"Fixing" a low metabolism

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/8017-in-place-of-a-road-map

I had to plateau for 2 months to reset my metabolism and shake off another 5 lbs (10 lbs total). But I'm soo much happier and healthier eating TDEE-cut. My workouts have never been stronger either.

Are you switching up your workout routine? Your body gets efficient at doing the same old thing over and over again and it won't give you the same kind of calorie burn. Try circuits or HIIT intervals for example.

Oh, and are you eating your oils too? That's often the problem with the last ten pounds.

This may be an interesting read:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/metabolism/WT00006

While I think the "roadmap" method of caluculating BMRs and TDEEs is a great place for everyone to start, in actuality, the formulas only calculate an average BMR or TDEE for someone your height and weight.

I do believe, and recent research points to the fact that metabolisms do vary, and many obese people actually have much more thrifty metabolisms than normal/average people.

I know that even with 18 months of regular cardio and strength training, including 6 months of New Rules of Lifting, I maintain by eating 400 calories less than my calculated TDEE. If I increase my calories, I gain. My BMR is calculated to be 1550, but in order for me to lose, even with the regular exercise, I need to eat somewhere between 1400 and 1600 calories a day.

There is a lot of medical research out there, and traditional ideas about "one size fits all" metabolism are beginning to be questioned and disproven. If you have access to any of the medical databases like PubMed, Medline or CINAHL through a library, you could do a search for obesity and metabolism. I would help you out, but I'm overwhelmed with work, school, working out, holidays, studying for the GRE and completing a grad school app right now.

Towards the end of my weight loss phase, I asked the "how many calories should I eat" question to two different physicians who specialize in weight loss -- one a bariatric surgeon and one a very competent and informed internist who specializes in non-surgical weight loss. I received the same answer from both -- "There is no magic formula. You need to experiment and find out what number works for you."

With all that being said, I do believe the "In Place of a Road Map" method is the most sound and logical place to begin your quest for your own number.

It certainly couldn't hurt to get your RMR tested. Do you graze? When do you work out? I've had the most success when I workout in the AM (which is hard)...it kicks your metabolism into gear first thing. Also, grazing...well, I don't really "graze" per sei, but I eat breakfast, a decent snack at 10AM or so, lunch, another snack around 3, another snack around 6, and dinner around 8:30 (I know, late...but there's no getting around it). I have found that this has also increased my metabolism and keeps my blood sugars stable as well.

As others have suggested, mixing up your exercise routine does wonders as well. You might also want to look at your Macros and what you're eating as well...remember to get those fats and protein...

You had your thyroid checked?

Keep in mind, if you go by the TDEE estimate, you do not apply the MFP method of "eating back exercise calories" since activity is already calculated in to the TDEE equation. You likely already know this since you have tried several ranges, but I am not sure how long you maintained doing so for each trial.

With that said, I do recommend people who have struggled to experience noticeable weight loss over a long span of 6 months or so get a RMR test done especially if they have tried various possibilities. Have you had any blood work done, ruling out any potential condition which may be contributing to your state?

You may think your RMR hasn't decline much since restricting calories, but in a recent study that looked in to whether relative preservation of lean body mass limited the decline in RMR - which it did not. Here is a copy and paste of the abstract which unfortunately requires a subscription to view:

Metabolic Slowing with Massive Weight Loss despite Preservation of Fat-Free Mass
Abstract
Context: An important goal during weight loss is to maximize fat loss while preserving metabolically active fat-free mass (FFM). Massive weight loss typically results in substantial loss of FFM potentially slowing metabolic rate.
Objective: Our objective was to determine whether a weight loss program consisting of diet restriction and vigorous exercise helped to preserve FFM and maintain resting metabolic rate (RMR).
Participants and Intervention: We measured body composition by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, RMR by indirect calorimetry, and total energy expenditure by doubly labeled water at baseline (n = 16), wk 6 (n = 11), and wk 30 (n = 16).
Results: At baseline, participants were severely obese (×± SD; body mass index 49.4 ± 9.4 kg/m2) with 49 ± 5% body fat. At wk 30, more than one third of initial body weight was lost (−38 ± 9%) and consisted of 17 ± 8% from FFM and 83 ± 8% from fat. RMR declined out of proportion to the decrease in body mass, demonstrating a substantial metabolic adaptation (−244 ± 231 and −504 ± 171 kcal/d at wk 6 and 30, respectively, P < 0.01). Energy expenditure attributed to physical activity increased by 10.2 ± 5.1 kcal/kg·d at wk 6 and 6.0 ± 4.1 kcal/kg·d at wk 30 (P < 0.001 vs. zero).
Conclusions: Despite relative preservation of FFM, exercise did not prevent dramatic slowing of resting metabolism out of proportion to weight loss. This metabolic adaptation may persist during weight maintenance and predispose to weight regain unless high levels of physical activity or caloric restriction are maintained.

