Need Advice - Slow metabolism

IslandRider
IslandRider Posts: 244
in Health and Weight Loss
I had an RMR test done today and have a slower than normal metabolism for someone of my age, ht, wt. (I have already had my thyroid tested and it is fine.) I was hoping it meant I might not be speedy, but I have a lot of torque, but my dear friend DW assures me it just means I'm old for my age. :laugh:

I know I need to build muscle mass in order to speed up my metabolism and will be adding lifting to my exercises. I am looking for advice on what kinds of changes (in addition to upping protein) I should make to my diet to help speed it up. I try to avoid most processed foods, and grow, freeze and can my own veggies. I am on long-term medication and do not want to use any kind of stimulant supplement. I do love beer and wine and while I have cut back considerably, I don't plan to quit drinking altogether.:drinker:

I weighed 163 in Mar 2012 and lost weight by making healthier eating choices and trying to stay at about 1200 net calories daily. I began walking daily and in October 2012, joined MFP and started swimming 3-4 times a week. My body fat percentage has also gone from 39.9% to 32.9%.

Here are the numbers from today's test:
Age: 51
Ht: 5'1"
Wt: 144.4
RMR: 1 066
TDEE: 1384
VO2: 150ml/min
VCO2: 137ml/min
RER: 0.91
%Kcal from CHO: 70.9%
%Kcal from Fat: 29.1%
CHO gram per day: 180
Fat grams per day: 35

Thanks in advance for your help on this.

Replies

  • Doodlewhopper
    Doodlewhopper Posts: 1,018 Member
    I just posted this on your profile

    <<<Effects on Strength and Fitness
    Besides its psychological and sexual effects, adequate levels of testosterone play an important role in helping women maintain a healthy body composition.

    While it is known that women begin to gain body fat 10 years before they experience menopause, and that many women gain weight when taking birth control pills, doctors often overlook the role that testosterone can play in helping to ameliorate this weight gain. This is likely because most doctors are uninformed about the use of testosterone replacement therapy in women. In addition, some early studies, now viewed as flawed, linked elevated testosterone levels in women with abdominal obesity (the patients involved had multiple hormonal imbalances that certainly contributed to their obesity). More recent scientific studies, such as one reported in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, have shown that obese women given low doses of synthetic analogues of testosterone (nandrolone) lost more body fat and subcutaneous abdominal fat, and gained more muscle mass, than women given a placebo.5 The study participants followed a low-calorie diet but did not change their exercise habits; after nine months, those women taking nandrolone had lost twice the body fat and gained six pounds of lean muscle mass compared to women in the placebo group. >>>

    http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2004/apr2004_report_test_01.htm
  • IslandRider
    IslandRider Posts: 244
    Bummer! I thought surely I'd get more than one response... Guess I need to work in my creative title writing skills. :sad:
  • ValerieMomof2
    ValerieMomof2 Posts: 530 Member
    Other than strength training and building muscle there really is nothing. Some say that eating increasing fiber and protein help as well as eating more often rather than only 3 meals, but I don't think that's proven to significantly speed up metabolism.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,990 Member
    Do you sleep well?

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • nogood205
    nogood205 Posts: 2 Member
    This: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rue8qWsSoms
  • hayleyfust
    hayleyfust Posts: 3
    When I trained to become a health coach, I was taught that we could improve our metabolism by:
    1. Getting 7-8 hours of sleep a night
    2. Drink 16 oz of water within the first hour of waking in the morning (and continuing to drink water throughout the day until you've reached 64 oz minimum or as much as half the number of ounces of water that you weigh in pounds - at 144, that'd be 72 oz).
    3. Eat a high protein w/complex carb breakfast within 30 minutes (this gets the metabolism going because you're giving it FUEL).
    4. Try not to eat before bed. Ideally, dinner, relaxation and sleep time should get you 11-12 hours of fasting between dinner and breakfast.
    5. Dividing your calories up throughout the day so that you're eating about 100-200 calories every 3 hours helps the body to stay on a more even keel, especially if you're not doing refined carbs (sugar, flour, etc). I tell my folks to "eat like a Hobbit." That is have breakfast, second breakfast, luncheon, dinner, supper and, somewhere in there, a snack. You might make one meal 400-500 cal and then break up the rest into 120 or so cal apiece.
    6. DON'T DRINK your calories!! (fruit juice is TOO MUCH sugar, obviously avoid soda, sweet tea, etc)

    As for the alcohol, in addition to the "empty calories" that come with various alcoholic beverages, drinking alcohol comes with a built in metabolism killer. That's because your body will STOP burning fat (not slow down) and address the alcohol first. Once it's introduced, the body begins to process that out of your body and will not begin to digest or breakdown other things until it's gone (after all, it's technically a toxin, right?). So, what happens is you'll break IT down first, then move to carbs and THEN to fats. But, getting through all the carbs will take time (getting you back into fat burning mode).

