Metabolism

I think I have a low metabolism do to diet and exercise and under eating for years. I don't eat the recommended amount of calories to maintain weight and I have gained based on under eating and then binge eating a few days a week ? Has anyone experienced this. ? Should I eat what recommended calories are.

Replies

  • Derf_Smeggle
    Derf_Smeggle Posts: 611 Member
    How are you measuring your calorie intake? Eyeballing, measuring cups, or weighing with a scale?

    Are you binging on enough to go over your weekly deficit?

    How long have you been noticing this trend?
  • subcounter
    subcounter Posts: 2,382 Member
    Royce284 wrote: »
    I think I have a low metabolism do to diet and exercise and under eating for years. I don't eat the recommended amount of calories to maintain weight and I have gained based on under eating and then binge eating a few days a week ? Has anyone experienced this. ? Should I eat what recommended calories are.

    I think binge eating is the issue here. You can't just eat low calories for couple days then get away with huge amounts of calories.

    Lets say your maintenance is: 1800 calories (Arbitrary number, depends on your life style, body type etc etc).

    You eat 1500 for 4 days, 300 deficit per day so you are in 1200 deficit total.

    Then for the other 3 days, you eat 2500 calories/day , which puts you to 2100 calories over.

    At the end of the week, you are 900 calories over. Thats like 0.25 lb gain in that week. Yeah you were hungry more than half of the week but that doesn't really matter for your body.

    When it comes to your body, and weight-loss, don't think in terms of couple days, think if weeks, months. You need track your calories. You will find out you eat more than you think you do, and your metabolism is fine.
  • Tashanicole444
    Tashanicole444 Posts: 86 Member
    Good point so I need to be consistent with what is needed and not over eat . Meaning according to my fitness pal 2000-2100 with exercise.
  • Tashanicole444
    Tashanicole444 Posts: 86 Member
    Without exercise to maintain says. 1850 then add in for exercise sounds high but that would set me up not to binge.
  • subcounter
    subcounter Posts: 2,382 Member
    Royce284 wrote: »
    Without exercise to maintain says. 1850 then add in for exercise sounds high but that would set me up not to binge.

    If you have a set workout schedule that you follow every week, I would recommend going by weekly splits.

    Something like, say you go to gym 4 times a week, burn 600 each time, 2400 total weekly calories. Thats around +340 calories you can eat per day.

    Lets say your maintenance without workouts is 1860, so you can eat 2200 calories/day to maintain. You eat more to gain, and less to lose. The important bit is trial and error. Weekly checks at the scale will be the true result. (I mean not the water-loss in the first weeks) Adjust the value depending on what you see on the scale weekly.