Get your Metabolic Rate tested !! My Metabolic reset story

Hi

From October through to January I decreased my calories by a couple of hundred and at the same time upped my exercise. I am 5 foot 2. I have been at scale goal weight since last August. Since then I have been recomposing, ie losing fat and centimeters. I retain muscle mass easily as I have the genetics for it.

I thought I was adequatly fueling my body eating between 1700 - 1950 calories for those 3 and a half months but I was in for a huge shock when I got my resting metabolic rate tested. It was just 875. My body was in semi-starvation (survivol mode) according the the exercise physiologist. That is why my metaboic rate lowered drastically because i was not fueling myself properly so it slows way down in order to survive.

Anyway thanks to the Eat more to Weight less group I was reading up about doing a metabolic reset. The exercise physiologist suggested eating 10 - 20% more than I was and gave me some great advice concerning exercise and nutrition. I decided to do my own little experiment. Since the 2nd of February I decided to eat more than my TDEE. I wanted to see just how much I could eat without gaining weight. So I started off eating mid 2500's and then most of the time for the past 5 weeks I have been eating mid to high 2000 calories !! In that time I have put on roughly half to 1 kg in weight I think. From August till end of January my weight was in the range of 57.5 - 59.5 kg and now its in the 58 - 59.7 range for the last couple of weeks.

Yesterday I had a retest of my resting metabolic rate. (RMR) it was 1497. Originally when i had it tested it was just 875 and the man said it should be around the 1350 mark. So I am absolutely thrilled that I have increased my RMR by over 600 calories !!! Wow I couldn't believe it. My body fat % is 22.5%. I'm working towards high teens perhaps 18 - 20% body fat. Also I'm above average in the general population for my age and height I'm more like in the athletic range for body composition now.

I am now in the process of trying to find my true TDEE. I have reduced my calories by a few hundred and depending on activity levels I am going to be eating between 2200 - 2700. I will experiment at this level for the next 6 weeks to see if I can stabilise at this range. I think I have pretty much stabilized right now but I will give it a good 6 weeks weeks eating at this amount.

I told the exercise physiologist I still want to cut. I want to lose more off my tummy area. I want a more defined tummy. He believes I can lose the fat eating 2200-2300 calories. I got some great tips in the Eat more to Weight less group and have decided that in 6 weeks time or once i am sure my weight has stablised when im figuring out my TDEE I will cut first down to 2,300 weekly average and see how I go losing at that for a month. Then if its too high an amount still I'll reduce down 100 calories till I hit my sweet spot. So out of all this it appears I do need to eat above the 2000 calorie mark to lose the fat and not f*** up my metabolic rate. It all depends on my exercise levels. If Im heaviily exercising I have to adequately fuel myself so that I'm not cutting any higher than 10 - 15% off my TDEE.

I highly recommend getting your RMR tested. If its plummeted you can fix it doing a metabolic reset eating at TDEE, you will put on a little bit of weight however once you stablize and are ready to diet again you will then be able to eat more when you go to lose the weight. It is also much more life sustainable.

Also another tip. According to katch mcardle my estimated rmr is just 1200 calories now if I went by that figure i would be 300 calories out. Also the TDEE is just an estimate too. According to TDEE it says I should maintain on 2100. Nope I can maintain on a lot higher than that. Its all just a starting point you really need to do your own experiment, track what you eat over a time period and see what amount works for you. ie what you can maintain on, what is your cutting sweet spot.

If you are new and just started your diet. If I were you for the next 6 weeks track all the foods you eat on your phone, and do your own little experiment to see what amount your true maintenance is before you even start cutting calories. So then 6 weeks later cut 10 or 20% off that amount to lose the weight at a healthy sustainable amount.

If you want help in how to do a metablic reset/eating more then join the Eat more to weight less. There is some awesome information there. Huge plug for this group! They have turned peoples lives around there!! Also check out the roadmap thread for some help too.

Any questions fire away!


Also I hope this post doesnt get lost so please keep bumping it up or sticky this lol