Increasing metabolism?

For as long as I remember I ate very little. Once I joined MFP I wanted to loose 5 lbs but found it completely impossible. I couldn't figure why it was really hard to loose that little weight since I was only eating 800 calories! If I ate little for a couple of days, I would immediately loose weight, if I ate around 1200, I would gain weight. Then I found out that my metabolism was looowwww. Now, I'm eating around 1000- 1200 a day and I have gained around 3 pounds already (I started on last week) so my question is what other ways can I increase my metabolism, and when should I increase my calorie intake?

Replies

  • slicko
    slicko Posts: 9
    I'm very interested in speeding up the metabolism as well.

    I saw a lengthy article someone posted a few days ago, and saved the link as it contained a lot of useful information and ideas for exactly this.

    Here is the link:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/717424-how-to-repair-a-damaged-metabolism-and-starvation-mode

    One thing I took away for sure is to incorporate more weight training into the plan since the focus should be on "Fat Loss" not weight loss.

    Read the article above and share back here what you took away from it too.
  • SweetCheekszx0
    SweetCheekszx0 Posts: 478 Member
    I went to GNC or vitamin world there good with finding a good appetite suppressant/ metabolism booster that works well for you. My boyfriends dad is in the army and recommended going there to me. As for the gaining 3 lbs I'm new to this but you look young I would say try zig zagging your diet eat low one day high the next low one day high the next. It works well for me
  • elenaviolet
    elenaviolet Posts: 21 Member
    Wow, that was a great article. What I took away from it is that weight training is important, increasing carbs post workout, and patience is key. I bookmarked the article for future reference. Thanks!

    And yeah, that's a good idea, I'll try doing that(:
  • YoYo1951
    YoYo1951 Posts: 370
    to come back to later
  • xraychick77
    xraychick77 Posts: 1,775 Member
    the only way you can increase your metabolism is to gain muscle..plain and simple.
  • offthedeependay
    offthedeependay Posts: 435 Member
    I found tht getting more active boosted my metabolism,I bought a fit bit and when I first got it I was only burning around 2000-2200 calories a day ,I became more active through the day ,not sitting around much and now I burn between 3000 and 3500 calories a day ,first ,I tried to eat more ,eat smaller meals,eat more frequently ,none of those things worked,,getting up and being active has worked for me,,hope this helps
  • Pinupdollrawr
    Pinupdollrawr Posts: 137 Member
    getting more active helps ! A LOT!

    eating no less than 1200 cals a day , or like some would say the adequate amounts for your body, will help with metabolism since under eating starves your body and makes you retain onto fat since it never knows when you will starve it again.
    eating every 2-3 hours whether it is a meal or a healthy snack so like 6 mini meals aday.
    oh and i heard green tea helps. something about the helping free radicals or something. lol