Weight-Loss RMR and Rebound weight gain

Weight-Loss
J

Jim1

New member
Hi. Can anyone help me please?
I am a 35 male who is trying to lose fat. I weigh 225 lbs, 5'9". I have for the last couple years been restricting my diet to around 1800 calories and able to get down to about 210 lbs. I run on the treadmill for 60 minutes per day, 6 times a week. I recently discovered that my RMR is around 2380. Since then (about 4 weeks ago), I have increased my calories to about 2400 per day. I am also gaining about a pound per week because of the increased calories. After 2 weeks, I implemented the running again (I took 4 weeks off thinking that my metabolism should normalize before I do he aerobics again). My point is that I am still gaining weight. How long should it take before my metabolism normalizes and I can start losing fat? I am excited knowing that I should be able to lose fat with my increase of calories (based on my rmr) but how long will it take before my metabolism stabilizes? Is it correct that I was actually in starvation mode all of those months because I was only consuming 1800 calories when my rmr is closer to 2400?

Thanks,
Jim
 
It sounds like you were definitely in "starvation mode" if you were exercising that much and only eating 1800 a day. I'm not sure how long it takes to come back out of that though, you might want to check with a nutritionist or someone similar if its a big concern.

This is probably something you already know, but just to make sure: take extra care to make sure that you're eating the required proportions of fats, carbs, and protiens. Its easy as heck to make it to 2400 calories a day on junk food that's all fat, but it won't help you burn it any faster. I believe someone exercising as much as you needs more protein that the average person as well, so meats and nuts should be abundant in the diet.

Good luck!
 
here is an RMR calculator:

and jim, if your trying to lose fat running is the wrong cardio to be doing. you may be gaining because your gaining muscle. if you want to lose mostly FAT you should be walking instead for an hour. running will burn some fat but also dip into your protein stores as well.
 
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Hey Jim, I agree with wonderwoman that walking is better for burning fat but, I have to say running is better in the long run by increasing your RMR. When walking or any other low stress activity, our bodies burn fat. When running or other endurance activities, our bodies burn glycogen (sugar) in our liver and muscles. While running you will deplete glycogen that must be replaced. What you eat will be used to replace these stores before going to fat, Plus as an added benefit, through the extra muscle you have, your muscles will require more energy in there buildup and more energy to maintain larger muscle cells ALL DAY. so your RMR goes up. Oh, and always take those calculators with a grain of salt, all they are is a general guideline. Your RMR may by lower, or it may be higher. RMR is not a measure of your metabolism either, its your resting metabolism, as in what you would burn if you never got out of bed at all. If your gaining weight your RMR is lower than 2400, I would cut back down to 1800 if you really want to cut the lbs. 1800 is perfectly healthy for you, in fact great for you. Every study ever done on low calorie diets (not VLCD's) on every animal tested shows that low calorie diets improve the animals lifespan significantly. Just make sure that you do it with proper nutrition.....good luck! :cool:
 
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