Trying to repair a damaged matabolism

jcairl

Hey all! Not sure if this is where I should post this question. But I'll give it a try.

So, my stats are 5"5, 27 yo F, 175lb

I'll try to make the history brief. Back in 2007, I got married to my (amazing) husband. I put on 30lbs that first yr of marriage...weighing in at 205 in 2008. I tried losing weight by calorie restricting. Not extreme by any means, probably 1400/day. So I was losing weight, then I would hit a plateau...so I would lower my calories and up my cardio. I would lose some more and hit another plateau...then you guessed it! Lowered my calories, yata yata. I didn't know I was damaging my metabolism, I was just doing what was working. In about two yrs, I lost 55lbs. I was only eating 900 calories. I didn't feel restricted or deprived....it was a great lunch if It was around 200 calories! I was just that misinformed is all.

So, I got pregnant in 2011 ...and I believe that because I relaxed and ate for the well being of my daughter growing inside, that my body took the opportunity to hoard everything I gave it. I never over ate or over indulged....but I gained 40lbs. And only lost 20 of it. So, then I breast fed my daughter for 11 months and I could not lose a thing! The scale would just not budge no matter how hard I pleaded with it! (Not knowing it then, but I STILL wasn't giving my body enough so it was still technically in starvation mode) So, I took the opportunity to enjoy eating whatever I wanted....if I wasn't going to gain weight while breast feeding, why not? And I didn't gain anything, maintained my weight of 175lbs...20lbs of baby weight that I couldn't shake.

Skip forward to 20 months after having my beautiful daughter, and I've decided and accepted that I've damaged my metabolism by putting my body in starvation mode for about 4 years. I've taken the steps to repair it. I'm currently eating 2000 calories a day, (whole grains, fruit, veggies, no soda or sweets) exercising 4-5x/wk. (adding 3 days of strength training) and doing it consistently! Which was always a struggle for me in the past when I attempted it. Today, I am 5 1/2 wks into my repair...my main focus going into it was knowing that I'm trying to repair my metabolism, not to lose weight, for at least 6-8 weeks. I even know that by repairing my metabolism, I will gain some...I expected that. I actually have gained 5lbs, putting me at 180lbs. I'm not freaking out like I normally would because I know it's necessary gain. Although I'm not losing anything, I do feel better. I feel I'm starting to look more toned and thinner, even though the scale doesn't agree.

So, I guess my question is: 1) Am I going about repairing my damaged metabolism correctly? Did I give myself a reasonable time frame, or should I expect it to take longer? 2) Gaining weight is normal when repairing, but it will come off...right? When my body trusts me again doesn't think it needs to hoard it? And finally, 3) How will I know that my metabolism is repaired and I can start trying to lose weight, and how do I do that from where I am.

Thanks everyone! If you need any additional information, let me know. (Although I'm sure I wrote plenty lol)

Jessica

scoutfinchie

It sounds like you have a good plan. Have you joined the "eat more 2 weigh less" forum and posted your question there? The people on that site are really helpful!

Showcase_Brodown

If by damaged metabolism you mean loss of muscle mass, then yes, weight training and eating slightly over maintenance for a while is a good plan. This will allow you to build some muscle back. Your metabolic rate is very closely connected to how much lean mass you have.

Theoretically, your metabolism could have slowed a small amount with adaptive thermogenesis. That is when your calories out has gone down below what you would expect or predict for the weight you've lost. This is a survival mechanism that sets in to use a little bit less energy when you aren't getting any/many calories. I don't know how long it takes to get that back to normal, but eating maintenance calories for some time would probably be the strategy.

I would encourage you to keep watching measurements other than just your scale to track your progress. You mentioned that you look thinner even though your scale doesn't agree.

If and when you decide to lose weight again, try to aim for a small calorie deficit (no more than 20%) and make sure to get plenty of protein and strength train to keep most of your muscle mass.

SideSteel

I'm not clear on how or why you are concluding that your metabolism is damaged.

wheird

Your metabolism is likely fine.

PikaKnight

I'm not clear on how or why you are concluding that your metabolism is damaged.

