Hitting Reset on Metabolism

bricha09
bricha09 Posts: 6
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey MFP!

I'm new to the forums, and wondering if anyone has tips or ideas about how to rev up/reset my metabolism. I swear at this point in my life its moving at a snail's pace, and I'm CONVINCED there has to be some way to get it going!

HELP!

-Bri

Replies

  • Mithost
    Mithost Posts: 2 Member
    Hi! I might be able to help a little. First thing's first - if you're eating under 1300 calories a day, make sure you take your temperature every morning. If it's below average, even just a little, you're not eating enough and your metabolism will run extra slowly.

    Secondly, I've had a lot of success in terms of weight loss and metabolism with an altered version of the www.leangains.com diet. As far as maxing metabolism goes, the author (Martin Berkhan) shows that it doesn't matter how many times you eat in a day, your metabolism will increase to accomodate the number of calories you've eaten. So that whole 7-8 small meals a day? Not really worth it unless you just prefer it. Instead, you might want to Google Intermittent Fasting. This is part of the core of Berkhan's model - fasting 16 hours a day (men) or 14 hours a day (women). He cites studies where it increases fat loss and minimizes muscle loss when losing weight, reduces instances of cancer and alzheimer's in rats, and increases weight loss in humans with no other dietary changes.

    So, basically, set a window of 10 hours/day to eat, and don't eat outside of that. Other than that, I don't really know of anything myself that's been scientifically shown to have an effect on metabolism.

    Another thing I've found to help, personally, when I hit a plateau is occasionally having a hardcore cheat day; LOADING UP on carbs (but keeping fat low) for a day. Your weight will spike up the next morning, but will drop much faster over the next few days.

    Hope this helps you out :)
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
    Eat more, do more CV work or lift weights. Preferably, do all three and keep doing it. That's the theory, anyway.
  • Ohbutiloveicecream
    Ohbutiloveicecream Posts: 37 Member
    Build muscle!
    Muscle burns more calories than fat, and the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn, even at rest.
    There are some great workout suggestions in the strength training groups here on MFP.
  • gemiwing
    gemiwing Posts: 1,525 Member
    If you do a search in the forums you'll probably find some info as well.

    Here's an article about metabolism repair- the only thing I really disagree with is the 'eat six times a day'. Just not required but can help some to keep bloodsugar leveled.
    http://www.burnthefat.com/metabolic_damage.html

    If you've been eating too low for too long your metabolism will have slowed down to compensate for the lack of fuel. Leading to your metabolism lowering further and further- making weight loss harder and harder.

    To do a reset you're going to want to eat maintenance for a while- a few months most likely. If you're going for repair- then up your cals to within a 15% reduction off your TDEE and eat ALL those calories. You'll gain some ghost weight while your body adjusts- then you'll come back down normally again.

    Here's some info on repair:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/521728-upping-cals-what-to-expect-why-you-need-patience

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