“Jumpstart YOUR metabolism with a wheaties breakfast!” Eating cereal boosts your metabolism! It must be true – it’s right there on the box! PS> Where is their mother?!I’m doing everything right and it’s not working! If you have ever thought the aforementioned – usually cried in paroxysms of grief after an unfortunate run-in with the Scale of Self Destruction – then you have inevitably wondered Maybe I have a slow metabolism. (Right after you have wondered if your Body Bugg got hit by lightning without your knowledge and/or if your personal trainer secretly hates people.)
One of the most hotly debated theories in the study of human metabolism is whether or not people have a baseline or set point, as measured by weight, that is programmed for each individual body and to which the body strives to maintain. Proponents say this is evidence as to why people have such a miserable time sustaining weight loss over time but opponents say if the baseline theory were true then nobody would ever maintain long-term weight loss and some do. On one hand, lending credence to the set point theory, people tend to weigh similarly to those they are genetically related to (even if they weren’t raised by them, as seen in identical-twins-traumatized-by-separation-at-birth studies). On the other hand, NY Times science writer Gina Kolata’s whole book Rethinking Thin is based on science saying the opposite. Plus they have Jared the Subway Guy and, well, you can’t argue with sandwiches.
The science in this area is still emerging but several studies shed additional light on this. Here’s the Spark Notes version:
1. Calorie deficits work. You cut enough calories and you will lose weight. However, the devil, as he is wont to be, is in the details. As anyone who has ever tried to create a calorie deficit can tell you, it isn’t as easy as calories in, calories out. New research shows that the percentage of deficit taken, the starting point of both body weight and body fat, and the macronutrient ratios in the diet all influence the rate and the way in which weight comes off when you cut calories.
2. The key to maintaining a weight loss is “balancing your energy.” Researchers have shown that people who have lost a lot of weight often overestimate the number of calories they need to maintain their new lower weight and therefore overeat, regaining their weight. When asked, the people reported that they were eating only enough to maintain but when examined by researchers they were eating more than reported. (Not that I blame them, that’s just human nature!)
3. People who have lost weight have similar resting metabolic rates as their weight-maintaining peers. Your RMR is how many calories your body burns while just surviving and seems to adjust in relation to your weight. This refutes the oft-repeated statement – and the set point theory – that overweight people have slower metabolisms, even after weight loss.
4. No two metabolisms are the same. It’s this last point that is the real kicker. While each person’s metabolism may react to different environments (starvation, overfeeding) in a proscribed manner, factors like hormones, body fat percentage, diet composition and, yes, gender, can greatly influence it. If you’ve ever had a roommate who can eat 6 packages of peanut butter cups a day and still stay a size zero (like I did – egads, you should have tried living with her!) while you eat salmon and broccoli every night and can barely maintain a “normal” BMI, then you will know what I’m talking about.
Our metabolisms may not have set points but they sure have enough outside factors working on them to befuddle even the most determined dieter. I remember the first time this truism bit me in the butt. When I first embarked on my health-nut journey (that started out all about the health and ended up all about the nutty) my extra weight came off fairly easily. Yes I had to watch what I ate and exercise but it worked. I lost weight steadily. And then I hit a plateau. All my diet evangelism flew right out the window when confronted with the “But I’m doing everything right by golly!!” paradox.
Other than struggling over the next couple of years to lose a measly few pounds, I didn’t get much insight into this until The Great Over-Training Debacle of 2008. During this time, I had my metabolism thoroughly tested – both in the doctor’s office (they ran tests on my thyroid and my hormones and even my baby maker – which thankfully was unoccupied at that time) and in the gym via hydrostatic weighing and the Darth Vader-on-a-treadmill metabolic testing. Their conclusion? I need 1230 calories a day to go about my daily life. I still remember the professor’s face when he gave me the news, his look daring me to complain. Which I did. Vociferously! “That’s IT?!” I shrieked (politely – I’m a very considerate shrieker.) “That’s all I get to eat? That’s not even a whole meal at T.G.I.Fridays! I’ll never get another Blizzard again! I HAVE THE SLOWEST METABOLISM EVER!!!”
To which he replied, every bit the scientist he was, “It’s not slow. It’s efficient. Your body works perfectly well and is extremely healthy with only half the energy requirements of the average man.” While he was waxing eloquent about my body being a Prius in a world of Hummers, I was trying to come to grips with the fact that at Superbowl Parties there would be nothing super in a bowl for me. I could have one chip with a dollop of hummus while everyone else got Chicago-style pizza.
