Broken Metabolism

[ktsimons]

I am on day 22 and I will have to purchase a new pair of dress pants for a presentation I am giving next week.  The ones I wore six weeks ago, will not go all the way up, let alone zip and button. 

 

I did this to myself.  I went on an 800 calorie diet - protien shakes plus green veggies and chicken - it was doctor managed (HA!).  I thought this was perfect!  For just over 3 months the weight was falling off, nearly 45 pounds in about 15 weeks.  I had sufficient energy, no real cravings, slept like a baby...month 4 I lost NOTHING, month 5 my hair fell out and I turned grey and I lost NOTHING!  My metabolism just quit working!

 

Luckily, I knew enough about food to know not to go bat crap crazy once I got off the diet and I have only gained 15 pounds in the past year...not too bad considering I was a couch potato and now I lift weights (moderately) and do boot camp and other forms of weight building exercises with some yoga  thrown in for good measure.  I started by eating Paleo for the first few months after I got off of IP, then got sucked in by the "calories in calories out" group and switched to just counting calories...that didn't work.  I found out if you eat something and don't write it down, then you don't have accurate numbers.  Funny how that works!!  The net is that I now have about 20 pounds to loose and nothing seems to work.  I feel like I lost the weight but paid with my health.

 

To the root of my post...does anyone out there have first hand knowledge of "fixing" a metabolism?  How long does it take?  Do I REALLY have to gain weight before I can loose it? Once I am done with the W30 (or maybe 45) should I try a combination of calorie restriction but use the Whole 30 foods?  I am so confused, and I wish I had a crystal ball to see how long I have to go in order to make this right. 

 

thanks for listening! 

[runninglawyer88]

I know from first hand experience and yes, youll likely gain weight. You can do it a couple ways but ultimately it requires consistently eating enough calories--due to your history youll likely gain weight until your metabolism is restored. The amount of time it takes varies from person to person--some people have bodies that are more resilient and they easily recover from extreme restriction. It sounds like you have already made some progress though so id assume it will be easier than it is for most people.