Starvation Mode....... remedy?

TG007

Cathlete
Hi!

I'm concerned that years of (unknowingly) not eating enough might have killed my metabolism. (I'd been doing low carb and low cal) How can I get my body out of the starvation mode to a normal person mode? Or has it been destroyed forever?:(

thanks,
TG
 
My suggestion. Eat more often. I keep clean eating foods at home and I eat often 6 times. Truth is slow and steady changes are the best. Good luck. You can do this!! :)
 
From what I've heard I think you'll want to add your calories back slowly. For instance, increase them by 10 percent a day for a couple of weeks, 15 percent for a few weeks....that way you transition slowly and steadily.
 
My metabolism was in pretty bad shape after a year of breast cancer treatment (the effects of chemo), and lifelong habits of meal skipping. I had my resting metabolic rate tested at my local hospital about two and a half years ago, and was at less than 1200 calories a day as measured by the MedGem. Normal for me would have been just under 1500. At the time I was over fifty pounds heavier - so I was low by quite a bit.

I decided to emphasize getting fit/strong and fixing my nutrition, and not to worry about my metabolism specifically (just to take it into consideration). After two and a half years of hard work - much of it involving Cathe dvds! - my metabolism has been measured again, same person and same test (medgem), and it is now slightly over 1400. When doing the same predictions of normal for my weight, height, and age as for the original, my predicted RMR is 1229.

In other words, my metabolism has increased by 200 calories a day in my late 40s, no less, and while dropping fifty plus pounds, with nothing but exercise and good eating habits. And I've gone from very low to above normal.

All this is is a long way to explain why I don't think it is necessary to focus on fixing one's metabolism per se. It's useful to know what your resting metabolic rate is, just like a scale or tape measure or body fat meter can help you establish your baseline. But to me, the important thing is to get fit, and eat the right amount and kinds of food to fuel your fitness and lifestyle. Not too much, not too little, and making healthy choices.
 
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If you are doing low carb, you should not be doing low cal at the same time. If you want to restore your metabolism, you must eat plenty of protein, healthy fats, vegetables, and some whole grains. I find that tapering my carbohydrates throughout the day helps too. It will feel like force feeding. Don't worry about that. You will adjust. Don't use sugars to increase your caloric load, use olive oil and coconut oil. If you can eat fish, eat salmon. I went through the under fed low metabolism thing and found that eating at or just above my bmr worked best. I use exercise to create the calorie deficit, I never under eat anymore, it really back fires. That said, I do calorie cycle, one day I will have 500 more calories than the next day. I will make a cup of steamed vegetables in the microwave and add 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. You don't have to do it that way, I just find it to be convenient.
 

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