Successful metabolic repair-who else has gone through it?

[shesprints]

Short version: as a lot of you know, I've been anorexic or just very restrictive at various points in my life. This year, I spent awhile eating 1200-1400 calories and was barely losing weight. Went to an RD, who tested my RMR as 1411 and then 1420 on different occasions. She somehow convinced me to slowly up calories from 1500 to 1700 to 1800-2000 and then finally to 2200 (well, eating to appetite, it varies), without upping activity much, without any weight gain. Most added calories were carbs, some fat, kept protein as low as I could--all of this flies in the face of frequent bb.com advice, but I went with it.

Anyway, my RD recently re-measured the RMR and got first 1700 (but that was an aberration, I believe--the test took too long and it was slightly later in the day, though I had fasted) and then, first thing in the morning rested/fasted, 1585. That's a pretty substantial increase, either way, and by the standards of statistics it's a meaningful difference.

So my question is, has anyone else experienced this? All empirical data seem to indicate that I've increased my actual metabolism a lot, to actually quite a bit (180?) above normal for someone my size.

I also imagine that at some point the metabolic increase would level off and I'd begin to gain weight if I just kept increasing calories, and I'm kind of curious where that tipping point is. I guess I'd figure it out if I ever chose to bulk. Others probably have.

I guess I'm just a bit befuddled as to how this worked. I have always, always scoffed at the concept of metabolic damage and just hardcore restricted calories to lose weight, but clearly that did not work for me. Somehow this increase did.

[ANDYtheHUMAN]

I have zero medical test data to back this but my own experience cutting I stall out every 6 weeks and have to eat considerably more for a day or two to start weight loss again.

(2000 cals cutting. 3200 maintenance)

Google lepton levels and the article by mr norton is good and backed scientifically w citations etc. it used to be on this site but I can't find it. May have been linked in another thread.

Basics.
The longer you're in a caloric deficit the lower your lepton levels become in response to holding on to fat as a last resort energy source. Once u refeed your body at maintenance lepton should shoot back up dramatically.

Leptin is the hormone most responsible for fat loss.

There's way more to the science but that's the highlights relevant that I could remember

[chemo29]

Google lepton

okay capton

A lepton is an elementary, spin-1⁄2 particle that does not undergo strong interactions, but is subject to the Pauli exclusion principle.[1] The best known of all leptons is the electron, which governs nearly all of chemistry as it is found in atoms and is directly tied to all chemical properties

intredestasting

[Domicron]

is this a case where knowing too much is confusing you? can you not just increase your calories until you begin gaining weight? maybe your activity level plus your increased metabolism is keeping you from gaining weight.

perhaps i'm missing the meat of your questions.

[devill1am]

How do you know you did 'damage' rather than your body just adjusted your RMR for survival purposes, and is now rebounding as expected?

[shesprints]

I don't want to gain weight; I was just reporting what had happened. No real questions, but I do want to understand better what my body is doing.


I've read about leptin, but most studies indicate only a dubious connection between matabolic rate and leptin. It just hasn't been studied for that long (and most studies have been on mice).


ETA: devill1am, maybe that's the case. But if that is the case, will I never be able to lose weight from this point? To get to peak race weight I really should lose ~5lb. Obviously it's not my top priority, but if I did so, would my metabolic rate drop that far again?

[devill1am]

ETA: devill1am, maybe that's the case. But if that is the case, will I never be able to lose weight from this point? To get to peak race weight I really should lose ~5lb. Obviously it's not my top priority, but if I did so, would my metabolic rate drop that far again?

You said yourself you were in severe caloric restriction for extended periods of time. When most people lose fat, it's a relatively short period at a small deficit, that may incorporate re-feeds. I think you're assuming you damaged your metabolism, but not necessarily seeing any evidence for that. I've done 20 week cuts at small deficits, for all I know my RMR decreased slightly over that period and then rebounded back.

[DennisR1977]

You said yourself you were in severe caloric restriction for extended periods of time. When most people lose fat, it's a relatively short period at a small deficit, that may incorporate re-feeds. I think you're assuming you damaged your metabolism, but not necessarily seeing any evidence for that. I've done 20 week cuts at small deficits, for all I know my RMR decreased slightly over that period and then rebounded back.

It's not damage, it's metabolic adaptation.

[determined4000]

yur metabolsim down and up-regulates based on how much you give it.

Most likely your RMR should be the number it is now. However, you trained your body to be more efficient with calories and run on less because it was taking in less. Non-essential bodily functions slow or are shut down (why anorexics feel cold, have dry skin, lower brain function, lower heart rate, can develop organ problems, etc.).

As you increased calories, your body realized it could turn those things back on and didn't have to be so efficient with calories becaue it was receiving the proper amount. You can contnue to increase your RMR by contiunally giving it more. Its just that at a certain point the calorie increase will cause you more fat gain than any meaningful RMR increase. For example you could work your way up to 5000 calories a day and keep increasing RMR but you would also be gaining a fair amount of weight while doing it.

[rand18m]

yur metabolsim down and up-regulates based on how much you give it.

Most likely your RMR should be the number it is now. However, you trained your body to be more efficient with calories and run on less because it was taking in less. Non-essential bodily functions slow or are shut down (why anorexics feel cold, have dry skin, lower brain function, lower heart rate, can develop organ problems, etc.).

As you increased calories, your body realized it could turn those things back on and didn't have to be so efficient with calories becaue it was receiving the proper amount. You can contnue to increase your RMR by contiunally giving it more. Its just that at a certain point the calorie increase will cause you more fat gain than any meaningful RMR increase. For example you could work your way up to 5000 calories a day and keep increasing RMR but you would also be gaining a fair amount of weight while doing it.

Op this^^is the person I personally would listen to with regards to this subject!

[DAaaMan64]

Good luck. This is so hard to nail down and you never know if you're just kidding yourself.

Though, sounds like you definitely determined you aren't.

[Jockette1421]

How do you know you did 'damage' rather than your body just adjusted your RMR for survival purposes, and is now rebounding as expected?

This is the million dollar question... how do you know?!