"You have a fast metabolism!"- NO! I work HARD.

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choosing_fitness
choosing_fitness Posts: 102
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi,
In my lifetime I have gone from 140 lbs. to 110 lbs. and fluctuated all in between. I know rest at 124 and am wanting to get back to 115 lbs. However, I do have more muscle and I think I do look better physically, so I am not sure if I would want to lose some of that muscle just to have that number on the scale... Does this make sense?
Here comes my frustration... I work HARD to maintain and lose weight. I workout 5-6 days a week. I do cardio, I do weights. I eat well. I count calories, etc. And ALL my friends are like, "you have a fast metabolism." Let me tell you something, I don't, it is just average, and maybe 3% faster after I do weights. LOL But I work hard and I feel like my friends don't understand that.

Have you heard this before? Is this dumb to even talk about?
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Replies

  • lisalsd1
    lisalsd1 Posts: 1,521 Member
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    I wouldn't be mad about it. In my experience, this sentiment is usually more about the other person...and her weight. Do you really need to be 115 though? Sometimes the # on the scale is meaningless...especially if you lift.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    It's not dumb and yes, it can be irritating. Respond as you just did, "I work my butt off for this".
  • redfisher1974
    redfisher1974 Posts: 614 Member
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    Let people think what they want, You know what it takes to be where you are. Keep up the great work!
  • TanLinesNTailgates2
    TanLinesNTailgates2 Posts: 1,528 Member
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    redfisher1974 wrote: »
    Let people think what they want, You know what it takes to be where you are. Keep up the great work!

    agreed

  • choosing_fitness
    choosing_fitness Posts: 102
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    lisalsd1 wrote: »
    I wouldn't be mad about it. In my experience, this sentiment is usually more about the other person...and her weight. Do you really need to be 115 though? Sometimes the # on the scale is meaningless...especially if you lift.

    GREAT POINT. I am so much of a numbers person that I have to careful, especially with the scale. :)
  • itsMcKay
    itsMcKay Posts: 131 Member
    edited November 2014
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    Just send them this: "No excuses...In short, while there is some variance among the population in terms of metabolic rate, the range is not wide enough to be a real factor in your ability to alter your weight. If you’re having trouble with either fat loss or muscle gain, simply start keeping track of calories and slowly add or subtract from your daily target depending on your goal."

    Fast metabolism is a myth and a lie people tell themselves to skirt responsibility.

    Keep up the good work!

    ---

    http://www.menshealth.co.uk/building-muscle/get-big/the-myth-of-the-fast-metabolism
  • evileen99
    evileen99 Posts: 1,564 Member
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    When people would say this to me (usually people who had a few pounds to lose) I would say to them "Spend a week with me and eat what I eat and do what I do and then tell me it's my metabolism." Funny how no one ever took me up on it.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    I don't think it would be worth it to lose muscle just to get to some arbitrary number on the scale...in fact, I think that's rather silly.

    None of my friends think I have a fast metabolism...they see me work and they see me eat and they know what I'm all about.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,943 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    I don't think it would be worth it to lose muscle just to get to some arbitrary number on the scale...in fact, I think that's rather silly.

    None of my friends think I have a fast metabolism...they see me work and they see me eat and they know what I'm all about.

    All this.

    It also doesn't matter what people think or say.
  • yankeedownsouth
    yankeedownsouth Posts: 717 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    None of my friends think I have a fast metabolism...they see me work and they see me eat and they know what I'm all about.

    Exactly this. I've never heard this from my friends because they know how I eat and workout. However, if someone did say that to me, I'd definitely point out that I work my butt off for every gain I make...

  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    After I started on Synthroid, I was able to lose. Couldn't lose before. I work hard! I stick to an average of 1200 calories a day, I do my C25K every other day. I do body weight stuff every day and when my shoulder is done recovering, I'll swim again. It's a lot of work.