And then I said it. The phrase every parent hates most: “It’s not fair.”
“Of course it’s not,” he replied simply. “It never is.”
This idea of “deserving” more food has been a real struggle for me as I’ve progressed with Intuitive Eating. In the past I’ve focused endlessly on how to “stoke my metabolic fires” “become a fat-burning machine” and “rev up my engine” so that I could eat whatever I wanted with impunity. So every time I feel my body get full after just a few bites, my mind stomps its foot and cries, “It’s not fair! This food is yummy and I earned it! Everyone else gets to keep eating it! I want to keep eating it too! What if they eat it all and there’s none left for me?!” For whatever reason, talking back to that voice is very difficult for me. Sure I’ll survive the Apocalypse (party with the ‘roaches!) but that’s small comfort when everyone else is snarfing Concession Obsession with abandon.
But the other night I had a breakthrough. There isn’t any point in trying to either speed up or slow down my metabolism. Like Andrew said so many years ago, “Why would I want to fix my metabolism? It’s not broken.” My metabolism may be slow(er) than most but it works great keeping my body running. And you know what? I DO get to eat whatever I want with impunity. I just have to get my wants in line with my needs. When I eat what my body wants (not what my mind wants – that’s different), I don’t feel restricted or left out or unhappy. I just feel good. Even if that means I only eat four bites of a homemade brownie. (And also – who is this “everyone else”?! I don’t know what people eat all day.)
My husband’s fallen in love with this reality show “Out of the Wild: the Alaska Experiment” where they dropped a bunch of city slickers with no survival skills into the middle of Alaska, gave them a map and told them to make their own way out. On one episode, the biggest and toughest of the men faints from lack of food (seriously, the people who signed up for this show make Survivor contestants look sane) and the voiceover explains flatly that “muscle is expensive” and that women are “better at conserving body mass on less food.” Like the professor said, we’re efficient. Long live the women!
Do you think your metabolism is slow or fast or just normal? Does it matter to you? Do you feel like your body has a set point it wants to stay at? How do you deal with the “It’s not fair, everyone else gets to double-fist artichoke dip while I’m stuck with crudités?” voices?? (PS> Did you see I got the é to work?? I did it! Wheeee!!!!)
I think we had the same roommate! I watched that girl eat her way through college and while I love her a bunch I wanted to murder her sometimes. Her mom is super skinny too so I think it must be genetic. And she’s also one of those extremely enviable people who has no food/weight issues at all. She can eat half a bag of candy without feeling compelled to eat the other half, put the rest in a cupboard and forget about it. She also commented on how she gained weigh while training for a half-marathon in a purely, “huh, this is interesting” sort of way. (Nope, no jealousy here at all…)
I’ve always maintained my metabolism is slow. I’d love to know for sure but not enough to pay for getting it tested. Seriously, my brother can eat his weight in junk food daily and is a too-skinny stick and I have one bad food weekend and put on 10lbs. I totally struggle with the “it’s not fair” voice. But I definitely think set points are real. I just don’t think they’re the same throughout our life. The past year I’ve been working out a lot more and I see that after I gain those 10lbs, go back to eating normally, my weight drops back to what it’s been. When I wasn’t working out much a couple years ago the same thing would happen but at a higher weight.
I know the pain of living with someone like that too… At one point while I was in college my roommate just decided she needed to lose weight and just like that she ate slightly better and began losing weight! She didn’t even need to exercise or anything – I can really relate to the “It’s not fair” line. As I also have quite the slow metabolism I have to really control my diet and exercise to shed any weight at all.
I love this post! I have had to come to grips with this fact as well. “Moderation” just does not work for me. I get so frustrated when people constantly tell me that when I know I will not keep my hard-earned weight loss by eating what my mind wants, even in moderation. Basically, I can eat 3 pieces of lettuce if I don’t want to gain back (ok, this is an exaggeration, but that IS how it feels!) I have not been tested, but even with a high physical training load, no sugar, and no grains, I have to be SO careful that I don’t overeat.
This has been very hard emotionally, but truly at the end of the day, I do want to be healthy and fit more than I want brownies!! The hardest part is being at peace with the fact that I have food issues, and that my food life will look different than most people I know. But then I remind myself that I am in much better shape than most people I know, and the sacrifice is worth it! I have 6 daughters (and two sons) who look to me as their example, so I have to demonstrate to them EVERY day, several times a day, that food is wonderful and to be used wisely.
