How many cals should I eat to get my metabolism back?

AbsoluteNG

You might want to reread my post. I didn't say anything about a disease or a destroyed metabolism. It 's pretty commonly accepted that after an extended period of time on a VLCD the metabolism will downregulate to adapt to intake. Also there are hormonal adaptations. These adaptations can be fairly permanent. See the 6thdpost in this thread and that poster's experience.

Edited to add: it's the 6th post in this thread I'm refering to.

I agree that your metabolism can slow down but not for the reason that you believe. You believe it is directly related to the amount of food you eat. I do not. It is related to your activity level. Eating a low cal diet makes you tired and not want to do anything and when the only thing you do during the day is lay on the couch, your metabolism will accommodate. Simply exercising and being more active in the day will increase your metabolism and in order to fuel your increased daily activities, all you have to do is eat.

joeysox

I've been crash dieting for the last 6 months, eating around 500 calories or less a day or not eating at all. I lost weight only to put it on again, so I actually weigh the same as when I started. I've realised now that crash dieting doesn't work but my metabolism is very slow. If I eat more than the low amounts I have been eating I gain weight. I've read it takes 4-6 weeks for your metabolism to recover, but I'm wondering if I should be eating 1200 calories for this time or my maintenance calories of 1440? Thank you for any help.

i did exactly the same thing as you and i went to my doctor and she told me 1400 cals she said expect an initial gain but that is what you will need, she was right i gained at first now im losing consistently and healthily xxxx

californiagirl2012

I've been crash dieting for the last 6 months, eating around 500 calories or less a day or not eating at all. I lost weight only to put it on again, so I actually weigh the same as when I started. I've realised now that crash dieting doesn't work but my metabolism is very slow. If I eat more than the low amounts I have been eating I gain weight. I've read it takes 4-6 weeks for your metabolism to recover, but I'm wondering if I should be eating 1200 calories for this time or my maintenance calories of 1440? Thank you for any help.

First, you probably should eat at maintenance for a bit because of your low deficit for so long. But if you have fat still your metabolism is not broken so just eat and quit worrying. Eating at a maintenance calorie budget is not going backwards, but eating more than you need is. You need to find the right amount for yourself.

What is the exact number of calories for you?

We’ve been trying to figure out an exact NUMBER of calories that everyone should be eating, without recognizing that everyone is slightly different. In truth, the calories aren’t the end game. Your body is. So the EXACT amount of Calories that are right for you is the EXACT amount that will allow you to maintain your ideal bodyweight no matter what some calculator or chart says.

In other words, an online calculator might tell you that you need to eat 2,500 calories
per day to maintain your ideal bodyweight. But the only way to know for sure if this is
the right amount for you is to test it out. If you gain weight or can’t lose weight eating
that much, then you know you need to eat less to lose weight no matter how many
calculators and text books say otherwise.

This doesn’t mean your metabolism is broken, it just means the estimate of your needs
was just a bit off.

-John Barban (The Body Centric Calorie Guide from the Venus Index and Adonis Index Manuals)

The Theory of Fat Availability:
•There is a set amount of fat that can be released from a fat cell.
•The more fat you have, the more fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
•The less fat you have, the less fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
•Towards the end of a transformation, when body fat is extremely low you
may not have enough fat to handle a large caloric deficit anymore.

At the extreme low end, when your body fat cannot ‘keep up’ with the energy deficit
you've imposed on your body, the energy MUST come from SOMEWHERE. This is
when you are at risk of losing lean body mass during dieting (commonly referred to
as ‘starvation mode’). This happens at extremely low levels of body fat, under 6% in
men and 12% in women [Friedl K.E. J Appl Phsiol, 1994].

-Brad Pilon and John Barban (from The Reverse Taper Diet in The Adonis Index and Venus Index manuals)

mmapags

You might want to reread my post. I didn't say anything about a disease or a destroyed metabolism. It 's pretty commonly accepted that after an extended period of time on a VLCD the metabolism will downregulate to adapt to intake. Also there are hormonal adaptations. These adaptations can be fairly permanent. See the 6thdpost in this thread and that poster's experience.

Edited to add: it's the 6th post in this thread I'm refering to.

I agree that your metabolism can slow down but not for the reason that you believe. You believe it is directly related to the amount of food you eat. I do not. It is related to your activity level. Eating a low cal diet makes you tired and not want to do anything and when the only thing you do during the day is lay on the couch, your metabolism will accommodate. Simply exercising and being more active in the day will increase your metabolism and in order to fuel your increased daily activities, all you have to do is eat.

You are free to believe what ever you want. Your explanation is not how adaptive thermogenesis is typically defined. See attached study abstract that spells it out. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20935667

AbsoluteNG

You might want to reread my post. I didn't say anything about a disease or a destroyed metabolism. It 's pretty commonly accepted that after an extended period of time on a VLCD the metabolism will downregulate to adapt to intake. Also there are hormonal adaptations. These adaptations can be fairly permanent. See the 6thdpost in this thread and that poster's experience.

Edited to add: it's the 6th post in this thread I'm refering to.

I agree that your metabolism can slow down but not for the reason that you believe. You believe it is directly related to the amount of food you eat. I do not. It is related to your activity level. Eating a low cal diet makes you tired and not want to do anything and when the only thing you do during the day is lay on the couch, your metabolism will accommodate. Simply exercising and being more active in the day will increase your metabolism and in order to fuel your increased daily activities, all you have to do is eat.

You are free to believe what ever you want. Your explanation is not how adaptive thermogenesis is typically defined. See attached study abstract that spells it out. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20935667

Looks like an interesting paper. Have you read it yet? I'm trying to find it on google but have yet to find a free source. Do you have one available?

AbsoluteNG

You are free to believe what ever you want. Your explanation is not how adaptive thermogenesis is typically defined. See attached study abstract that spells it out. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20935667

The abstract is interesting to read but it doesn't say anything in there about a destroyed metabolism for months on end and it doesn't say much of anything about a slowed metabolism being the reason for weight gain. All it really says is that obese people who lose weight tend to gain it all back due to 4 things which are metabolic, behavioral, neuroendocrine and autonomic responses. How large of a role does metabolism play in this compared to the other three? How long or how many days does your metabolism slow down? I don't see that answered in the abstract. I also don't see anything in the abstract that says hormonal changes are permanent. Where did you get this information from?

mmapags

You are free to believe what ever you want. Your explanation is not how adaptive thermogenesis is typically defined. See attached study abstract that spells it out. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20935667

The abstract is interesting to read but it doesn't say anything in there about a destroyed metabolism for months on end and it doesn't say much of anything about a slowed metabolism being the reason for weight gain. All it really says is that obese people who lose weight tend to gain it all back due to 4 things which are metabolic, behavioral, neuroendocrine and autonomic responses. How large of a role does metabolism play in this compared to the other three? How long or how many days does your metabolism slow down? I don't see that answered in the abstract. I also don't see anything in the abstract that says hormonal changes are permanent. Where did you get this information from?

Hormonal adaptations with gherlin and leptin will normalize. Metabolic adaptations not so much. Feel free to research adaptive thermogenesis. There is plenty of info out there on this topic.