Did I just ruin my metabolism
NewMeowLean
Posts: 58
Hello!
So in short, last Monday (7th) I started a diet where I mostly ate protein (eggs, meat, fish) and vegetables and some fruit. No fats, no carbs, no sugar (appart from fruit). I am quite sure I averaged below 1000 kcal a day.
In one week I went from 68.5 kg to 66.2 kg (-2.3 kg or - 5 pounds). BUT the metabolism thing got me scared so I stopped and now I am trying a more sensible diet. I would like to eat an average of 1500 kcal a day and lose weight that way.
Do you thing one week of this has already ruined my metabolism? And if so, forever? It's my first try at loosing weight, I am kind of lost!
Thank you
So in short, last Monday (7th) I started a diet where I mostly ate protein (eggs, meat, fish) and vegetables and some fruit. No fats, no carbs, no sugar (appart from fruit). I am quite sure I averaged below 1000 kcal a day.
In one week I went from 68.5 kg to 66.2 kg (-2.3 kg or - 5 pounds). BUT the metabolism thing got me scared so I stopped and now I am trying a more sensible diet. I would like to eat an average of 1500 kcal a day and lose weight that way.
Do you thing one week of this has already ruined my metabolism? And if so, forever? It's my first try at loosing weight, I am kind of lost!
Thank you
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Replies
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You can't ruin your metabolism.0
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one week is nothing, just keep trekking0
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dont worry about that it is unlikely that you did anything to your metabolism, it takes a long time before your body reacts. You need to calculate how many calories you need to cut in order to lose weight. Your height, actual weight, age and activity level will have to be taken in consideration.0
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You did not ruin your metabolism forever. Probably not even messed it up for the short term in such a short period of time.
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No, one week probably had little to no effect on your metabolism. I would only be concerned if it's more long term (like several weeks/months)...
Since you're already correcting it, you should be fine.0 -
I'm no expert, but I highly doubt you ruined your metabolism in one week. However, I definitely wouldn't recommend continuing to eat at that level. 5 pounds seems high for a week, but the first week usually includes lots of water weight too... So I wouldn't worry about it too much.0
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You can't ruin your metabolism.
^^^^^^^^^ This, pay no attention to the scare mongers0 -
Put it this way - if you got a stomach bug and was sick for a week, would you think you ruined your metabolism? Just start doing your sensible 1500 a day, don't freak out if you have a small initial gain as bounce back from your glycogen stores and be happy that you came to your senses after a week 0
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Your metabolism isn't ruined. Lot's of people eat little or no carbs.
A week is such a little amount of time in this journey.0 -
nope, but realize that you lost alot of water weight and depleted your glycogen stores in the last week so when you start eating normal again you are going to see the scale go back up, take a deep breath and be ok with that.0
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Did it ruin your metabolism? I would think most certainly not, your body is quite the adaptive machine, able to bounce back from all sorts of abuse.
If your old eating habits weren't quite nutritionally balanced it's not a bad idea to change what you eat, but speaking exclusively, losing weight is more about how much you eat.
With less than 25lb left till you reach your goal, a good deficit would be around 0.5 lb per week (only eat 250 calories less than you need to maintain) to lose I'd imagine, any faster and you might be looking to cut back on lean muscle mass -- Unless you are lifting pretty heavy and regularly -- and assuming that's not what you want; you're looking to lose the weight in fat.
I'd suggest you use MyFitness Pal or IIFYM (if you don't like logging workouts or eating back exercise calories) to calculate that deficit, and since you're still working out your diet I'd recommend you try just eating eating a mix of 80% clean, 20% what you're used to/like to get in your calories to make the lifestyle change easier to come by. Sometimes switching your eating habits around completely is too drastic of a change at first and quickly loses it's appeal when you start to crave things you're not getting any longer, and that's where a lot of people fail.
Either way, take these suggestions with a grain of salt, and just find what works for you and stick to it. Good luck!0 -
Put it this way - if you got a stomach bug and was sick for a week, would you think you ruined your metabolism? Just start doing your sensible 1500 a day, don't freak out if you have a small initial gain as bounce back from your glycogen stores and be happy that you came to your senses after a week
I was sick for a week and ate nothing, and I mean NOTHING. I couldn't keep anything down. I probably should have been in the hospital, but no doctors seemed to take it seriously. I could barely even keep down water, for a WEEK. I would think that might cause some problems...I mean, how many days can you go without water, really?
Point is, I lost 13 lbs in a week...but I'm pretty sure my metabolism is the same now as it was before I was ill.0 -
Thank you for your answers!
You can read a lot of stuff about your body adapting and your metabolism dropping by as much as 50% when you don't eat enough calories. I was just imagining myself not eating anything and getting fatter :S.
So I can expect to gain weight this week but then I could lose steadily if I have a good diet? I would like to lose 20 pounds. I don't have a timeline but if don't loose a little each week I am afraid I will feel my efforts aren't paying.
I am not ready to count calories yet, mainly because I live with my parents for the next 1.5 months and it's hard to count the calories of the main meals. But I don't think the main meals are the problem: my parents eat the same thing and are both thin and I actually gained a lot of weight when I was away from home (studying). So for now I was thinking of reducing the quantity of food and cutting snacks altogether, apart from fruit. I hope to lose some weight this way.
In September I will be living on my own again, and then I will be able to count calories.0 -
you may see a little weight gain, which will be water weight/food wasteThank you for your answers!
You can read a lot of stuff about your body adapting and your metabolism dropping by as much as 50% when you don't eat enough calories. I was just imagining myself not eating anything and getting fatter :S.
So I can expect to gain weight this week but then I could lose steadily if I have a good diet? I would like to lose 20 pounds. I don't have a timeline but if don't loose a little each week I am afraid I will feel my efforts aren't paying.
