How long it takes your body to DROP METABOLISM

ninja_in_pyjamas

Hello I'm going to be starting a 1000 calorie deficit diet for a few months starting on Monday, where all my calories are from highly nutritious foods so no empty calories.

I was just wondering how long it takes the body to lower metabolism and burn fat more slowly and if there are ways to TRICK the body into keeping a high metabolism.

E.g. has anyone tried water fasting once a week, and eating back the calories the next day (whilst still being on a 1000 calorie/day deficit by the end of the week).

So basically if I normally eat 1200 calories (maintenance is 2200 with added exercise). I water fast one day and the next, assuming I have the same maintenance level, I eat back the calories from the previous day whilst having a 1000 calorie deficit.

Does that make sense?
Does it work? Because if I have the same number of calories every day , won't the body get used to it??

so when I start eating at maintenance levels I will gain all the weight back

thanks so much!!!

oarngesi

Your body wont slow your motabolism enough to fill a 1000 calorie defecit. Just recaculate for your current weight every 10 pounds and youll keep losing.

ninja_in_pyjamas

Your body wont slow your motabolism enough to fill a 1000 calorie defecit. Just recaculate for your current weight every 10 pounds and youll keep losing.

Hi there thanks for your comment, but i don't quite get what you're saying
can you elaborate?

365andstillalive

I think a better question is...
How long can you under eat before your body starts consuming muscle rather than fat? Oh, and your heart, it's a muscle. And completely fair game.


You do not need a 1000 calorie deficit to lose weight.
Even if you're extremely over weight you shouldn't be eating considerably below your BMR.
Losing too quickly will negatively effect your body composition, meaning you lose muscle and fat, rather than having a higher ratio of fat to muscle loss, meaning that you'll still look "fat" even when you hit your goal.
It will slow your metabolism slightly, and crash dieting (which is what you're doing) means that you'll be able to eat significantly less during maintenance so you'll put the weight back on faster after you stop because you won't have developed a healthy relationship with food.
Crash dieting also increases your chances of developing an eating disorder, and frankly, wanting to only eat 1000 calories a day at all, let alone for an extended period of time, is a sign of disordered eating.

ninerbuff

Metabolism automatically slows when body senses a significant deficit. That's why as one gets closer to goal, it seems to take more time to lose that last few pounds. Also, metabolic rate is dependent on your weight. The less one weighs, the lower the metabolism.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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WalkingAlong

I was just wondering how long it takes the body to lower metabolism and burn fat more slowly and if there are ways to TRICK the body into keeping a high metabolism.

E.g. has anyone tried water fasting once a week, and eating back the calories the next day (whilst still being on a 1000 calorie/day deficit by the end of the week).

So basically if I normally eat 1200 calories (maintenance is 2200 with added exercise). I water fast one day and the next, assuming I have the same maintenance level, I eat back the calories from the previous day whilst having a 1000 calorie deficit.

Because if I have the same number of calories every day , won't the body get used to it??

so when I start eating at maintenance levels I will gain all the weight back

You won't gain the weight back as long as you're really eating at maintenance levels. Your maintenance won't just reset to 1200/day if you lost at 1200/day. It will go down if you're smaller but not down to your dieting level. When you resume non-deficit eating, your body stops the metabolic adaptation to deficit eating, studies found.

There is no known time it takes a body to adapt to deficit eating. It probably happens all along, to various degrees. A lot of people think they're tricking it by keeping a shallow deficit. You probably can avoid some metabolic adaptation that way but you better have a lot of patience and a lot of tracking skill.

The idea to fast and then eat normally is practiced a lot. Google 'intermittent fasting', JUDDD or 5:2. Usually people don't do a full water fast on fast days, just 500 calories or so. I'm doing it now after months of 'stable deficit level' dieting, just to try something new.

If you're just starting dieting, I'd recommend you keep it simple for now and see what happens.

