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

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.

You're currently at a healthy weight, looking to become underweight. Please seek professional medical help.

THIS

You're currently at a healthy weight, looking to become underweight. Please seek professional medical help.

II've realised now that crash dieting doesn't work [...] I'm wondering if I should be eating 1200 calories for this time or my maintenance calories of 1440? Thank you for any help.

Give her a break! She's looking for help and support!

I am 21, exactly your height and sw and I completely understand your frustration as i have been through the same starve/gain it back story.

I have had great success with high protein, high (good) fats and low carb - no added sugars. (I follow a primal way of eating).
Although it's hard I would also suggest putting the scales away for a month.. honestly if you really want to get to a point where you feel confident in what you are eating then they are no good, use a tape measure instead!

It isn't calories that will reset your metabolism, it's protein. Eat a high protein, low carb diet for 3 days. Drink 80oz of water well spaced. Choose lean meats, fresh meats, not from the deli which are loaded with sodium. Do not eat pork meats either as they're high in sodium as well. You should see a nice drop in weight and after 3 days, eat a well balanced diet of 1200 cals.

Love this advice!!!!!! Question how many carbs should a person have? I have read for optimal weight loss keep it under 70 grms. I know mfp sets carbs crazy high. I am currently 209.6 lbs, and I started from 286.2 lbs in January. I have been doing high protein, low carb and water as well. But just looking for advice about how much carbs are needed/required, ect.

Thanks.

It isn't calories that will reset your metabolism, it's protein. Eat a high protein, low carb diet for 3 days. Drink 80oz of water well spaced. Choose lean meats, fresh meats, not from the deli which are loaded with sodium. Do not eat pork meats either as they're high in sodium as well. You should see a nice drop in weight and after 3 days, eat a well balanced diet of 1200 cals.

It isn't calories that will reset your metabolism, it's protein. Eat a high protein, low carb diet for 3 days. Drink 80oz of water well spaced. Choose lean meats, fresh meats, not from the deli which are loaded with sodium. Do not eat pork meats either as they're high in sodium as well. You should see a nice drop in weight and after 3 days, eat a well balanced diet of 1200 cals.

I completely disagree. Food is for fuel. Protein in particular for muscle building and not directly related to speeding up one's metabolism. Your metabolism is based on how active you are in a day and not how much you eat. If your metabolism is based on how much food you ate, people who eat fast food daily would never be fat. The symptoms of a very low cal diet are very well known and there's only two. The first one is being tired and the second is feeling grouchy or irritable. Feeling tired makes you less active for the entire day and when you are less active, your body will burn less calories. In order for her to increase her metabolism, she will first need to be more active and in order to be fuel her activity she needs to eat something that can be used as fuel asap. The fastest and best source of energy that she can receive for energy is eating fruits with sugar in it like apples, oranges, or bananas.

It isn't calories that will reset your metabolism, it's protein. Eat a high protein, low carb diet for 3 days. Drink 80oz of water well spaced. Choose lean meats, fresh meats, not from the deli which are loaded with sodium. Do not eat pork meats either as they're high in sodium as well. You should see a nice drop in weight and after 3 days, eat a well balanced diet of 1200 cals.

Love this advice!!!!!! Question how many carbs should a person have? I have read for optimal weight loss keep it under 70 grms. I know mfp sets carbs crazy high. I am currently 209.6 lbs, and I started from 286.2 lbs in January. I have been doing high protein, low carb and water as well. But just looking for advice about how much carbs are needed/required, ect.

Thanks.

Unfortunately it's total misinfromation. Protein nor any other macronutrient does not increase your metabolism. To the OP, unfortunalty, the metabolic adaptations you caused by eating a vary low calorie diet for an extended period of time may be fairly permanent. That is one of the risks of pursueing this strategy. You need to get medical advice and not search for anwers on an internet forum.

I agree on the protein and disagree that her metabolism is damaged as there are no known metabolism destroying diseases associated with eating a very low calorie diet. I'm not referring to Anorexia as that is a mental disorder. I'm referring to real metabolism destroying diseases directly relating to the amount of food you eat such as Type 2 diabetes, Heart Disease, and High Cholesterol. Type 2 diabetes literally mean that your body can not utilize sugar anymore, as in a truly destroyed metabolism. There are no known diseases associated with eating a low calorie diet, only eating more.

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'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.

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)

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

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?