Am I damaged, or is this fixable?

dawnemjh

Has anyone here lost alot of weight in the past and still had success here? I lost over 120 lbs and have kept the weight off for over 15 years by restricting calories and I am wondering if my metabolism is permanently damaged? I did a reset in April for 6 weeks and gained about 10 pounds, and then cut for 6 weeks and lost about 7, then for no good reason in a week gained back 5, and now gained back the full 7, even with a cut.

So I am wondering maybe my metabolism is permanently damaged. Has anyone lost alot of weight with calorie deficit and maintained a calorie deficit for a long time and then been sucessfull here???

I have read articles about people who were overweight that restriced their diet and once they were at their goal weight, they found that those individuals had to eat less and workout more than someone else of the same height/weight who was not overweight in the past becausee of damaged metabolism.

THanks!!

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

maybe...but maybe not..I found this study...




ASN Journals Mobile Websites

© 2000 American Society for Clinical Nutrition

Do adaptive changes in metabolic rate favor weight regain in weight-reduced individuals? An examination of the set-point theory1,2,3

Roland L Weinsier,
Tim R Nagy,
Gary R Hunter,
Betty E Darnell,
Donald D Hensrud, and
Heidi L Weiss

+ Author Affiliations

1From the Departments of Nutrition Sciences and Human Studies, the General Clinical Research Center, and the Medical Statistics Section, University of Alabama at Birmingham, and the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.


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Abstract

Background: Obese persons generally regain lost weight, suggesting that adaptive metabolic changes favor return to a preset weight.

Objective: Our objective was to determine whether adaptive changes in resting metabolic rate (RMR) and thyroid hormones occur in weight-reduced persons, predisposing them to long-term weight gain.

Design: Twenty-four overweight, postmenopausal women were studied at a clinical research center in four 10-d study phases: the overweight state (phase 1, energy balance; phase 2, 3350 kJ/d) and after reduction to a normal-weight state (phase 3, 3350 kJ/d; phase 4, energy balance). Weight-reduced women were matched with 24 never-overweight control subjects. After each study phase, assessments included RMR (by indirect calorimetry), body composition (by hydrostatic weighing), serum triiodothyronine (T3), and reverse T3 (rT3). Body weight was measured 4 y later, without intervention.

Results: Body composition–adjusted RMR and T3:rT3 fell during acute (phase 2) and chronic (phase 3) energy restriction (P < 0.01), but returned to baseline in the normal-weight, energy-balanced state (phase 4; mean weight loss: 12.9 ± 2.0 kg). RMR among weight-reduced women (4771 ± 414 kJ/d) was not significantly different from that in control subjects (4955 ± 414 kJ/d; P = 0.14), and lower RMR did not predict greater 4-y weight regain (r = 0.27, NS).

Conclusions: Energy restriction produces a transient hypothyroid-hypometabolic state that normalizes on return to energy-balanced conditions. Failure to establish energy balance after weight loss gives the misleading impression that weight-reduced persons are energy conservative and predisposed to weight regain. Our findings do not provide evidence in support of adaptive metabolic changes as an explanation for the tendency of weight-reduced persons to regain weight.

http://www.ajcn.org/content/72/5/1088.full

amonkey794

I'm in the same boat as the OP, but I didn't understand the way they worded the conclusion. So was it reversible or not?

PLUMSGRL

Several questions for you: have you been tracking your sodium? did you start a new exercise program (any type)? How big of a cut did you take? when was the last time you took a "diet break" (every 4-6 weeks of cut, going to TDEE for a week)?


But no, not permanently damaged, but probably didn't take a long enough reset....the longer at VLCD, the longer a reset~

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

I'm in the same boat as the OP, but I didn't understand the way they worded the conclusion. So was it reversible or not?

it appears that the changes that occur are minor. I'm nor sure whether the OPs situation is the same as most individuals studied because she has lost so much weight in the past.

holleysings

My guess is your metabolism needs a longer time to reset. You only gave it 6 weeks after years of abuse! I would do another reset for 12 weeks and see how your body feels.

nettasaura

I read somewhere that fixing metabolic damage can take anywhere from 2 to 12 months. It all depends on the individual. Perhaps you do need a longer reset as Holley has suggested.

dawnemjh

Thank you all for the replies!!!

I have done a break in the past as well.

Just wondering if anyone here has lost 100 pounds and then done the reset, followed by eat more 2 lose and had success....