    If you're serious about really wanting to improve your metabolism, maybe consider NO alcohol until you've reached a certain weight, and after that maybe only 1 drink a month (or every few weeks). If you're trying to lose weight, it really will slow you down. Think of it this way...it's only temporary and will help you meet your goal faster. You can do anything that's temporary.

    Hope this helps. Best of luck to you!
  • Lift_hard_eat_big
    Lift_hard_eat_big Posts: 2,278 Member
    Build muscle and get more active.
  • IslandRider
    IslandRider Posts: 244
    Do you sleep well?

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    Not really, on a good night i can get about 6-7 hrs, but generally wake up an avg. of 10-12 times per night. Dr. had me try several different Rx sleeping pills, all of which messed with my mood, which was worse than missing sleep. Melatonin did nothing for me.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,990 Member
    Do you sleep well?

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    Not really, on a good night i can get about 6-7 hrs, but generally wake up an avg. of 10-12 times per night. Dr. had me try several different Rx sleeping pills, all of which messed with my mood, which was worse than missing sleep. Melatonin did nothing for me.
    Deep sleep is necessary for good GH production and one of GH's responsibilities is to burn fat for energy. This MAY be part of your issue. Activity also is the one DIRECT way you increase metabolism.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • IslandRider
    IslandRider Posts: 244
    Thanks Hayley. I struggle with the sleep. I drink about 24-30 oz of water in the first hour, but don't always get to 64 oz. I'll work on that and the other items you mentioned as well. Re: the alcohol, I hadn't thought of it that way, just that it slows not stops. I think I will drop it at least until I get to goal.
  • geekyjock76
    geekyjock76 Posts: 2,720 Member
    If you have been restricting calories for a while, your RMR will have declined a bit by several 100 calories. Thus, your RMR has adjusted. Whenever you are ready to pursue maintenance and eat the maximum amount of calories to maintain your weight for an acceptable amount of time, your RMR will return to its highest point. Take a look at this study to get an idea how much it can decline, even with relative preservation of lean body mass. Their RMR declined by 333 to 675 calories by week 30.
    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.
    http://jcem.endojournals.org/content/early/2012/04/24/jc.2012-1444.abstract?rss=1
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    Bumping, because there's already some serious brains up in here!
  • jha1223
    jha1223 Posts: 141 Member
    Great that you've made some progress and gotten active. Did they give you a BMR number? Your BMR shows for me as 1373. Your TDEE shows up as 1328 .... if you were in a coma. If you slept 8 hours a night and then just sat in bed for the rest of the day, your TDEE would be 1628. Maybe a little bump in the calories would help? I'm not a doctor, nor am I saying I am smarter than them, but I wonder about just how accurate those numbers are if you are swimming a few times a week.

    Could one of you macro/IIFYM gurus chime in here?
  • IslandRider
    IslandRider Posts: 244
    Do you sleep well?

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    Not really, on a good night i can get about 6-7 hrs, but generally wake up an avg. of 10-12 times per night. Dr. had me try several different Rx sleeping pills, all of which messed with my mood, which was worse than missing sleep. Melatonin did nothing for me.
    Deep sleep is necessary for good GH production and one of GH's responsibilities is to burn fat for energy. This MAY be part of your issue. Activity also is the one DIRECT way you increase metabolism.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    I did just start a couch to 5 k program, day 3 is tomorrow, and am still swimming 3-4 days most weeks. Hopefully that will help as well.
  • IslandRider
    IslandRider Posts: 244
    Great that you've made some progress and gotten active. Did they give you a BMR number? Your BMR shows for me as 1373. Your TDEE shows up as 1328 .... if you were in a coma. If you slept 8 hours a night and then just sat in bed for the rest of the day, your TDEE would be 1628. Maybe a little bump in the calories would help? I'm not a doctor, nor am I saying I am smarter than them, but I wonder about just how accurate those numbers are if you are swimming a few times a week.