    What do I hear? "Sure wish I had a magic pill," and "Must be nice to just take a pill," etc.

    They are jealous. They're trying to make themselves feel better. If you have a fast metabolism and I have special pills, then we aren't doing a better job (and they aren't "worse" than anyone.) Deep down, they know better. They have to hang on to that, for their own reasons. It's a game they play in their head to keep themselves "okay" with themselves.
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
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    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    "I work my butt off for this".

    I would love to be able to say that, but I look down and there it is ... :smiley:

    Seriously, many people would like to believe its some magical metabolism thing, because that gives them the excuse to not change. Coming to grips with the fact that it takes time and effort to be fit would mean they have to accept the truth that its them holding themselves back and not the excuse of "metabolism."

    And this comes from someone with a faulty endocrine system (hypothyroid). I'm in the bast shape of my life and make the choices to support it.
  • dnamouse
    dnamouse Posts: 612 Member
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    I get the 'you're so lucky to be so small' comments from people who don't know me.

    The people who do know me (and know how hard I work) look at those people like they're idiots and then gleefully explain, I don't have to say a thing LOL
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    How about - "I work hard to keep a fast metabolism, and I work hard".

    Because really, you could work hard, but have a terrible diet and being killing your metabolism, which usually comes back around and makes you not actually be working that hard in comparison.
    But it takes doing it right to have both.
  • epido
    epido Posts: 353 Member
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    I have never gotten the fast metabolism comments before, but I do get asked about what I am doing quite often, and get blank stares of disbelief when I explain that it is a lot of hard work, eating better, working out, and counting calories. They always follow up with, "that's really it?" I know they are convinced I am lying to them and don't want to share my "magic pill."
  • RHPSgirl1984
    RHPSgirl1984 Posts: 436 Member
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    I'd just tell them that you've been working hard for what you've got.
  • JazzFischer1989
    JazzFischer1989 Posts: 531 Member
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    I'm curious, though. How would you know if you have a "fast metabolism"?
  • ryanwood935
    ryanwood935 Posts: 245 Member
    edited November 2014
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    I lost 57 pounds and maintained for a while before I started my first bulk. I'm moving around all day at work, and lift 4x a week. Even people that remember 'fat me' comment on how I can eat whatever I want and not gain an ounce. Even though I've gained 10. And I was fat before, so obviously it's not true. But people don't like to listen to reason :smiley:

    If not for the crazies, we wouldn't have anything fun to talk about on MFP!
  • DragonShoe_GCole
    DragonShoe_GCole Posts: 138 Member
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    Kalikel wrote: »
    After I started on Synthroid, I was able to lose. Couldn't lose before. I work hard! I stick to an average of 1200 calories a day, I do my C25K every other day. I do body weight stuff every day and when my shoulder is done recovering, I'll swim again. It's a lot of work.

    What do I hear? "Sure wish I had a magic pill," and "Must be nice to just take a pill," etc.

    They are jealous. They're trying to make themselves feel better. If you have a fast metabolism and I have special pills, then we aren't doing a better job (and they aren't "worse" than anyone.) Deep down, they know better. They have to hang on to that, for their own reasons. It's a game they play in their head to keep themselves "okay" with themselves.

    Wish I could rep this post as post of the decade
  • ForecasterJason
    ForecasterJason Posts: 2,577 Member
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    JazzFischer1989 wrote: »
    I'm curious, though. How would you know if you have a "fast metabolism"?
    Some here may not like me saying this, but I would say I'm living it right now. Although I've started doing some weight training, my overall lifestyle is quite sedentary, and yet I'm consuming more calories per pound of body weight than most other people with my activity level. Despite my calorie intake, I am quite skinny, as my body is holding me at a very low weight for my height (and essentially has since I was a young kid).
    Essentially, IMO someone with a fast metabolism can get away without doing much exercise while being able to remain quite thin. By thin, I don't necessarily just mean a healthy weight, but actually below the normal weight for height.

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