^This

Live4theLift

Im not sure how your metabolism is damaged. Your body is an amazing thing and it can adapt to various situations and chances are your fine.

KBP1025

Just an idea, but have you had your thyroid checked? When I had my daughter, I also breast fed. The weight wouldn't budge. I went to my doctor to complain, he did a simple test, and it turned out I had a thyroid issue. Never had one before. My doctor said it's fairly common for women to have issues after a pregnancy and breast feeding - it's a great time for the hormones to get out of wack. I choose not to go on thyroid medication and instead waited it out. Took about 2 years but my thyroid finally sorted itself out. Might want to look into it if you noticed that you started having problems after the pregnancy/breast feeding. Those nasty little hormones can play havoc on us!

Mr_Knight

I see nothing in the OP suggesting a "damaged metabolism".

AnabolicKyle

google

"layne Norton damaged metabolism"

Sarauk2sf

Based on what you have stated, it is very unlikely that your metabolism is damaged due to eating habits.

MyChocolateDiet

Thank you everyone for replying to her, (as a lurker of this thread). It's great to see so many respected members agreeing on this point that really drives the point home. I was just lurking in trying to see if I'd get a better understanding of damaged metabolism and thanks to her well laid out OP and everyone's concise answers I feel I have a clear read on this particular situation.

chrisdavey

WHen you were eating 900/day and not losing that is when you had adaptive thermogenesis aka starvation mode.

Now, if you are eating (an accurate) 2000/day and gaining weight from 175 to 180 (possible initial water weight) then that is a bw multiplier of around 11-12. For a regular exercising person, that is quite low. (normally around 14-16 and possibly more depending on type of exercise and NEAT)

I'd keep eating around 2000 and see if you weight starts to level out. If you continue gaining at 2000 then I'd say you still have quite a slow metabolism. In that case, I'd aim for slow weight gain until you are getting close to that 14x bw multiplier.

jennegan1

Thank you everyone for replying to her, (as a lurker of this thread). It's great to see so many respected members agreeing on this point that really drives the point home. I was just lurking in trying to see if I'd get a better understanding of damaged metabolism and thanks to her well laid out OP and everyone's concise answers I feel I have a clear read on this particular situation.

haha lurking as well, would like to know what a damaged metabolism is and would like to see what others would say

To the OP hope all goes well as Ive also gained alot since having my youngest. But im in my 30s now they do say the metabolism slows down

Mr_Knight

When you were eating 900/day and not losing that is when you had adaptive thermogenesis aka starvation mode.

There was never a time a 5'5" 175 pound human stalled on a 900 calorie diet. Not physically possible.

Which means there was more than 900 calories being consumed.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

bump to read later

haroon_awan

I think the advice you've been given by almost everyone has been poor, especially compared to the usual standards, with the exception of a few members who actually answered most or all of your questions. The first thing, as chrisdavey said, is that your caloric intake is still quite low for someone of your weight and height if we are using Lyle McDonald's guidelines for maintenance caloric intake:
"In general, women or those with a ‘slower’ metabolic rate should use the lower value (14 cal/lb) and men or those with a ‘faster’ metabolic rate should use the higher value (16 cal/lb) as a STARTING POINT ESTIMATION for maintenance calories."
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/how-to-estimate-maintenance-caloric-intake.html

Again, like chris has said "I'd keep eating around 2000 and see if you weight starts to level out. If you continue gaining at 2000 then I'd say you still have quite a slow metabolism. In that case, I'd aim for slow weight gain until you are getting close to that 14x bw multiplier. "

But to answer your other questions:

So, I guess my question is: 1) Am I going about repairing my damaged metabolism correctly? Did I give myself a reasonable time frame, or should I expect it to take longer? 2) Gaining weight is normal when repairing, but it will come off...right? When my body trusts me again doesn't think it needs to hoard it? And finally, 3) How will I know that my metabolism is repaired and I can start trying to lose weight, and how do I do that from where I am.

