My metabolism is coming back

I've lost 65 pounds, and for much of it I was eating around 1400-1500 calories gross. That is, I didn't eat back my exercise calories. Yes, that's low. Yes, I know it. So when I got to about 180 pounds, I decided I needed to stop losing, up my calories, and give my body time to get my metabolism back.

I maintained weight on about 1750 calories. For a 180 pound male, that's ridiculously low.

I decided to bite the bullet and eat more - the only real way to increase your metabolism. Upped to 2000. Feels like a ton of food to me - I get to end each day enjoying a 300 or 400 calorie snack (smoothie, nuts, and sometimes, okay often, ice cream). I love it. And miraculously, I continued to lose! I'me down to 175 pounds now. Lost a pound this week. My metabolism, which I had feared I had damaged forever, is rebounding. I love it, because eating more food is way more fun than eating less!

So, my advice for maintaining - eat more food. Just do it, let your body recover that metabolism you need!
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Replies

  • WanderingPomme
    WanderingPomme Posts: 601 Member
    I hope this works on mine too! I'm slowly increasing my calories from 1290 to 1390, maybe 100/week until I get to maintenance! Still scared!

    Good job on the weight loss and awesome metabolism! :D
  • This is encouraging! I'm wondering what to expect when I reach my goal. Congrats on the loss!
  • yep, this is what i'm currently going through! eating more to increase my metabolism again, and i've already found i'm so much hungrier all the time (which is kind of annoying, but also really nice as my metabolism had slowed so much that i very very rarely felt hungry on 1300 cals/day). working my way up to 2000. :)
  • shapefitter
    shapefitter Posts: 900 Member
    An adult male needs 2200 kcal and more. This is because, the male metabolism is higher then females. It is also a known fact that males, are stronger, and need the energy for musclemass.
    Which, human rights cause did you hunger strike for?
  • stevepax
    stevepax Posts: 86 Member
    yep, this is what i'm currently going through! eating more to increase my metabolism again, and i've already found i'm so much hungrier all the time (which is kind of annoying, but also really nice as my metabolism had slowed so much that i very very rarely felt hungry on 1300 cals/day). working my way up to 2000. :)

    Yes, this is exactly where I was. Not hungry when I knew I should be starving. But now, the hunger is back, for sure.
  • An adult male needs 2200 kcal and more. This is because, the male metabolism is higher then females. It is also a known fact that males, are stronger, and need the energy for musclemass.
    Which, human rights cause did you hunger strike for?

    I'm so sick of people like you acting like men are so **** superior.

    Why don't you just be quite?
  • eazy_
    eazy_ Posts: 516 Member
    food for thought
  • BrendaLee
    BrendaLee Posts: 4,463 Member
    An adult male needs 2200 kcal and more. This is because, the male metabolism is higher then females. It is also a known fact that males, are stronger, and need the energy for musclemass.
    Which, human rights cause did you hunger strike for?

    I'm so sick of people like you acting like men are so **** superior.

    Why don't you just be quite?

    Pretty sure that's not what *she* was saying.
  • kita_254
    kita_254 Posts: 34 Member
    Same for me. I eat around 2,000 cal a day, although today I ate 2,200 cal. Since going into maintenance and eating more I've lost an additional 2.5 pounds. I'm just gonna keep eating, cause its fun!
  • Rayman79
    Rayman79 Posts: 2,009 Member
    An adult male needs 2200 kcal and more. This is because, the male metabolism is higher then females. It is also a known fact that males, are stronger, and need the energy for musclemass.
    Which, human rights cause did you hunger strike for?

    I'm so sick of people like you acting like men are so **** superior.

    Why don't you just be quite?

    quite what?
  • sklebar
    sklebar Posts: 117 Member
    Thanks, I did the same thing. I think my metabolism came back with a bang, because even though I reached my goal weight, I kept losing, despite slowly building up my calories. So made a bit of a bigger jump in calories to 1,920 for a 5 ft. 10 in., 36yo female. Here's hoping I stabilise soon, though a bit nervous.
  • stackhead
    stackhead Posts: 121 Member
    An adult male needs 2200 kcal and more. This is because, the male metabolism is higher then females. It is also a known fact that males, are stronger, and need the energy for musclemass.
    Which, human rights cause did you hunger strike for?

    I'm so sick of people like you acting like men are so **** superior.

    Why don't you just be quite?

    How is it being superior when stating a fact? Men have more muscle than women hence higher calorie needs.

    P.s. I'll be quiet now.
  • All4Norma
    All4Norma Posts: 25 Member
    Did you gain before losing? I am now in maintenance mode and trying to figure out my new calorie goal. When I was losing I was eating about 1600 calories (eating exercise calories back). I've been slowly upping calories 100 per week to see what will work but with just an 100 calorie increase this week I gained 1.2 pounds. This may just be due to normal flunctuation in weight but it's freaking me out. I know a 100 calorie increase for matainance isn't right but why would I gain so much in just one week with that increase. I'm not sure what to do? Should I still increase and hope for the best...it's so scary..don't wanna gain any weight back!!! Thanks for any input!
  • happycauseIride
    happycauseIride Posts: 536 Member
    I'm doing this too. I was eating 1300-1400 and have recently upped to 1750. I'm down 4 lbs last month eating more. It's hard to change my mindset, but it's working so I don't mind at all.
  • themommie
    themommie Posts: 4,988 Member
    Bump
  • SASSYGIRLY30
    SASSYGIRLY30 Posts: 49 Member
    bump
  • thesophierose
    thesophierose Posts: 754 Member
    Great job on the weight loss and metabolic reset!! :)
  • mumblemagic
    mumblemagic Posts: 1,090 Member
    Does anyone know how to delete posts......
  • mumblemagic
    mumblemagic Posts: 1,090 Member
    An adult male needs 2200 kcal and more. This is because, the male metabolism is higher then females. It is also a known fact that males, are stronger, and need the energy for musclemass.
    Which, human rights cause did you hunger strike for?

    I'm so sick of people like you acting like men are so **** superior.

    Why don't you just be quite?

    Sweety, I know men can be douches at times, but this is actually scientifically correct. Testosterone promotes muscle growth, which makes men musclier. It also boosts metabolism. This is why sports are divided into men and women, because an extrodinarily fit woman can be outmatched by a mediocre man, meaning that if women and men competed in the same class they would not have a fair shot. This is not sexism, it's science
  • FourIsCompany
    FourIsCompany Posts: 269 Member
    Congratulations, Steve! I'm doing the same thing. It's amazing how the body responds when we treat it right. Good luck!