    Could one of you macro/IIFYM gurus chime in here?

    No, it was definitely RMR. No food for 4 hrs prior, no exercise 12 hrs prior, then the breath sensing machine. For BMR theyntold me it would be full night's sleep at the facility then breathing machine upon awakening. Pretty sure it's about as accurate as I can expect.
  • phyllisbobbitt
    phyllisbobbitt Posts: 347 Member
    :flowerforyou: try adding green tea to your daily diet! i did that after watching a session of dr. oz. he suggested green tea will pick up your metabolism greatly. i drink a gallon a day & it gives me energy & weight loss. i take thyroid medication every day but green tea has made a big difference in my life. it can not hurt you because it is natural. i get the raspberry flavor & it is good tasting.
  • Caguppie
    Caguppie Posts: 53 Member
    supplements & herbs? it's possible that a deficiency of some kinds could be contributing to sleep problems & low metabolism. there are a bunch of herbs to help with metabolism and sleep.
  • IslandRider
    IslandRider Posts: 244
    If you have been restricting calories for a while, your RMR will have declined a bit by several 100 calories. Thus, your RMR has adjusted. Whenever you are ready to pursue maintenance and eat the maximum amount of calories to maintain your weight for an acceptable amount of time, your RMR will return to its highest point. Take a look at this study to get an idea how much it can decline, even with relative preservation of lean body mass. Their RMR declined by 333 to 675 calories by week 30.
    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.
    http://jcem.endojournals.org/content/early/2012/04/24/jc.2012-1444.abstract?rss=1

    I started the 1200 net in October, before that I wasn't counting, just changing things like goingbto leaner meats, from sour cream to fat-free Greek yogurt, regular to low fat cheese, etc. The study was over 30 wks and participants lost a third of initial body weight... Even so this is scary, now I'm wondering if it ever goes back up. :ohwell:
  • geekyjock76
    geekyjock76 Posts: 2,720 Member
    Don't fear, Sheila. It will increase once you begin eating at maintenance and will cap after eating the maximum amount of calories to maintain weight homeostasis. Everyone's RMR declines during calorie restriction and increases during maintenance. But this is one reason why shorter duration/smaller sized deficits are more beneficial since the effect on RMR isn't so significant
  • rodneyvanwyk
    rodneyvanwyk Posts: 2 Member
    Try adding some cinnamon to your diet - you can google it for yourself and then decide
  • bathsheba_c
    bathsheba_c Posts: 1,873 Member
    Please ask the people who tested you what to do, because I'm seeing a lot of bad advice in this thread. It is possible to increase damaged metabolism, but not by the methods people are suggesting (except for the part about getting enough sleep and eating more calories).
  • lesita75
    lesita75 Posts: 379 Member
    Bumping for all of the great info in this thread!
  • IslandRider
    IslandRider Posts: 244
    I had the test done at local fitness center (mine does not offer the testing) and did discuss the results with the trainer that administered the test. We discussed routine and diet; his advice was to increase the amount of protein and lower the carbs (fat consumed was fine) and add lifting to my routine.

    For now I think I’m going to put weight loss on the back burner and switch to maintenance with more protein and fewer carbs. I’d like to lose some more at some point, but for now I think finding a way to get better sleep and build muscle is the best thing for me to focus on. I’ll see how that goes and if I don’t feel like I’m making progress, go back to the Dr. again and ask about hormone testing as I am postmenopausal, maybe see about finding a registered dietician as well.

    Thanks for your help everyone!
  • sweebum
    sweebum Posts: 1,060 Member
    Don't fear, Sheila. It will increase once you begin eating at maintenance and will cap after eating the maximum amount of calories to maintain weight homeostasis. Everyone's RMR declines during calorie restriction and increases during maintenance. But this is one reason why shorter duration/smaller sized deficits are more beneficial since the effect on RMR isn't so significant

    Listen to this guy ^:flowerforyou:
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    Regarding your sleep issues, it may be mineral deficiencies from the low calorie diet. B-vitamins, Calcium, Magnesium and even Iron all play a role.
  • IslandRider
    IslandRider Posts: 244
    Dr recently did test for vitamin/mineral deficiencies, only one i was deficient in was Vitamin D. I've been taking Centrum all along as well as Calcium, even before I started to try to lose weight. As of today I'm logging those too, I wasn't before.

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