To think I've totally fucked my metabolism

[Fatbadger]

For reference I'm 12 stone 11 and 5ft 3inch so considered "obese" on the BMI

January 2016 I decided to do something about my weight and lost 3 stone in about 6 months by healthy eating and exercise. I then had a car accident which meant I couldn't exercise for months, became very down and slowly piled the weight back on.

I'm now fully healed and want to lose the weight again as I'm miserable and feel awful. I mentioned it to a colleague that I've started up a diet and she laughed. I asked what was so funny and she said that I will find it harder to lose weight this time as yo yo dieting does that to your body and don't expect fantastic results I had last time.

I now feel so unmotivated. AIBU to feel I've ruined my metabolism? Or is she talking bollocks?

I bet you can lose weight more effectively than she can stop being undermining.
Go for it op.

Yo-yo weight is normal for humans. Put on weight when the hunting and gathering is good. Live off it when the hunting and gathering are not so good.

If you do notice it being harder this time then that's more likely age not helpful For me, after children weight was harder to lose, after about age 45 fiendishly difficult to lose.

She sounds nasty.
I was anorexic at university (after several traumas) but on weight after first child but managed to get healthy and back into shape.
Agree with others that healthy eating and exercise (“eat less, move more”) is a more stable approach than faddy diets.

Why are you listening to this woman exactly? It sounds like in some messed up way you’re trying to sabotage yourself before you’ve even started, STOP IT RIGHT NIOW!

Continue with your plan and for gods sake stop discussing stuff like this with bitter witches.

I'd rather be a kind, friendly size 18 (and I was, this time last year) than a nasty cunt.

Your "friend" sounds like a delight.

She's an unsupportive cow bag isn't she?

Yes to everything the others have said! And if you're really worried, look at zigzag dieting (basically you calculate your base metabolic rate add a bit for your current exercise level which gives you your maintenance calories. on days 1-3 you eat between 25-35% less than that figure and on day 4 you eat the maintenance figure. It's working really well for me, particularly as I never have to diet for more than three days at a time!

There’s a hell of a lot of nonsense around about metabolism. I’ve been told countless times that you can’t lose weight if you eat too few calories. Tell that to people living in famine zones!

It's true that yoyo dieting can slow your metabolism if you didn't provide enough calories at some point, since your body learns it may not receive the energy it needs, and so is more prone to storing deposits.

But following a healthy diet and exercise plan for sixth months and then stopping for a few months due to injury is NOT yo yo dieting.

And really, she said it with a laugh? Even if her words were true, that is a shitty way to behave.

Ignore her negativity.

Well, I do know how the metabolism works and you haven't broken yours. As is usual, especially at this time of year, there's a lot of pseudo science being spewed and your Utter Bitch Colleague has availed herself of the least scientific, most 'come waste your money' bollocks that is out there.

Ignore her, pick a reputable 'diet' that suits you, increase your exercise levels as and when you can and pick a sentence you can repeat, at will

"Oh Utter Bitch Colleague, you are so funny, all that fake science you believe" accompanied by your best tinkly laugh

What everyone else said.
She's a dick
You haven't ruined your metabolism. That takes years of abuse (I'm pretty sure I've f*cked up mine, but I've yo'yo dieted for 30 and had an eating disorder for 25 of those)
You lost weight the first time sensibly and at a good rate. You can do it again.
Go you!!!

Google "gut flora".

That's what you've probably "fucked".

(Particularly reports of KCL and Swedish studies.)

She sounds a nasty person (going by the comment to your other colleague as well). From what you've said, there's no reason to think you wouldn't be able to lose the weight again.

Do your own thing - you know what works for you, as you've done it before - and ignore her.

Your metabolism is the metabolic rate you burn calories to maintain body function (breathing, healing, digesting etc).. I thought it was proven rubbish that you could ‘speed up’ or ‘slow down’ your metabolism? When all the fads of eating cayenne pepper to speed it up were proven rubbish. I don’t understand why a previous diet would have any affect on how your body uses calories now. Same guff as getting your hair cut doesn’t make your hair grow faster (or I thought anyway, correct me if I’m wrong)!

You're fine. When you restrict calories over an extended period your metabolism slows a bit (sometimes referred to as "starvation mode"), but not enough to stop weight loss if your caloric deficit is large enough. There's no significant long term change in how this happens. You lost the weight before, so if you take the same approach, you'll lose it again.

It's true that yoyo dieting can slow your metabolism if you didn't provide enough calories at some point, since your body learns it may not receive the energy it needs, and so is more prone to storing deposits.
No, that's simply not how biology or chemistry or our bodies work. The number of times you have dieted or lost weight has zero bearing on your metabolism long term (although it can cause other health issues), although it does psychologically affect people and make it more difficult.

'Starvation mode' does not exist, 'messed up metabolism' through dieting does not exist.

OP, your 'friend' is talking bollocks.

I’m not an expert but I’d be rather surprised if it actually worked like this.

I used to do a sport that separated participants by weight / into weight classes (still do, actually. I’m just not that dedicated anymore. And older..)

Anyhow. I probably did some slightly unhealthy stuff and I don’t seem to have damaged my metabolism. (What would that even mean?)

Weight gain or loss seems to be fairly predictable in my case...

Starvation mode' does not exist

Food Intake and Starvation Induce Metabolic Changes

Ignore her - it's rubbish. If anything you will lose weight more easily because you're already practised in healthy eating and exercise and already know what works for you.

Even a anorectic doesn’t screw their metabolism for long - and I speak as one. You’re fine. She is jealous and/or someone who just wants you to fail. Please ignore her. Go for it!

That's the stuff!

As tabby said, it's all bollocks. Some of it is very loosely based in some very complex science, but not one bit of such bollocks bears any resemblance to proper science.

The diet industry has had 60+ years of creating its own Disney World, bastardising science as it went. Very little of what we 'know' is true.

The way I see it, if you are piling on the weight, from what you are eating, that is not healthy. You cannot keep doing that. So something has to change.

Signs of low metabolism are constant fatigue and feeling cold all the time. If you feel like this a trip to the Doctor for a thyroid check may be in order.

Why not concentrate on making your food intake healthier? So keeping within (or below) the 30g NHS recommendation of maximum daily added sugar intake would be a good start. Avoid refined carbohydrates. Exercise at least 30 mins everyday. Even if this is just walking, I remember seeing a study which showed even this amount can prevent diabetes.

What does the info in that link mean though?

All the 'popular' info is based on The Minnesota Project, really interesting but the headline findings were to complex and so have been utterly bastardised by the diet industry to support their money making endeavours.

That study does re-write / correct much of it, but I can guarantee it contents will be bastardised by the next generation of Diet Scientists.

MissConductUS I would agree that death is a fairly long term and permanent change to one's metabolism. The link you posted describes the metabolic changes that occur in actual starvation, to the point of death. No-one disputes that people can starve (and even die from it), but that has nothing to do with the term 'starvation mode' in the context of dieting, and is a myth.