1) Relatively correct so far. Your diary is private but in terms of macronutrients (carbs, fat and protein) use a custom goal of:
0.8g protein/lb of lean body mass
0.4g fat/lb of bodyweight or 15-30% of your diet
the rest with carbs
and please watch this guideline video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAvW6xBZjSk

6-8 weeks? I'm not sure about this to be honest. I would not put a time frame on your health. I would stick with 2000 calories for now until your weight starts to level of with a few fluctuations and then start dieting with a 10-20% deficit. This could take several months, yes.

2) Yes, weight that is gained can be lost, regardless of what you have in the past, through diet and exercise (although some wacko doctors are claiming that exercise does not cause weight loss, eg Robert Lustig and his cronies at UCSF notwithstanding that it's a great medical school that I would be happy to go to what but hey whatever).

3) Been answered: continue what you are doing and see 1). Don't do any fad diets you read in the magazines, by celebrities and bodybuilders. Continue with your cardio and ensure you are weight training and using correct form in each exercise. Follow a beginner strength training program (I would suggest buying a book like Starting Strength or The New Rules of Lifting For Women from Amazon). Just a normal diet for now and don't stress it.

Matt_1972

If you believe that a lack of knowledge caused this problem, which may or may not actually exist, then why would you turn to an open forum on the internet in order to seek guidance?

red_road

thanks haroon for clearing that up, your knowledge is insightful, i had never heard of the 16cal/lb thing before and i was curious as to what my maintenance was

musetle

I'm not clear on how or why you are concluding that your metabolism is damaged.

agreed...

ninerbuff

I'm not clear on how or why you are concluding that your metabolism is damaged.

This. One just needs to find out the right program to effeciently lose weight in a sensible manner. Any calorie restriction will slow metabolic rate down, but increasing calories also helps to increase metabolic rate. That's why as one loses weight, then need to eat less to meet calorie goals.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

tmauck4472

When you were eating 900/day and not losing that is when you had adaptive thermogenesis aka starvation mode.

There was never a time a 5'5" 175 pound human stalled on a 900 calorie diet. Not physically possible.

Which means there was more than 900 calories being consumed.

I wouldn't say that...I ate 800 calories for almost two years and for about the last 5 months of eating 800 to 900 a day I could not lose a lb to save my life.

Sarauk2sf

OP: do you use a food scale to weigh your food?

SideSteel

OP: do you use a food scale to weigh your food?

^^ things like this and other means of increasing tracking accuracy should really be assessed before making any comparisons to "expected" results.

jcairl

I believe that my metabolism slowed or has been damaged because of the way I lost weight for two years. I read up on the idea of metabolic damage, and it sounded very similar to what I was doing, lowering my calories until I was only eating 900. After receiving the okay to start exercising after having my daughter, I've been trying to lose weight off and on the last 20 months. But nothing I did would work. (I thought by eating 1400-1600 would do the trick, but it wasn't enough) I found out that after lowering your calories like that, your body will naturally lower it's maintenance calories to survive, so when I start eating what my maintenance calories SHOULD be, I will gain weight until my body reaches that level again.

jcairl

I haven't had it checked yet, but my husband and I were just discussing the idea of maybe getting it checked out at my next physical.

jcairl

Thank you very much Chris

jcairl

I'm sorry if I wasn't clear, Mr. knight. I wasn't 175 pounds when I was eating 900 calories. I had already lost 55lbs, and had lowered my calories to 900 when I hit a plateau when I was about 150lbs.

jcairl

If you believe that a lack of knowledge caused this problem, which may or may not actually exist, then why would you turn to an open forum on the internet in order to seek guidance?

Isn't that what an open forum is for??

jcairl

OP: do you use a food scale to weigh your food?

I don't weight my food with a scale, but I so always measure out my food and stick to serving sizes.

Sarauk2sf

I'm sorry if I wasn't clear, Mr. knight. I wasn't 175 pounds when I was eating 900 calories. I had already lost 55lbs, and had lowered my calories to 900 when I hit a plateau when I was about 150lbs.

What did you lower it from and how mich weight and over what period did you lose on 900 calories when you reduced intake?