Good luck!

cajuntank

Little bit of a read, but I think Lyle covers what you are asking.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/metabolic-rate-overview.html/

VelveteenArabian

All the "water fasting" is going to do to is make you unhappy. What's the point in starving yourself one day then binging on two days worth of food the next day? The body works on averages so there's no point to doing this.

1000 calorie deficits are not sustainable. They're also not necessary. I have a feeling you're looking for a quick weight loss solution and short of liposuction, there isn't one.

zoeysasha37

Why not just set up a more sustainable goal? This is unrealistic to think you'll be able to sustain a 1000 deficit and then water fast. There are no quick fixes

fushigi1988

Just set a good calorie goal for everday.
Do you see yourself doing this for the rest of your life?

Mr_Knight

I was just wondering how long it takes the body to lower metabolism and burn fat more slowly and if there are ways to TRICK the body into keeping a high metabolism.

It won't burn fat "more slowly" until there isn't enough fat to burn.

Good luck!

Azdak

I think a better question is...
How long can you under eat before your body starts consuming muscle rather than fat? Oh, and your heart, it's a muscle. And completely fair game.


You do not need a 1000 calorie deficit to lose weight.
Even if you're extremely over weight you shouldn't be eating considerably below your BMR.
Losing too quickly will negatively effect your body composition, meaning you lose muscle and fat, rather than having a higher ratio of fat to muscle loss, meaning that you'll still look "fat" even when you hit your goal.
It will slow your metabolism slightly, and crash dieting (which is what you're doing) means that you'll be able to eat significantly less during maintenance so you'll put the weight back on faster after you stop because you won't have developed a healthy relationship with food.
Crash dieting also increases your chances of developing an eating disorder, and frankly, wanting to only eat 1000 calories a day at all, let alone for an extended period of time, is a sign of disordered eating.

So are you are saying that the body will consume its own heart if you have too big a deficit?

Cool.

Kevalicious99

Sounds like a recipe for disaster .. I think you should do some more research into something more reasonable / maintainable.

365andstillalive

I think a better question is...
How long can you under eat before your body starts consuming muscle rather than fat? Oh, and your heart, it's a muscle. And completely fair game.


You do not need a 1000 calorie deficit to lose weight.
Even if you're extremely over weight you shouldn't be eating considerably below your BMR.
Losing too quickly will negatively effect your body composition, meaning you lose muscle and fat, rather than having a higher ratio of fat to muscle loss, meaning that you'll still look "fat" even when you hit your goal.
It will slow your metabolism slightly, and crash dieting (which is what you're doing) means that you'll be able to eat significantly less during maintenance so you'll put the weight back on faster after you stop because you won't have developed a healthy relationship with food.
Crash dieting also increases your chances of developing an eating disorder, and frankly, wanting to only eat 1000 calories a day at all, let alone for an extended period of time, is a sign of disordered eating.

So are you are saying that the body will consume its own heart if you have too big a deficit?

Cool.

Consume it, no. But weaken the muscle, yes, which can lead to serious cardiac issues, including heart attack in previously healthy people. Especially if it gets to a point of ED, specifically anorexia.

Can you actually condone the diet this person wants to try as healthy? Hell no. I was just letting her know that there are significant risks involved with what they're wanting to do.

WalkingAlong

Her diet doesn't look like anorexia to me, or even particularly unsafe. It's on the aggressive edge of a 'healthy deficit', and a day of fasting is probably a bit much for an 18 year old, but she's probably going to try it and realize she's not going to be able to sustain it for 33 lbs. of losses and choose something less aggressive.

JoeCWV

With only 33 pounds to lose why be so aggressive? Remember the story about the tortoise and the hare? Slow and easy will win the race.

Camo_xxx

A 1000 cal or 2 pounds per week deficit is totally reasonable if you have a large quantity of fat to loose but you will need to reduce the deficit as you get closer to a healthy body fat level. There are suggested ranges of deficit for amount of fat you have to lose floating around and they vary so I suggest you do some reserch and pick the one that makes sense to you.

If you scale down your deficit as you reduce you body fat your metoblism will stay in balance.



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