there is a way to know if your metabolism has increased. When I began this journey, I started working out all the time. I am up to a heavy workout at least six days per week. Lately, I find that I am hungrier than usual. I am waking up hungry, and I get hungry again sooner after eating. So far I've been resisting the urge to eat more, and I am still losing weight very steadily. But I wonder if anyone else who went from being sedentary to working out a lot has experienced something similar?

Replies

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  • Luna3386
    Luna3386 Posts: 888 Member
    Consistently doing the following: eating enough, eating plenty of protein, lifting weights,
  • havronab
    havronab Posts: 40 Member
    I had the same experience as you. When I first started losing weight, I could easily eat between 1300-1600 calories per day and not struggle with hunger too much. But as I increased my amount of exercise, I had to up my calories. I especially noticed the increased hunger after I started incorporating weight lifting. At this point, I'm eating about 1900 calories average per day, and losing 2 lbs per week. I tried to ignore my hunger for a while, but I'm really glad I responded to my hunger cues as I get to eat more (yay!) and still lose weight. I know that may not be everyone's experience, but you might want to increase calories by 100/day for a couple of weeks or whatever feels reasonable to you and see what impact it has on your rate of loss. Good luck!
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,486 Member
    Are you eating back your exercise calories?
    MFP gives you your calorie goal without exercise, eat back your calories you should still lose at your predicted weight.

    Cheers, h.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,740 Member
    If you're logging consistently and accurately, both eating & activity, you may know that "your metabolism has increased" because you'll lose weight a bit faster at the same calorie level, or lose at the same rate while eating a little more, and this remains true for a period of time.

    I put the phrase in quotes because I'm not sure that's the most accurate terminology for the phenomenon, but I am responding to what I think you meant by it.

    Even with as accurate logging as you can manage, it's still a bit of guesswork because any effect tends to be small/gradual. Without meticulous logging, it'd just be complete speculation.
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
    Your metabolism will not increase if you are in a calorie deficit and losing weight, it will most likely slowly decrease. Don't confuse hunger with metabolism.
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
    aribel95 wrote: »
    I heard drinking ice water and taking cold showers increases your metabolism.

    You heard wrong
  • laurabadams
    laurabadams Posts: 201 Member
    Chances are your increased exercise is simply working up your appetite, rather than it being any kind of permanent metabolic increase.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,407 Member
    aribel95 wrote: »
    I heard drinking ice water and taking cold showers increases your metabolism.

    If only it were that easy.
  • missh1967
    missh1967 Posts: 661 Member
    edited August 2017
    The more active I am, especially weight lifting, the hungrier I am. Probably due more to burning and needing more calories than to an increased metabolism. Is that one in the same? Maybe....

    However, it is true that increasing muscle mass does improve metabolism.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    If you are asking if you are burning more calories by working out then yes your metabolism has increased. If you are asking if you would burn more calories than you did before if you were to stop working out then no that isn't likely.
  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,244 Member
    AJ_G wrote: »
    aribel95 wrote: »
    I heard drinking ice water and taking cold showers increases your metabolism.

    You heard wrong

    No, they heard correct. It increases by several calories per day from the energy your body expends to warm.
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    Metabolism is fairly constant but TDEE can vary.
  • noirelb
    noirelb Posts: 216 Member
    I get more hungry right after and the day after exercise but its because i don't always eat all of my exercise calories back. So technically it's not my metabolism getting faster. If you eating all of your exercise calories back and still are more hungry, maybe its the weight lifting since it repairing muscle for a few hours and needing a few more calories for that. Nonetheless, eat more if you are hungry and still loosing weight!! Enjoy it :)
  • Ironandwine69
    Ironandwine69 Posts: 2,432 Member
    I don't concern myself with things like that.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    gebeziseva wrote: »
    AJ_G wrote: »
    aribel95 wrote: »
    I heard drinking ice water and taking cold showers increases your metabolism.

    You heard wrong

    No, they heard correct. It increases by several calories per day from the energy your body expends to warm.

    no it is actually incorrect to a degree...increase vs boost

    that is not an increased metabolism it may boost calorie burn for a time period but an increased metabolism will increase calorie burn on a more permanent basis.

    Adding muscle will increase metabolism in a person...and that is about all I can think of the will actually increase metabolism...however I am sure that there are more things...but most just "boost"
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
    gebeziseva wrote: »
    AJ_G wrote: »
    aribel95 wrote: »
    I heard drinking ice water and taking cold showers increases your metabolism.

    You heard wrong

    No, they heard correct. It increases by several calories per day from the energy your body expends to warm.

    That is not an increase in metabolic capacity, that's just a marginal added calorie expenditure that you've imposed upon yourself. That's like saying: "If you walk around the block for 5 minutes every day, then you've increased your metabolism". No you haven't, your basal metabolic rate will not increase, you're just doing more work.
  • fitmom4lifemfp
    fitmom4lifemfp Posts: 1,572 Member
    Hello! I'm wondering if there is a way to know if your metabolism has increased. When I began this journey, I started working out all the time. I am up to a heavy workout at least six days per week. Lately, I find that I am hungrier than usual. I am waking up hungry, and I get hungry again sooner after eating. So far I've been resisting the urge to eat more, and I am still losing weight very steadily. But I wonder if anyone else who went from being sedentary to working out a lot has experienced something similar?

    There really isn't anything you can to that will have a great impact to metabolism. Your metabolism is determined by genetics, and it's pretty stable. I think I read a study somewhere that about the most one can do is increase calorie burn by around 50 cal a day. Your daily movements and exercise are far more important in your calorie burn.

    https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000893.htm

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