I have s slow metabolism. It’s one of the reasons I exercise…to try and boost it a little andburn off a bit more calories so I can eat a few more calories. I struggle with having just enough to satisfy myself and not just eating it all because it’s there. I have to watch myself as it’s easy to put weight back on.
I had a friend in university with a rediculously high metabolism – think 6 large meals a day and he still looked like a strong wind would blow him over. He hated it…
My metabolism is about the same as yours, but I think that’s pretty normal for short or average height women. Maybe a little slow, but by no more than like 100 calories per day. Obviously exercise can help a little! But yeah, I whine a lot about my metabolism in spite of knowing it’s pretty normal for a lady of my stature. I glare at my husband who never exercises, plays video games, and eats a half a loaf of bread a day (sometimes a whole loaf! Plus a pound of pasta!!). Yeah, it doesn’t feel fair but I’m with you…and the cockroaches. Efficiency is evolutionarily advantageous 😉
I have a friend who was once told to eat as heavy food as he could and to eat empty calories whenever he felt like it, because he actively lost weight if he didn’t eat a crapload of food. Yes, he has medical issues surrounding his “super metabolism,” but if I were him, I’d be eating food all the time. For Pete’s sake, he ate ice cream shakes every day. If I could do that sanely, I would. Like all day. Every day.
There are also my friends who *forget* to eat. Like one girl who has blood sugar issues but she just doesn’t have enough of an appetite to care. Eh, if there’s food in front of her, she might eat it. Might. But she forgets to eat the second she’s busy doing something. I wish I could do that; I’d look like a piece of beef.
I love food. I think about it a lot, even when I’m not hungry. I don’t like restraint. I don’t like the idea that my male friends get to eat pizza and fried chicken and brownies whenever they want, and if I did that, I’d look like a blob. I love the taste of food, and the act of eating. I don’t understand how someone can look down at their plate of delicious wonder and say, “Nope, I don’t want that.” I just don’t feel that. I don’t get the “nah, maybe later” signal. Unless I am physically too stuffed to eat more food, I will always want to eat more food. It’s a fun activity, like Frisbee or video games. Why stop?
My metabolism doesn’t agree. I even have a lot of muscle mass, and it doesn’t care. At this point, I am hoping for technology to fix this problem, maybe create something that just burns craploads of glucose in my system so that I blow 500-1000 extra calories a day.
Sure, the human body on the African plain would think this is amazing. I’ll die last when nuclear winter happens. But we’re not there. Evolution isn’t catching up, and now we’re poorly evolved for our situations. Unless you live in a third world country or are very poor, calories are not that hard to get. I feel like I *do* deserve food: if I have worked and earned the money to buy this food, I should have the capability to eat this food. It *isn’t* fair, and that’s what technology is about: making not-fair situations, fair. Missing a leg? Technology is working on making you have a new one. Can’t see well? That’s what glasses are for. It’s all about giving everyone a fair shot.
Ergo, someday, I hope science comes up with a way to waste calories. I assume that we’ll figure it out; we always do.
I think I have an average, maybe even slightly fast metabolism. However, I also have the appetite of a teenage boy, so what good does it do me? 😛
I’d say I have a normal metabolism. I exercise and try to eat healthfully, but I’ve always been at a normal weight without a huge struggle. I think partly I’m fortunately because I HATE feeling over-full. I never have any problem stopping at 80% because I just can’t stand that food coma feeling (not that I don’t ever get there, but ick).
However, I’m pregnant with my first child, and I have to say that the idea of having to lose the baby weight is more than a little terrifying. At 25 weeks and up 20lbs and counting over my normal weight (+10 to get pregnant and +10 since I started growing another human), I do worry that my body is going to decide it “likes” its new set point, and it’s going to take Herculean efforts to get back down to normal – especially caring for a new baby.
I have the slowest metabolism EVAR. To the point that every doctor and personal trainer I have ever worked with said I must be overcalculating what I ate, until I worked really closely with a nutritionist and she was totally baffled and recommended that I see a doctor. Long story short, nothing’s wrong with me I just have a crazy slow metabolism. I tell people I’m Jewish-Irish. My genes think at any point that I am going to be persecuted, starved, and have to walk a long way with nothing but potatoes and bitter greens. 🙂
I have a very STEADY metabolism. It’s very hard for me to lose weight, and it’s tricky for me to gain weight (unless I REALLY deviate from the norm, as in vacation, injury, dumb eating choices during a training cycle, etc). Which is nice, but when I am about 20 lbs more than I’d like to be, the not gaining weight is of small solace when it’s hard to lose.
