Increasing metabolism after dieting

I've been dieting for the past 7 months and I've manged to lose over three and a half stone, and I'm quite satisfied with my weight now. The thing is though, because I've had to cut down to loose the weight, is it true that my metabolism has been reduced? I'm scared that if I start eating normally (not as I was before, just eating a normal amount), that I'd put it all back on because my metabolism has been slowed down. People say all the time that loosing weight is the easy part, keeping it off is the real challenge. I'm not sure how to start having a recommended intake to maintain weight, without piling it all back on. How can I do this?

Reply 1

Anonymous #2

yes im worried about this too, apparently its much quicker to regain all the weight after loosing it all!

Reply 2

warranty-ideal

This is why its far better to lose weight by burning more calories than eating less of them. Go running or something, this will increase your metabolism as well

Reply 3

Austin226

well becuase of the reduced amount of food intake your metabolism will have slowed down becuase you have less energy becuase of less food, i guess if u start eating how u used to u will put on the weight again. what you need to do if you do start to eat the same amount of food again is to exercise, that way you take in more food but expend more energy exercising thus keeping the pounds from pilling back on- i think :biggrin:

plus u get the added bonus of toning and firming up ur body which is always a good thing

Reply 4

Anonymous #1

I think I've heard that there are some herbal teas which help to increase metabolism but I may be wrong?

Reply 5

matchu

High Intensity Interval training is said to increase mateabolism rates for about 7 hours.

This is where you spend about 30 seconds at max rate, e.g sprinting, and you should be fit for collapsing after it. Then wait about 30 secs and so the same.

Do that until you really cant do any more.

Reply 6

bedbug

Green tea/nettle tea will help but not hugely. Exercise is your new best friend.

Reply 7

Anonymous #1

Ok thanks for the replies. The exercise never bloody ends, heh. :biggrin:

Reply 8

Austin226

i know, but u will start to find that u like it, after each work out u feel a sense of achievemnt and a feel good factor - well i do anyways. you get more confidence and generally u feel happier :biggrin:

Reply 9

friendsfreak88

As you have lost weight, you will also have lost muscle which has slowed your metabolism down.Building muscle is the only way to increase your metabolim (don't worry it won't make you bulky). Each pound of muscle you gain will need 50 calories above your BMR to exist. To gain muscle mass you need to do resistance exercise (wih or without weights).

Cardio is not great for the metabolism because although it burns off calories, you can lose muscle mass and therefore further decreasing your metabolism.

Also eat plenty of protein because this requires a lot of effort from your body to digest it (so it keeps you full and is less likely to be stored as fat if it is from low fat sources).