Getting metabolism back to baseline

msarro

Ever since I was about 7 years old I have been overweight. In fact, I can still remember the very first time the other kids called me fat. Its weird how memories like that get etched into your mind, isn't it? Anyways, in response I stopped eating breakfast. After all, the common thought was, "eat less and lose weight." Well, by middle school, I had ballooned up to being one of the biggest kids in my school. I started skipping lunch as well, because obviously I was still eating too much food, right? The whole time I'd come home and have big family style dinners my mom would make. High school came around and i finally started seeing some improvements when I joined the track team as a shotputter at the request of the coach - it seemed that luckily, I was strong as an ox and had set some weight lifting records for my high school (1,000 lbs with leg press!) The constant lifting every day, combined with the forced daily mile runs had an impact on my weight. However, that only lasted through the track season.

After that, I ballooned right back up. College was a time of basically always being broke and never having access to food outside of ramen, which after the 1,000,000th pack makes you sick to even look at. I peaked at 325 pounds in december, 2006. Over the past year I've dropped down to 255 pounds by cycling everywhere thanks to a lack of a car, and pure starvation (I literally would have to go 203 days at a time without food). On top of that, I picked up some addictions I'm really not proud of which led to binging on top of alcohol consumption at college parties.

Finally I've graduated, I'm in a stable enough situation that food isn't so scarce any more. I've cleaned myself up, and have rid myself of my addictions. I'm eating a guaranteed 3 meals a day, plus snacks in between. I'm following MFP, and its a week in. I'm drinking water until it squirts out my ears. I weighed in monday morning, overjoyed to see myself 4 pounds lighter than I was the monday before. However, this variance isn't uncommon for me - I've seen my weight fluctuate more than 10 pounds a day. So, why the long story?

After all of this, I'm terrified that I've destroyed my metabolism. Or at least crippled it beyond repair. How long would it take to get a metabolism working correctly again after almost 18 years of mistreatment? I know it can take a few weeks for the body to correct itself, but it feels like eating more is so wrong somehow. Its been burnt into my mind that more is bad.

I am not giving up this time, I will do whatever it takes. I've seen how everyone else in my family is suffering from their weight, and I want to be an inspiration for them. Plus, I want to like seeing myself naked in the mirror.

Anyways, I suppose this is more rhetorical than anything, I'm just hoping to see how long its taken you all to get your metabolisms back in order - specifically those of you who have never been thin in your entire life.

msarro

Ever since I was about 7 years old I have been overweight. In fact, I can still remember the very first time the other kids called me fat. Its weird how memories like that get etched into your mind, isn't it? Anyways, in response I stopped eating breakfast. After all, the common thought was, "eat less and lose weight." Well, by middle school, I had ballooned up to being one of the biggest kids in my school. I started skipping lunch as well, because obviously I was still eating too much food, right? The whole time I'd come home and have big family style dinners my mom would make. High school came around and i finally started seeing some improvements when I joined the track team as a shotputter at the request of the coach - it seemed that luckily, I was strong as an ox and had set some weight lifting records for my high school (1,000 lbs with leg press!) The constant lifting every day, combined with the forced daily mile runs had an impact on my weight. However, that only lasted through the track season.

After that, I ballooned right back up. College was a time of basically always being broke and never having access to food outside of ramen, which after the 1,000,000th pack makes you sick to even look at. I peaked at 325 pounds in december, 2006. Over the past year I've dropped down to 255 pounds by cycling everywhere thanks to a lack of a car, and pure starvation (I literally would have to go 203 days at a time without food). On top of that, I picked up some addictions I'm really not proud of which led to binging on top of alcohol consumption at college parties.

Finally I've graduated, I'm in a stable enough situation that food isn't so scarce any more. I've cleaned myself up, and have rid myself of my addictions. I'm eating a guaranteed 3 meals a day, plus snacks in between. I'm following MFP, and its a week in. I'm drinking water until it squirts out my ears. I weighed in monday morning, overjoyed to see myself 4 pounds lighter than I was the monday before. However, this variance isn't uncommon for me - I've seen my weight fluctuate more than 10 pounds a day. So, why the long story?

After all of this, I'm terrified that I've destroyed my metabolism. Or at least crippled it beyond repair. How long would it take to get a metabolism working correctly again after almost 18 years of mistreatment? I know it can take a few weeks for the body to correct itself, but it feels like eating more is so wrong somehow. Its been burnt into my mind that more is bad.

I am not giving up this time, I will do whatever it takes. I've seen how everyone else in my family is suffering from their weight, and I want to be an inspiration for them. Plus, I want to like seeing myself naked in the mirror.

Anyways, I suppose this is more rhetorical than anything, I'm just hoping to see how long its taken you all to get your metabolisms back in order - specifically those of you who have never been thin in your entire life.

