Can you tell if your metabolism has increased?

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I had the same experience as you. When I first started losing weight, I could easily eat between 1300-1600 calories per day and not struggle with hunger too much. But as I increased my amount of exercise, I had to up my calories. I especially noticed the increased hunger after I started incorporating weight lifting. At this point, I'm eating about 1900 calories average per day, and losing 2 lbs per week. I tried to ignore my hunger for a while, but I'm really glad I responded to my hunger cues as I get to eat more (yay!) and still lose weight. I know that may not be everyone's experience, but you might want to increase calories by 100/day for a couple of weeks or whatever feels reasonable to you and see what impact it has on your rate of loss. Good luck!

If you're logging consistently and accurately, both eating & activity, you may know that "your metabolism has increased" because you'll lose weight a bit faster at the same calorie level, or lose at the same rate while eating a little more, and this remains true for a period of time.

I put the phrase in quotes because I'm not sure that's the most accurate terminology for the phenomenon, but I am responding to what I think you meant by it.

Even with as accurate logging as you can manage, it's still a bit of guesswork because any effect tends to be small/gradual. Without meticulous logging, it'd just be complete speculation.

Chances are your increased exercise is simply working up your appetite, rather than it being any kind of permanent metabolic increase.

The more active I am, especially weight lifting, the hungrier I am. Probably due more to burning and needing more calories than to an increased metabolism. Is that one in the same? Maybe....

However, it is true that increasing muscle mass does improve metabolism.

AJ_G wrote: »

aribel95 wrote: »

I heard drinking ice water and taking cold showers increases your metabolism.

You heard wrong

No, they heard correct. It increases by several calories per day from the energy your body expends to warm.

I get more hungry right after and the day after exercise but its because i don't always eat all of my exercise calories back. So technically it's not my metabolism getting faster. If you eating all of your exercise calories back and still are more hungry, maybe its the weight lifting since it repairing muscle for a few hours and needing a few more calories for that. Nonetheless, eat more if you are hungry and still loosing weight!! Enjoy it

gebeziseva wrote: »

AJ_G wrote: »

aribel95 wrote: »

I heard drinking ice water and taking cold showers increases your metabolism.

You heard wrong

No, they heard correct. It increases by several calories per day from the energy your body expends to warm.

no it is actually incorrect to a degree...increase vs boost

that is not an increased metabolism it may boost calorie burn for a time period but an increased metabolism will increase calorie burn on a more permanent basis.

Adding muscle will increase metabolism in a person...and that is about all I can think of the will actually increase metabolism...however I am sure that there are more things...but most just "boost"

ErinMichelle31 wrote: »

Hello! I'm wondering if there is a way to know if your metabolism has increased. When I began this journey, I started working out all the time. I am up to a heavy workout at least six days per week. Lately, I find that I am hungrier than usual. I am waking up hungry, and I get hungry again sooner after eating. So far I've been resisting the urge to eat more, and I am still losing weight very steadily. But I wonder if anyone else who went from being sedentary to working out a lot has experienced something similar?

There really isn't anything you can to that will have a great impact to metabolism. Your metabolism is determined by genetics, and it's pretty stable. I think I read a study somewhere that about the most one can do is increase calorie burn by around 50 cal a day. Your daily movements and exercise are far more important in your calorie burn.

https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000893.htm