However unfair it might seem, my nutritionist did point out that it may not seem fair that Person X could eat all the crap food they want and not gain weight, but it did not save them from other health issues. Plus, veggies and hummus is really GOOD! Yeah, there are some social situations where I want the food because it’s there, but I really enjoy the way and what I get to eat, and feel way better than when I was losing weight (getting lightheaded at the gym anyone?)
Metabolism changes with our age. We get the first slow-down in the mid 20s, another in the late 30s, and another in the mid/late 40s. The last -if you’re a woman- usually corresponds to the onset of the menopause.
I had the “joy” of not changing a thing in my activity or food, and gaining 30# in 6 weeks.
I did lose the weight, and kept it off for 2 years before underfeeding and injury caused it all to come back. Now, no matter what I do I’m not getting it off. (le sigh…)
I have no idea if my metabolism is slow or fast. . . although I’ve noticed that once I hit 30, doing the *exact* same thing as what I did in my 20s to lose weight does *not* work.
As for a set point, my body definitely has one!! It likes to stay around 165 without too much effort (though it does require some). Going above it isn’t too hard, since that is a bit high anyways, but going below requires some SERIOUS dedication and effort that frankly, as someone who enjoys food, I’m not going to do.
I have no idea if my metabolism is fast/slow/normal… but I do know that I seem only able to lose weight if I’m exercising or at least active regularly. Just changing/adjusting my diet does almost nothing for me. I can lose about 1/4 of a pound a week, if that. Finding the motivation to exercise this summer has been near-impossible for me – so I guess for now I just have to be okay with my 1/4 pound/week!
my metabolism is definitely “efficient”. My husband’s is not. He requires TONS of calories just to maintain(and doesn’t exercise). I’ve long given up the idea of gorging myself like he does, but I just wish that my hunger level matched my metabolic rate. If I ate as much as my hunger dictates I would definitely balloon up.
I am not overweight but I am bigger than I’d prefer(mostly I am carrying more fat than I’d like), but no matter what I do I cannot lose the weight. So, I think I’m finally at the point where I’m saying, I’m just going to do what I want!! This doesn’t mean I’ll be slamming back desserts twice a day, but if one day I decide I want to eat a cupcake I made for my hubby, I”m going to eat a dam.n cupcake! And I am going to stop stressing out every time we have dinner plans out of the house worrying about how it’ll ruin my “diet”. Life is too short.
But my mom is obese, one grandma is obese(the other is normal to slightly overweight) and my sister is slightly overweight, so I guess it runs in the family.
On a funny note, your whale pic reminds me of a Jim Gaffigan bit. You’ll die laughing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsMqakE7noE
You have to remember there are things you can do to boost your metabolism as you know: gain muscle! Move! I know this only too well. When I went from active fitness instructor and personal trainer in 2001 to sedentary, depressed, out of work, yet still eating the same foods… I put on weight! Go figure!
Fast forward to now and my weight has stayed pretty much the same for 3 years, give or take 5 lbs. I have managed to drop body fat though and look a lot different. I now weigh pretty much the same as I did 15 years ago BUT I am at a much lower body fat %! More muscle, less cardio (or smarter cardio) and more weights! I admit to being a bit of a cardio bunny back in the 90’s!
I will say that my main issue with weight was portion control, I admit it freely! My metabolism did slow a little when I got sedentary but that wasn’t helped by the AMOUNT of food I was shoveling in, and the wrong types of food! My metabolism now is pretty high. I can eat a lot, but also I burn a lot so it evens out!
I get the “my skinny friend” story all the time. Stop comparing yourself to other people! You can only control you, you are NOT your friend. Get busy with what YOU can change about YOU, not what other people are doing!
I realized the other day that I attribute everything in my life to what I’m eating and how much I’m exercising, even though there are SO many other variables going on right now. I’m in my third year of law school, taking five classes and working two jobs, most of which I hate to the core of my being but have to just get through it unfortunately; I am super depressed but lost my health insurance and can’t seem to find another one I qualify for, so I’m not medicated; most days it’s hard to get out of bed to get to class or work, let alone work out (I still force myself to do it six days a week), and yet I always blame this on the piece of bread I ate or the milk I had on my oatmeal or whatever. This, despite the fact that I don’t feel different when I eat purely Paleo, for example. I don’t feel better. It’s life stuff. It’s structural stuff. Yet I still make it about my “choices” with food and exercise. I can also never tell the difference between what the pop pilates lady would call ‘feeling sluggish’ and actually, truly needing a rest day. So what do I do? Always force myself to work out, of course. I’m just feeling sluggish! I’ll feel better 10 minutes in! But it’s actually driven by an obsession.