If you search the title of the study at JCEM, you can find it.

You're at the gym at 9pm?

are you getting enough sleep? Not resting your body properly causes you to hold extra weight. true story.
I don't mean do you feel tired. I mean are you actually getting the proper amount of sleep.

Keep in mind, if you go by the TDEE estimate, you do not apply the MFP method of "eating back exercise calories" since activity is already calculated in to the TDEE equation. You likely already know this since you have tried several ranges, but I am not sure how long you maintained doing so for each trial.

With that said, I do recommend people who have struggled to experience noticeable weight loss over a long span of 6 months or so get a RMR test done especially if they have tried various possibilities. Have you had any blood work done, ruling out any potential condition which may be contributing to your state?

You may think your RMR hasn't decline much since restricting calories, but in a recent study that looked in to whether relative preservation of lean body mass limited the decline in RMR - which it did not. Here is a copy and paste of the abstract which unfortunately requires a subscription to view:

Metabolic Slowing with Massive Weight Loss despite Preservation of Fat-Free Mass
Abstract
Context: An important goal during weight loss is to maximize fat loss while preserving metabolically active fat-free mass (FFM). Massive weight loss typically results in substantial loss of FFM potentially slowing metabolic rate.
Objective: Our objective was to determine whether a weight loss program consisting of diet restriction and vigorous exercise helped to preserve FFM and maintain resting metabolic rate (RMR).
Participants and Intervention: We measured body composition by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, RMR by indirect calorimetry, and total energy expenditure by doubly labeled water at baseline (n = 16), wk 6 (n = 11), and wk 30 (n = 16).
Results: At baseline, participants were severely obese (×± SD; body mass index 49.4 ± 9.4 kg/m2) with 49 ± 5% body fat. At wk 30, more than one third of initial body weight was lost (−38 ± 9%) and consisted of 17 ± 8% from FFM and 83 ± 8% from fat. RMR declined out of proportion to the decrease in body mass, demonstrating a substantial metabolic adaptation (−244 ± 231 and −504 ± 171 kcal/d at wk 6 and 30, respectively, P < 0.01). Energy expenditure attributed to physical activity increased by 10.2 ± 5.1 kcal/kg·d at wk 6 and 6.0 ± 4.1 kcal/kg·d at wk 30 (P < 0.001 vs. zero).
Conclusions: Despite relative preservation of FFM, exercise did not prevent dramatic slowing of resting metabolism out of proportion to weight loss. This metabolic adaptation may persist during weight maintenance and predispose to weight regain unless high levels of physical activity or caloric restriction are maintained.

If you search the title of the study at JCEM, you can find it.

Well considering human biology and mechanics work different... I'll stay away from that study, I will however agree with the theory behind it as it is indeed very sound... However the body is a living organism that changes over time, and as such adaptive thermogenics cause metabolic slowdown and increases...

What this study essentially at the core is saying that keeping LBM up while decreasing fat by decrease in calories induces a negative impact on your body via thermogenics, however, reversing the impact is possible if done slowly.

Of course, 10% increases and constant monitoring is not everyones cup of tea, hence why people will put on when they first move to maintenance before levelling out again. Taking a few months to level out properly is not in the mindset of most peoples here this is the solution lets do it quick mindset.

In response to OP about fixing metabolism, simple take a month or so off your diet, don't go extreme as you will pick up fairly quick at first, then eventually level off, when you level off, then go back on your diet plans again as your body then has finished adapting to your new requirements. Sure preserving LBM means you burn more calories, but honestly? say 90c extra? maybe 200 max? I mean maybe every little helps, but that is not much to help you... Best off losing quickly, sacrificing a little muscle, then rebuilding muscle as muscle does regenerate quicker if it is used to particular load for a certain amount of time, usually we call this muscle memory.... You will get your muscle back fairly quick, at least you'll be lean, and you can build from there slowly with calories and muscle once reached.

Again, slow is king when building things back up... When losing, well.. do what you want and do what works... Transitioning back to maintenance is the most crucial aspect you'll face...

This may sound really odd but why would you care what your family and friends see what you eat? The reason I ask is that sometimes our own head's can get in the way of our weightloss. When I trusted myself enough to let my friends and family into my journey and help me and encourage me, weight loss and eating healthy got a whole lot easier. Just a suggestion. Besides that without an open diary folks here won't really be able to help you look at your food choices and see if there can be some improvement. As a side note, eating as healthy and clean as possible away from processed foods helps me and many on this board lose weight, also 3 smaller meals and three snacks helps me keep my blood sugar even and body moving all day.