How do I increase my metabolism?

Hi. I am a newbie here. I am 5.1, 23 years and currently weigh 136 pounds. I have gained around 20 pounds in a year and I really need to shed it off because I am in the "overweight" category now. My problem is that I have a VERY low metabolism. I have had really hectic schedule for the past few years.. and I really did not have time to have planned meals everyday. I had school and work and it was driving me crazy.  I used to skip breakfast all the time and sometimes live on 1 meal a day and some very fattening snacks like chocolate chip cookies, muffins and so on.

Nowadays I eat around 1000 calories a day (mostly because I do not feel hungry and I am also afraid that I might gain more weight if I start consuming more calories!). I have stopped eating junk and fattening foods... I have switched from Mocha to Green tea every morning.. and so on. I rarely miss any meal nowadays. I have also started bcoming more active and exercise about 3-4 times a week. My problem is that I have not lost a single pound and I have started to think that the problem might be my SUPER-LOW metabolism. Do you guys have any suggestions on how I can increase my metabolism as I think I have really messed it up by bad eating habits.

Thanks

 

This may sound redundant or like nonsense to you, but if you want to increase your metabolism, you need to eat more food. I'm not sure if you have any health issues that would contribute to your slow metabolism, but everyone here will tell you that eating too little will not only slow your metabolism WAY down, it will mess it up to some degree too.

You haven't lost any weight because your body thinks it's starving and is holding on to any weight it can. Sometimes people restricting their intake too much can even see numbers on the scale go UP.

Eating only 1000 calories AND exercising like you are is taking a big toll on your body, organs, and metabolism, and I would do some research on how many calories you need for your age, height, weight, and lifestyle. Just start there, and you might see the numbers go up a little at first once your body gets used to a normal intake, but after that you WILL start losing weight normally.

 

Thanks for the reply. I did do research on how many calories I needed to have per day for my height, weight and age.. and according to different sources I should have 1300 to 1500 calories. The thing is I dont know what kind of food I should eat because whenever I eat something more than my normal amount... I seem to gain weight. Do you think I should ease into having more healthy calories per day? I am sort of frustrated right now and my mom seemed to think that having less calories should help me lose weight!

This is just me, but what has been working for me is eating my BMR number (the amount of calories my body burns completely at rest...you can do a search for calculators of this online. Mine is 1600) everyday and doing about 40 minutes of cardio 4-5 times per week. At first this website told me to eat around 1300 calories to reach my goal weight, and I tried that and was starving, so now I'm at a number that is good for me. I also read up on these forums a lot on how important it is to eat your BMR.

 

If I were you, I would calculate your BMR, and eat that amount. HOWEVER, I would do this for two weeks (along with exercise) and stay AWAY from the scale. Since your body is used to eating so little, the number on the scale might go up a little, but that is just your body adjusting and getting used to a normal amount of food. Seriously, you owe it to yourself and your body to eat enough! It took me a while to get that into my head, but it's worth it! Just think about where you'll be once you actually lose all the weight...do you want to be healthy, fit, toned, and well nourished? If so, you need to make sure you're eating well!

Thanks a lot. My BMR is 1300. I will try doing that and I will cross my fingers and hope all goes well. :)

you're on the right track. eating more healthily, exercising regularly (in addition to a generally more healthy lifestyle), drinking green tea (and taking in more fluids (all hail the mighty H2O)), eating enough (non-junky, nutrient rich) calories will help.

it helps if you eat more fruits and vegetables too. (:

if you lead a healthy lifestyle, everything else will fall into place eventually! Don't worry about the weight so much. Optimism boosts metabolism too q: (kidding, but then again, some studies say that there is a correlation between happiness and weight loss)

Byebyepounds is absolutely right! (smart lady :-)  ) And if your BMR is 1300 calories and the site says 1300-1500, I would try to stay in that range.  Do not go below 1300 calories - period.  Also you might try eating 5 smaller meals per day rather than 3 larger ones.  That keeps your body fueled - and used to being fueled.

Eating vegetables is also a very good choice, and to take that one step further - if it is possible, try to eat raw vegetables.  I take cut cucumbers, celery, carrots (a bit higher in sugar, but still better than most other foods), cut red and green peppers... to work everyday.  Eating them raw keeps the fiber content up and the minerals and vitamins at thier peak level.

Try it and give it some time - the weight will start to drop.

actually, eating like that is slowing your metabolism! u can speed it up by eating more frequently, and eating around 1600 calories a day! u wont gain weight!

if you've been eating less than what your body needs, it will take some time to come out of starvation mode.  even if at first you see yourself gaining a few pounds, you need to eat at least 1200 calories to allow your body to function properly.  Don't give up.  I can tell you from experience that even if it's hard at first, eating the right amount will be well worth it.  If you find it difficult to increase your calories right away, try adding slowly to the amount you eat.  Good luck, and if you ever want to talk, you can always message me.

My problem is that I have a VERY low metabolism.

 

 How do you know this is the case????

~H~