REB89

Well I have had issues with my weight probably since around 7th grade have not always done things the healthy way and although I did lose a lot of weight fast it completely screwed up my body. I'm now doing things the right way and luckily everything seems to be going ok so far. It will probably take a while to adjust but our bodies are pretty resiliant to what we throw at them and will cope with a lot so your metabolism is probably not as bad as you think. You just have to train yourdelf to the healthy lifestyle and I?m sure the weight loss will continue. Good luck!

banks1850

you'll be happy to know msarro, that it's pretty difficult to destroy your metabolic process. The metabolism isn't one big thing, its a REAL lot of very small moving parts, and as such, you can't just kill it like your heart or brain. I always think of it like a yard of grass. You can stop watering it for a while and it will turn brown, you can run on it, you can let your dogs on it, It may look in pretty bad shape, but give it a little time, feed it right, and water it right, and it will be as green as ever. It might take a bit of time but it will come back for you (assuming you haven't done other damage, but your doctor would tell you that part). As to how long it will take, that will depend on your individual body chemistry. For some, it takes as little as 2 or 3 weeks to restore your metabolism, for others it can be months. But know this: every day you do the right thing is a day closer to being healthy! You WILL get there, be confident in that. The body is like an expert craftsman, with the right tools and materials, it WILL get you to where you want to be.

Best luck to you!

-Banks

msarro

Thanks guys I'm just gonna keep pounding away at this like I have been. It doesn't really feel like a diet at this point because I'm eating more than ever, I feel great, and honestly I don't really miss the 'bad foods' that much. Plus it helps that all of my friends have been really supportive.

I appreciate it a lot, thanks again.

littlespoon

I thought this about my own metabolism, and then I had a chance to have a free metabolism check (they usually cost AU$150.)
It was done properly by an exercise physiologist, and I was very surprised to know that my RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate) was slightly higher than normal.
I would really recommend getting it done if you're worried about it, because it will put your mind at rest if its fine, and if its not, then your doctor or nutritionist can help you get back on track.

(In case you were wondering - the reason they test RMR is because it is actually impossible to test BMR (unless you're in a coma).)

LightenUp_Caro

ah, its so nice to hear that the damage we do to our metabolisms isn't permanent. I've done some major work on mine and I'm taking the time to get it back to normal so hopefully it will bounce back.

I wish you the absolute best of luck.

Lisabeth

I'm sorry, but you are tooooooo funny. I know this is serious to you, but reading your posted cracked me up laughing.................however, at the same time my heart went out to you. You CAN do it. Everyone is right about the metabolism. Cheers to you for having great faith in yourself!

College was a time of basically always being broke and never having access to food outside of ramen, which after the 1,000,000th pack makes you sick to even look at.

Over the past year I've dropped down to 255 pounds by cycling everywhere thanks to a lack of a car, and pure starvation

I'm drinking water until it squirts out my ears.

GravyGurl

If anyone would have ruined their metabolism, I would be one of those people. But, I'm glad to say that once I start back on the right track with things... which has been many numberous times in my life.... it always bounces back and returns happily like a long lost puppy :laugh:


There have been many times in my life where I lived on Ramen noodles also, didn't eat, one time I spent a year of taking nothing in but Slimfast, Metabolife pills, protein bars, mtn dew and alcohol, and when I finally found my brain again and got my act together within a couple weeks I was up and purring along like I should have been.

It's a hard struggle and sometimes we don't see results like we want to. We just have to remember that there are many times in our life where we will have to be happy with those babysteps that we take.

:flowerforyou:

jpwarner

I am trying to use my heart rate as well as eating my excersise calories to get my metabolism back in gear.

It is important to realize that the body has two different fuels it converts to energy: carbohydrates and fats. The body burns these fuels in different proportions depending on your fitness and the intensity of your workout. Your body stores fewer carbohydrates than fat, yet it accesses the carbohydrates more easily. So the goal is to make your body more efficient at burning the stored fat while sparing the carbohydrates. Working out at higher heart rates will burn more carbohydrate calories in the short term, but it is working out in the lower zones that trains your body to become efficient at fat burning. In turn, this improves your endurance and aerobic fitness, eventually leading to a faster metabolic rate during exercise. This means that over time, you can burn as many calories at a low intensity as you were previously burning at a high intensity. With proper training this can happen in as little as three to six months.

Therefore, the best intensity for weight loss is one that seems 'fairly light' to 'somewhat hard'. Often people who cannot lose weight, or who even gain weight despite high intensity exercise and restrictive dieting, find success through a combination of slowing down their exercise, and improving the quality of their diet. This approach is not only more effective, but it's more fun and easier to stick to long-term!

-- Emily Cooper, M.D.