Boosting Metabolism

cwolfman13 wrote: »

ChrissyChickie wrote: »

Hello mfp friends, hopefully you can share some advice. My hubby and I are both trying our best to lose weight. My husband can take off weight pretty easy. I on the other hand am taking weight off so incredibly slow. I'm 5'8 and currently 260lbs. I'm 52 and have not gone through menopause (I'm sure hormones probably play a factor). I'm watching what I eat on a daily basis. I follow IF almost everyday. My calorie ranges from anywhere from 1200 to 1900 a day. I do light weight lifting and walking on a daily basis. I'm lucky if I take off 1lb a week. Many weeks I take off nothing. I know I am putting on muscle, but this is getting nutty. Any suggestions of how I can boost my metabolism and lose weight faster? Thank you.

1200-1900 calorie range is pretty big...I'd pick something in the middle that you can stick with more or less consistently. 1200 is very aggressive and overly aggressive for many and can be difficult to be consistent with. 1900 is closer to an average maintenance calorie target for most women unless they are pretty active. My guess would be that your range is ultimately leaving you with a very small deficit for the week which is going to be difficult to see on the scale as it can easily be masked by normal fluctuations. I know when I set myself up for 1/2 Lb per week loss it usually takes me 4-6 weeks to actually see that trend due to normal fluctuations.

There really isn't any way to boost your basal metabolism...it is what it is outside of putting on muscle mass...but even then, you're talking about pretty small increases to basal metabolism unless you're really packing on mass like a body builder. The only way to increase metabolism overall is to increase physical activity and exercise.

As life would have it, most people have a finite amount of time for dedicated exercise...I know I do. So I have strategies to increase my overall NEAT...I take the stairs when I go to my office...I take the scenic route when I need to use the restroom or go to the break room to get water and such...I park further away from my office building and forgo that "rock star" parking when I go to the store...I get up every hour just to move a little...I get up and go talk to colleagues rather than emailing them or buzzing them on the phone, etc. All that little stuff may seem insignificant, but it adds up.

^This. I think you would be better off setting a consistent daily calorie range and sticking with it. You'll have to experiment to find your sweet spot, but if you are not losing, or losing too slowly, then you either have to reduce calorie intake or exercise more.

I like the chart posted above, that suggests losing 1% of your body weight weekly. Where you currently are, you could lose 2lbs per week based on the data in the chart.

Also, I didn't see if you had mentioned if you were using a food scale, but if not, I would highly recommend doing so. When I first started, I didn't use one, and once I did start using one, I found out I was eating more than I thought. Also, don't forget to log the little things: butter, dressing, BBQ sauce, etc.

OP - I'm in nearly the same boat, I'm 45, 5'8, and about 260 - I've got my stats set at "not very active" and 1# / week. I'm actually mostly sedentary, but i do have a garden i work on, and a farm and ride horses here and there, and move a bunch of hay frequently, but i've found that for the most part logging each of those activities is too time consuming for me, and eventually i just quit logging at all.

I'm given 1820 calories by MFP, and i eat those, and on the rare day that i really work hard (one day earlier this month i moved 40 80# bales of hay in an hour) i go ahead and log that extra exercise and eat back 1/3 to 1/2 of the calories MFP allots for me.

Going at this rate, i've lost 14 pounds in the last 12 weeks, which works really well for me. (including 3 consecutive weeks where my weight did not change).

I'm very honest about my logging, and when i don't have a recipe or calories for a home-made meal, i choose the highest calorie version i can find on MFP to hold myself as accountable as i can. I didn't get this weight by being great at estimating calorie content and serving size, so i figure if i estimate high and get into that habit, it'll be better for me overall.

That is just to say - make sure your goal is manageable, and you're being very honest with yourself about what you're eating. That's what has helped me the most.