About metabolism

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  • fightdem
    fightdem Posts: 38
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    Thanks everyone for the info. I guess i have to stick with my good ol metabolism lol.
  • hollystensrud
    hollystensrud Posts: 10
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    I'm one of those people that seems to eat non stop and stay a reasonable size. I've had friends say to me they don't know how I don't gain a ton of weight. My secret? I never stop moving. Its no magic diet or metabolism, i have a very active job and then stay on my feet for hours after work.

    In reality i actually did gain weight, it was just so slowly it wasn't obvious for a long time. Now I'm here counting calories like everyone else before i have a serious problem on my hands. No one can just eat endless calories and hope their metabolism will take care of it. :/ i wish i really miss binge eating!
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
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    Hey everyone, about this metabolism can you increase it to the point of "eat a lot, stay skinny"? I've been doing strength training to increase my muscle mass, and more muscle will increase my metabolism. But, is it possible to increase it further so i can eat a lot without have to worry about getting fat? Honestly, it's my dream to eat a lot and stay skinny (sorry). My friend who eat mainly junk food and stay skinny must have an awesome metabolism, and i really want that kind metabolism. So, Is there any other thing i can to increase metabolism beside gaining muscle? Thanks before !

    I know people like that, some are like other have said: eat a lot and move even more; others, simply have some sort of healthy problem. I don't want to sound like green eyed jealous b****, but it's true in their case. My husband, thin and tall in his whole life, can eat a large pizza at one sitting but then I also notice that there are days he only eats an apple and a bowl of oatmeal...it all balances off at the end. Me on the contrary, can't say no to food. I eat pretty healthy stuff, but a lot. My portion is huge, 15 oz brocolli, 10 oz turkey breast... so it makes sense I am not thin...
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
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    Hey everyone, about this metabolism can you increase it to the point of "eat a lot, stay skinny"? I've been doing strength training to increase my muscle mass, and more muscle will increase my metabolism. But, is it possible to increase it further so i can eat a lot without have to worry about getting fat? Honestly, it's my dream to eat a lot and stay skinny (sorry). My friend who eat mainly junk food and stay skinny must have an awesome metabolism, and i really want that kind metabolism. So, Is there any other thing i can to increase metabolism beside gaining muscle? Thanks before !

    Your skinny friend is probably eating less than you think.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
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    Your metabolism can change, if you eat less fat. If you eat a whole foods, plant based diet, low in fat, and heavy in carbohydrates, you can eat more calories overall.

    I think what you mean to say is that you can get more bulk/food for your calories since fruits and vegetables are generally low. That doesn't mean you can have MORE calories, though. :-)
    Nope. I said what i meant, and meant what i said.

    Get off my lawn. Seriously.
  • jaz050465
    jaz050465 Posts: 3,508 Member
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    Your metabolism can change, if you eat less fat. If you eat a whole foods, plant based diet, low in fat, and heavy in carbohydrates, you can eat more calories overall.

    What!!!??? Where did you get this information from?
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
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    Your metabolism can change, if you eat less fat. If you eat a whole foods, plant based diet, low in fat, and heavy in carbohydrates, you can eat more calories overall.

    What!!!??? Where did you get this information from?

    Sorry not mean to hijack the thread but it's so funny to read your reply while looking at your avatar picture...
  • bonjalandoni
    bonjalandoni Posts: 136 Member
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    Negative calories? hmmm so far as I know there is no such thing. Except very cold water which your body needs to "heat up" in order to process.
  • SymphonynSonata
    SymphonynSonata Posts: 533 Member
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    Negative calories? hmmm so far as I know there is no such thing. Except very cold water which your body needs to "heat up" in order to process.

    Apparently celery is one! But idk.
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
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    The difference from muscle is pretty small - something like 6 calories per pound of muscle.
    So, if you put on 50lb of muscle (a lot!), you could eat an extra twin-finger twix a day. Woo.

    Doing weights seems to help me - with weights but before other exercise I maintain at around 3000 calories a day - maybe a bit more. At the moment I'm losing 2lb/week or so on an average of 2000 calories a day or more BEFORE I add in extra cardio, which I always eat back.

    After that; be more active.

    It's been noted that when overfeeding, some people become more fidgity and so on naturally - their body burning off the energy.
    Me, I make a point of not having nice stuff lying around and cycling to the shops (went to the ones 5 miles away today) - so I have to burn calories to get nice stuff. Also cycle to work (only 3 miles a day, but all helps)

    Also, I've had plenty of friends that claim "Oh, but I eat LOADS" - and certainly they might get near to matching me for one meal. But then they probably will hardly eat the day after and may have hardly eaten the day before, while I'll have had the entire Dominoes large Pizza with sides in addition to normal food in the day and a large breakfast the next morning.
  • Efflictim
    Efflictim Posts: 147 Member
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    Your metabolism can change, if you eat less fat. If you eat a whole foods, plant based diet, low in fat, and heavy in carbohydrates, you can eat more calories overall.

    No.......
  • wheird
    wheird Posts: 7,963 Member
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    Your metabolism can change, if you eat less fat. If you eat a whole foods, plant based diet, low in fat, and heavy in carbohydrates, you can eat more calories overall.

    This is about the dumbest thing I've read in awhile.

    Do you even understand the role of fat in the body?
  • Penfoldsplace
    Penfoldsplace Posts: 159
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    I don't know much about metabolism but I know most of my slim friends who everyone thinks can eat what they want are either the type of people who are always on the go and never seem to sit down, or they eat big meals/snacks one day and tend to have less other days. I guess they could have faster metabolisms than me, but my guess is that I put on weight because I wasn't active enough, and when I did over indulge I didn't compensate on other meals/days.
  • Amandawith3kids
    Amandawith3kids Posts: 367 Member
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    my hubby can eat upwards of 2000 calories in one meal, i know because i plated it for him. he's 6'2", and 170 pounds of muscle. size 32" pants, same as he was in high school, and he's 43! he just never stops moving. he walks about 5 miles a day at work, plus the heavy lifting (he works in a grocery store)

    i keep warning him he's going to have to cut WAY back on the eating when he retires. LOL
  • veredit
    veredit Posts: 29 Member
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    Build muscle and stay active.