Remember when my comment went so far afield, but I just kept going? Love you Charlotte. You provoke so many thoughts with every post.
Emily, I feel exactly the same way you do: I blame my depression on minute food choices and restrict, restrict, restrict even though that ADDS to the lowered energy levels. Last week I just cracked and said ‘Nope, no more’ and took a few rest days, and now I feel a lot better. I also took a couple yoga classes. Now, I am the least likely yogi ever. I am the opposite of mellow. But it really helped AND boosted my performance on the track and in the weight room and made me feel a lot better.
I also find relaxing around food helps my body feel better. What I eat is less important than how I eat. It is so hard, though, when only a limited range of foods feel ‘safe’–and those safe foods aren’t necessarily the ones my body wants. Know what I mean? Sorry to hijack this comment thread, it’s just that you articulated EXACTLY how I feel.
I was one of those people who could eat whatever I wanted and not gain weight in my 20’s, not as much in my 30’s. I think you really need to find a way to just embrace who you are as an individual. While it might sound great to be able to eat whatever you want there are always 2 sides to everything.
In high school I got constantly harassed about being anorexic when I wasn’t which despite what you may be thinking was still hard to cope with. I also got glandular fever very severely and it took me almost 2 years to “gain” my way back to a healthy weight – eating crap all the time is not fun, it can make you feel just as you lethargic and is not great for your system regardless of your size.
Weight was also an issue for me when I was pregnant with my 2 children. I get awful morning sickness that stays for the full nine months and as a result weight tends to fall off when it should be going on. My doctor repeatedly threatened me with hospitalisation at various points during both pregnancies if I didn’t gain more weight, which was exceedingly hard for me to do (yes I did resort to wearing heavier clothes specifically for the visits as I felt so pressured).
I’m not complaining in the end I have to beautiful kids and I’m healthy – something that is far more important to me then size. I hear it said time and time again thin doesn’t necessarily equal healthy. I think instead of focusing on trying to be like someone else we should all focus on being the best us ! There is no one quite like us and those who truly love us wouldn’t have it any other way !
Do you think your metabolism is slow or fast or just normal? Does it matter to you? Do you feel like your body has a set point it wants to stay at? How do you deal with the “It’s not fair, everyone else gets to double-fist artichoke dip while I’m stuck with crudités?” voices?? (PS> Did you see I got the é to work?? I did it! Wheeee!!!!)
OK _ got fat as a kid & I still lean with those that say we keep our fat cells & they just expand & reduce based on weight.. I really live this! I think I started with a slow metabolism & saw it in the family although we all ate wrong from day one. BUT as I aged & got fitter & got more muscle, I still had to work way harder than most people so I do think think there is a metabolism thing BUT we can fight it if we want to work hard at it… I also see the set point theory too – my body fights to say a bit heavier & I fight for it not too! 😉 I also get this is not fair & used to say that nonstop!!! 🙂 I still say it under my breath BUT I get that this is life & I have to work with what I have……
I think on your post – BIG – people forget that they LOST weight & now weight less & can’t eat like they did when they were 20 or 30 or 40 pounds heavier – that is why they were heavy & yes, your body adjusts to your new weight. YES, so many people underestimate how much they eat & overestimate how many calories they burn off & overestimate the calories needed to maintain their new weight.
I actually work out more so I can eat more…. Just me – don’t want to eat only 1200 calories a day.
All of the above – just me.. 🙂
I can definitely feel the effects of age just on the last couple years in regards to my metabolism. But all in all, I feel I have a fairly average metabolism (for my gender, size, and height). Even without working out, I can still lose more than a pound a week by eating 1600 calories a day, and I have a desk job.
Who knows? Maybe one of these days they’ll find that awesome metabolism booster and we can all stop drinking a dozen cups of green tea in a vein attempt to boost it ourselves! Though I highly doubt it. 🙂
Uh, there is something odd going on here. I was taught that you need to eat at least 1500 (only people at bed rest etc can eat less) calories a day even if you’re trying to lose weight.)
If I ate consistently about 1600 calories/day (more if I exercise), I would lose weight, albeit very slowly..
