Mending metabolic rate

PaulaAW
PaulaAW Posts: 27 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
For years I've not been eating properly. Never been a breakfast person, skipping lunch and eating like a horse in the evening. If i went on a diet i would totaly depribe myself of everything apart from coffee. As a result my weight has been on a steady rise over the last 10 years or so. I know this is because my body has been in starvation and my metabolic rate has slowed, can I mend it? I'm now eating 3 meals a day and snacks in between.
Any advice would be welcome. Paula x

Replies

  • michellekicks
    michellekicks Posts: 3,624 Member
    Hey there! Check out the groups section and look for "Eat More to Weigh Less"... awesome for resetting your metabolism.

    Welcome to MFP!
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    How long is it since you have been on a VLCD?
  • iloveseattle
    iloveseattle Posts: 40 Member
    :heart:
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    first check out this site that will give you an idea of how many calories you should be eating http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

    skip the super low calorie diets since , as you've already learned, they dont work. instead go for an amount that will help you lose 1-2 pounds per week.

    also add in exercise like weight training and cardio, and set some mini goals to keep yourself motivated while you work towards your larger goal
  • PaulaAW
    PaulaAW Posts: 27 Member
    I have not starved myself for about 4 years, just only been eating 1 huge meal a day in the evening :(
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    so you were eating a massive meal once a day, and now you're on three meals a day and snacks ? Sounds positive. If you clock the food on here and open your food diary to public viewing you'll get more sensible advice.

    Be handy to say something about your height / weight / age / exercise / daily activity etc too if you can.
  • mquarry
    mquarry Posts: 21
    I have not starved myself for about 4 years, just only been eating 1 huge meal a day in the evening :(

    No one said you had been starving yourself, but that you need to eat more.

    Eating more, but quality food is the key to getting that. Since you have been on such a low-calorie diet for so long, you metabolic rate is really messed up. I would suggest asking your primary physician for a reference to a dietitian. They can help you with finding the right balance on getting your food intake under control at a healthy rate.

    Try not to focus on exercise right now. You need to make sure your body is getting the right type and amount of food before you add exercise into the mix, and you can't take medical advice from the community. That's what you need right now.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    I have not starved myself for about 4 years, just only been eating 1 huge meal a day in the evening :(

    If you eat enough - this should not have messed your metabolism up (depends how much you eat for the huge meal). A lot of folks do IF (Intermittent Fasting) where there eating window is 16/8 (16 hours fasting, 8 hour eating window which is usually one big meal and one small meal I think).

    Your metabolism is fixable after a VLCD by eating what should be your maintanance for a while - if you have done this you have probably 'fixed it'.

    If this is your natural eating pattern, you may want to look into a more 'formal' IF routine - there are groups you can join if you do a search.
  • PaulaAW
    PaulaAW Posts: 27 Member
    Thankyou everyone for your comments, I was just wondering if the damage I've done in the past can be fixed by eating properly. I've opened my food diary.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    Thankyou everyone for your comments, I was just wondering if the damage I've done in the past can be fixed by eating properly. I've opened my food diary.

    The green "remaining" number at the bottom o the food diary is the *additional* calorie deficit you are adding on to the one built into your eating goal by MFP, you should be eating more if you're going to exercise heavily in order to keep the calorie deficit to a reasonable level. If that number was zero you would be eating at the deficit you defined for your weight loss goal.

    Fruit juice is just a sugar solution with a few minerals and vitamins, I would drop that personally. Your diet also seems very low in fat so it would be easy to up your calories by making less lean choices and avoid diet or lite type foods. There are vitamins that are only fat soluble, and essential fats we have to eat so a bit of oily fish like mackerel or salmon instead of turkey perhaps.

    Burgen toast with butter would be a better choice than porridge for breakfast too - less quickly absorbed carbohydrate.

    I doubt there is any lasting damage at all, metabolic rates respond to refeeding and to proper nutrition.
  • wackyfunster
    wackyfunster Posts: 944 Member
    I ate 1200 cals daily for years when on a CR/life-extension kick. There is no long-term damage (in fact, a slower metabolism provides a ton of health benefits, as well as the ability to do full workouts without breaking a sweat due to low core temp, which is a nice side-benefit).

    Also do the "only dinner" thing a lot. Like Sara said, check out Intermittent Fasting. You can do all that without it impacting your fitness level.

    Fitness is really super simple.
    1) eat lots of protein (1-1.5g per pound lean body mass per day)
    2) eat at a deficit if you want to lose weight. The size of the deficits determines the speed of the weight loss.
    3) lift heavy weights 3x per week (if you want to do some cardio too, you can... It's not a necessity though)

    You can make it a lot more complicated, but if you do that stuff, you can get into very good shape.

    I have gone from 25% to 6% body fat, have respectable lifts, and had a pound of steak and a bowl of ice cream for dinner. Heed my words! :p

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