Fixing the metabolism after too low caloric intake

**jeane** · Posted On: 2/23/2011 12:51pm

So in the course of my attempts to both lose weight and gain strength and endurance, I have found that I have been eating too few calories for a long time. I maybe consume 1200 calories per day at most.

This would explain why I gain weight whenever I try to eat breakfast (I have been eating only two meals for a long time in attempts to lose weight).

My weight is up to 155 pounds. My height is 5'1".

So, I would like to have an estimate of how long it could take for my body to adjust the metabolism to a decent amount of calories.

The weight gain I will undoubtedly take on during this process will be pretty damned traumatic to my psyche. Having a timetable to work with should help minimise the mental trauma.

**CNagy** · Posted On: 2/23/2011 1:11pm

Inch your intake back up and it shouldn't be too bad. In my experience, it is always better to eat more and exercise more than to eat less and exercise. It's all about calorie deficit, but one way feels much better than the other.

**Phrost** · Posted On: 2/23/2011 1:56pm

What about instituting a weekly cheat meal to "shock" (I hate that term) metabolism a bit? Wolf down a big honkin' steak and sweet potato or something like that.

**jeane** · Posted On: 2/23/2011 2:33pm

i could do a mix of both methods. i'll eat breakfast everyday and a steak dinner on saturday nights.

i'll let you all know how much more weight i gain in 30 or so days. or not.

**elipson** · Posted On: 2/23/2011 5:24pm

Exercise more, and sleep well in the knowledge that your weight gain is muscle and not fat.

**Sang** · Posted On: 2/23/2011 8:12pm

Originally Posted by Phrost

What about instituting a weekly cheat meal to "shock" (I hate that term) metabolism a bit? Wolf down a big honkin' steak and sweet potato or something like that.

A few gurus like J.B. seem to think your metabolism doesn't work this way and that you need quite a few days of high calorie to really "confuse" it. Cheat meals are still useful for low carb diets and general mental health though.

OP: Start a diet log, I'd like to see whether its your maths or your metabolism thats stuffed.

**jeane** · Posted On: 2/23/2011 10:47pm

what is a diet log that you recommend?

i just started one at nutrimirror. today's intake was 1573, but i had a second helping at dinner and i haven't usually been doing that.

**boxingfan03** · Posted On: 2/24/2011 7:08am

You should try to eatv more low GI (Glycemic Index) carbs in one day, like beans, or an apple. Increase your calorie intake of maybie 100 calories per day untill you reach something descent.

In short, more the GI of food is low the harder it to convert it's carbs into fat. For example, it's like if you eat 500 calories of apples, you won't get fat but if you eat 500 calories of cake, you will.

Go find a GI chart and try as much as possible to eat carbs with low IG (under 40). It's also going to help you losing weight. According to your weight and eight, you could eat about 1800 calories a day, and that would probably be enough to lose weight and not being in a too large deficit.

**jeane** · Posted On: 2/25/2011 11:08am

Thanks for all the input.

I am thinking this all started when I went back to school (no more restaurant lunch out of the office everyday). I also cut back on red meat at the same time but didn't really replace it with anything. I'll add that back in.

**jeane** · Posted On: 3/01/2011 10:45pm

update: after adding a protein (20g) smoothie as breakfast i am feeling a lot better physically(i didn't expect that, i thought it was just age). i also cut back on the coffee in the morning without thinking about it.

however my sleep has become messed up(hard to get to sleep). is that natural for this kind of change?