I am not ready to count calories yet, mainly because I live with my parents for the next 1.5 months and it's hard to count the calories of the main meals. But I don't think the main meals are the problem: my parents eat the same thing and are both thin and I actually gained a lot of weight when I was away from home (studying). So for now I was thinking of reducing the quantity of food and cutting snacks altogether, apart from fruit. I hope to lose some weight this way.
In September I will be living on my own again, and then I will be able to count calories.
as a side note, i live at home with my parents and i still count calories. admittedly its not completely accurate since often im not cooking my own supper but you can at least estimate, its worked for me0 -
I am not ready to count calories yet, mainly because I live with my parents for the next 1.5 months and it's hard to count the calories of the main meals.
Would it offend them to ask how much of things they put into the recipe? Can you sit an watch and write it down? Or ask if they mind if you weigh how much they're putting in before they do it. Honestly, maybe they'd be surprised and happy you are interested and want to spend time with them.0 -
If you can't count calories then pay attention to portion size. But you can do some research and figure out the basic caloric content of your foods. If your parents are a pain about it just be a little subtle.
No bringing out the scales and harping about portion size...just go by common sense. It isn't perfect but it's better than opening up a pandora's box with them and going hog wild with a huge heaping portion of food that is 3x the recommended size! Eat a lot of salads along with your meals....(go easy on the add ons like bacon, croutons, cheese, and high-fat/calorie dressings.) 0 -
Hello!
So in short, last Monday (7th) I started a diet where I mostly ate protein (eggs, meat, fish) and vegetables and some fruit. No fats, no carbs, no sugar (appart from fruit). I am quite sure I averaged below 1000 kcal a day.
In one week I went from 68.5 kg to 66.2 kg (-2.3 kg or - 5 pounds). BUT the metabolism thing got me scared so I stopped and now I am trying a more sensible diet. I would like to eat an average of 1500 kcal a day and lose weight that way.
Do you thing one week of this has already ruined my metabolism? And if so, forever? It's my first try at loosing weight, I am kind of lost!
Thank you
The only way to ruin your metabolism in one week would be to eat nothing and drink nothing. Don't worry, you're fine.0 -
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You will be fine, just carry on as you intend to as of now :-)0
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What! A week of nearly anything will not harm you, keep on at it!0
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I did the same but was broke and starved myself a little more than a 1000 calories and lost 7 pounds.
I know some energy used was muscle so in a way it did lower my metabolism.
Was wonder about this two?0 -
You can't ruin your metabolism, you can ruin your diet though. I have not once cut out anything that I like to eat, I just made some better choices. I still have pizza for instance and instead of all meat, I eat it with mushrooms and black olives instead. I still get pizza but it isn't as bad as before. As long as you stay within your goals and burn more calories than you eat, you will still lose weight. Maybe not as fast, but you will lose it. You don't want to lose it too fast anyway because those who do, end up gaining it right back and then some. Some people anyway.0
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Troll post? There are fats in eggs, meat, and fish. Also there are carbs in fruit.
No! But 1/ English is not my native tongue and 2/ I am new to dieting so I may oversimplify things. For me eggs, meat and fish are protein and fruit are sugar/fiber. Carbs= pasta, potatoes, rice and fats= oil, milk, butter0 -
I though the gaining back was in part due to the metabolism being slower after a restrictive diet.0
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...now I am trying a more sensible diet. I would like to eat an average of 1500 kcal a day and lose weight that way.
I think that a LCHF diet is perfectly sensible. I, too, lost about five pounds the first week- water weight as I dumped my glycogen stores. I've been steadily losing ever since, without feeling deprived or hangry, my energy level is through the roof and I'm sleeping like a baby (for the first time since my "baby" was born five years ago!). There's support groups for this WOE on MFP and lots of info on the Internet. I found the following site to be very helpful:
http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf
Lots of luck to you on your journey!0 -
you may see a little weight gain, which will be water weight/food wasteThank you for your answers!
You can read a lot of stuff about your body adapting and your metabolism dropping by as much as 50% when you don't eat enough calories. I was just imagining myself not eating anything and getting fatter :S.
So I can expect to gain weight this week but then I could lose steadily if I have a good diet? I would like to lose 20 pounds. I don't have a timeline but if don't loose a little each week I am afraid I will feel my efforts aren't paying.
I am not ready to count calories yet, mainly because I live with my parents for the next 1.5 months and it's hard to count the calories of the main meals. But I don't think the main meals are the problem: my parents eat the same thing and are both thin and I actually gained a lot of weight when I was away from home (studying). So for now I was thinking of reducing the quantity of food and cutting snacks altogether, apart from fruit. I hope to lose some weight this way.
In September I will be living on my own again, and then I will be able to count calories.
as a side note, i live at home with my parents and i still count calories. admittedly its not completely accurate since often im not cooking my own supper but you can at least estimate, its worked for me
How do you estimate?0 -
Yeah it's ruined! Sorry.0
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I am not ready to count calories yet, mainly because I live with my parents for the next 1.5 months and it's hard to count the calories of the main meals.
Would it offend them to ask how much of things they put into the recipe? Can you sit an watch and write it down? Or ask if they mind if you weigh how much they're putting in before they do it. Honestly, maybe they'd be surprised and happy you are interested and want to spend time with them.
I can sit and watch and write it down, but it would be weird. I think my parents would be worried I would be developing an eating disorder if I did that. I talked to my mum about counting calories and she doesn't think it's a good idea. My parents just think I should eat healthy and exercise. Plus, I am very touchy about my weight, and if I try to talk about losing weight I just get unwanted advice and I don't need the drama right now.0 -
I think the only way to ruin your metabolism is by dying. So avoid doing that and your body will continue to metabolise things quite effectively.0
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