    Even then your metabolism is only going to increase slightly.

    This. Your metabolism is increasing slowly, but since then you'll be used to smaller portions, and yes, you will eat very often. I lost some weight myself, I reached my goal and now I have to eat every 2-3 hours max, but my calorie intake stays somewhere around 1250 net.
  • brookemart81
    brookemart81 Posts: 62 Member
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    For most of my life I was one of those people. Naturally skinny, didn't work out or do much physical activity, ate whatever I wanted, never seemed to gain weight. I never set foot inside a gym until a couple years ago. I never counted calories (or paid them the slightest attention) before last week.

    As I result I developed some really bad habits. I'm very food motivated and have very little self control when it comes to food. I get a lot of cravings and I'm quick to indulge them. I eat when I'm bored and I eat to comfort myself when I'm stressed or unhappy. I love carbs. Carbs forever! I love cheese. I love sweets. I eat portions that are too large and I don't stop when I'm full. Indian buffet! Cream sauces! Marathon cookie baking/eating! I'm too busy to cook- let's get pizza AGAIN! It's warm out today- let's go get ice cream!

    Now that I'm in my 30s I've discovered I actually DO gain weight, just very slowly. I'm not overweight by any measurements, but in the last few years my weight has been creeping up to where I'm not happy with it, my body doesn't look great and my clothes haven't been fitting well. And more importantly I am not in good shape. I get winded easily. When my husband and I go on hikes I can't keep up. I have been wanting to do more physical activity and having a really hard time with it- I feel weak and out of shape and I don't like it.

    So here I am, trying to get healthy and develop better eating habits and be more active, just like everyone else. I don't think there's any "free lunch" so to speak. No one is truly having it all. Maybe there are people out there who have a naturally high metabolism that stays that way for their whole lives (I doubt it) but just because those people are thin doesn't mean they're healthy. I have no idea whether someone can change their metabolism, but I think what you are wanting to achieve may be something that doesn't actually exist.
  • loubidy
    loubidy Posts: 440 Member
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    Your metabolism can change, if you eat less fat. If you eat a whole foods, plant based diet, low in fat, and heavy in carbohydrates, you can eat more calories overall.

    I think what you mean to say is that you can get more bulk/food for your calories since fruits and vegetables are generally low. That doesn't mean you can have MORE calories, though. :-)
    Nope. I said what i meant, and meant what i said.

    So if I go raw I can eat 2,000 calories and lose weight instead of 1,500 calories? In other words, I can eat 20 bananas a day and lose weight with no extra exertion and not gain a single ounce? Are you sure? Are you positive? I can eat some banana/date/strawberry smoothies on top of my other 1,400 calories and not gain because the choice allows me more calories? I don't remember reading this in any books or watching it in any documentaries and I was a high raw vegan for many, many years!

    yes, a plant based diet contains a set number of negative calorie foods; hence, it is superior to all other diets…

    Wow this is stupid.
  • Firehawk734
    Firehawk734 Posts: 132 Member
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    I think the guy saying to eat plant based is confused. It might appear that you are eating alot more, because the quantity of lettuce you'd need to eat to reach 2000 calories, you'll never eat. It's like 35 heads of lettuce a day you'd have to eat. Good luck with that.

    My stepkid is a scrawny kid, 5'11 and 120lbs. He's a skeleton. He eats junk all the time. BUT, if you follow him around all day, he doesn't eat alot. I think that's a misconception with people that see skinny people eating alot. Unless they follow them around all the time, the appearance is that they are eating whatever they want and eating alot, when they don't. He'll eat ice cream at night, frozen pizza, pizza rolls, burgers, etc. But when you do the calorie intake, it doesn't go over 2500-3000. He's 16, so fairly active (but not really for a typical 16 yr old), doesn't play sports, brainy kid. But some days he probably eats like 1500 calories, and others he eats 3000. He doesn't have the ability to put down 5-8000 calories a day.

    I on the other hand, am always hungry, and I have stopped counting at 15000 calories on a cheat day. It's not that hard with the right types of food lol. Candy, ice cream, jets pizza, brownies, all that stuff adds up VERY fast.

    To the original poster, I don't know that you can increase metabolism that much without adding quality muscle. There is a phenomenon that if you try to raise calories over time, very slowly, like add 100 calories to your daily intake per week, that you can raise your metabolism. I don't see why this wouldn't work considering when you cut, the opposite happens. You have to continue dropping calories to continue fat loss, until you get to a plateau, and then it's good to go back to maintenance for a week or two to reset that metabolism, cut it a break.

    This is just my opinion. I know that resetting metabolism as far as after a long cut, adding calories to maintenance or even a small surplus for a couple weeks will bring back up the metabolism, but I'm not sure yet about raising it indefinitely. I will find out though. And when I say resetting your metabolism in this fashion, I mean from a depressed level from cutting, back to a normalized rate. Not an increased over normal rate. I think for the increased rate you have to add muscle. It just makes sense to me.

    I'm about 5% points away from being 10% bf and then I plan to do this very thing. Add calories back in slow, but I will continue to try to build muscle mass. I think those go hand in hand (add mass for increased metabolism in the long run).

    I don't see much increase in metabolism if you plan to stay skinny, not from your normal metabolic levels.

    Just my opinion.

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