You are lucky to even dabble with 1600 cal a day! I am a health nut due to health issues mostly digestive and if I broached the 1600 cal a day mark I would gain half a pound a week…with a 30 min sweaty run per day. In order for me to loose I have to eat 1000-1200 cal a day AND sweat for 45 minutes…then I loose .8 to 1lb a week. Yes…I have it down to a science. 😉
My bf is one of those people that can eat tubs of ice cream and then still have abs and a flat stomach. Damn him! I’m sure that the 1200 calories you needed was when you were doing nothing- factor in exercise, daily chores, children stuff and all the other stuff u get up to it’d add a fair amount onto that!
Hey Charlotte,
Did you ever try to test out how accurate the 1230 measurement was by experimenting with your calories? Very interesting stuff, I never knew they had the technology to find out our BMR/RMR!
For me, as an ex-anorexic, the hard part is reconciling the amount I know I CAN eat with the amount my brain thinks is OK. My brain is so not OK with anything above 1500 calories, though I’m gradually easing up on that. My body? Well, I’m extremely muscular (when my BMI was 19.5, my body fat was 12.5; at a BMI of 20-21, healthier for me, I’m still pretty lean) so I guess it is less efficient than I think… when I undereat, I wind up sleeping, like, ALL THE TIME, which then does prevent me from losing weight (not that I should be losing weight) but also… kind of sucks in general. I mean, I have no energy. But I’m scared to eat more. SO I have low energy and maintain my weight and feel like crud. I am fixing it by slowly eating more and trusting that when I sleep less, my metabolism will de facto be higher. I think that’s what people mean by ‘rev up your metabolism.’ You have more ENERGY to do things when you eat an adequate amount!
Seriously, take a look at this and see how sleeping more affects calories burned. It’s insane. http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced No wonder I don’t lose weight when I’m depressed and in bed for hours more than necessary!
Oh, and yes, btw,a 1230 RMR is pretty average imho. According to any universal calculator my RMR is 1330 (seems accurate) and when you add in even 30 minutes of intense exercise and some general movement, the number shoots way up. Anyone who works out as hard and as often as you do can count on being able to eat a lot more than your RMR.
I had metabolism tested two years ago (in Minnesota!) along with the guy I was dating at the time. (Long story short, he was getting his master’s in physical education and we got to do it as one of his projects.) Like you, I hit the roof when I found out that mine was only 1300 calories – especially when Mr. Tall Muscle-y Male was told that his was (I think) 2400. I kept telling him how unfair it was, and was frustrated that he just didn’t seem to get it – and like you, resorted to putting it into food terms. (“Do you understand that means I get to eat HALF of what you do? And that if I eat like one indulgent restaurant meal, that’s all I get for the day?”) I’m still frustrated by it, but there’s not much to do except grin and bear it…and try to work out more.
I do like the positive spin of thinking of myself as a super-efficient Prius 🙂
How have you been coping with the 1300 calories a day? I haven’t had mine tested yet and feel like living blissfully ignorant just to keep life peaceful and fun
Thank you for that. I have the same feelings of “why me?” and I believe looking at it as a positive instead of a negative will help out a lot. That is quite a switch up in thinking really….instead of “I’ve got a lazy, slow metabolism” we actually have a “hardworking, efficient” ones.
Very good stuff.
We love Out of the Wild, both the Alaska and Venezuelan shows of it.
As far as metabolism goes, I’ve always thought mine was slightly slow, but things like thyroid tests came back “normal” year after year. Last year, we found out I had thyroid cancer and the whole thing was removed. Then I found out about truly slow metabolisms…eek! I’ve since graduated to a dose of thyroid hormone at which I can lose weight if I actually try. I’ve been working out since May using Chalean Extreme. Had my body fat tested via BodPod in July and a month later in August, and had lost 4.6 lbs of fat, gained 2.2 lbs of lean body mass, and boosted my needed calorie intake due to gaining that lean body mass. Now I “get” 1415 calories a day or something like that. At this point, I’m looking forward to packing on more muscle so I can eat more, lol. So yes, I DO think it matters.
I fell for all of the metabolic hype for years and caused far too much stress on both my body and mind.
Some time ago I realized that the bulk of the factors controlling my metabolism I couldn’t control like age, gender and height. And the stuff I can control ( like muscle mass) has minimal effect and doesn’t change much anyway.
Conclusion: stealing over metabolism like like stressing over the lawn growing so much you can’t leave the house.
Great article. I never know which way is up or down when it comes to figuring out calorie intake for my metabolism.
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