Is there a way to speed ip my metabolism?

[Ilmb]

My weight thankfully hasn’t been a problem until last year. I went through a very stressful time and lost quite a bit of weight. It then piled back on and more in December. Since then Iv tried losing it and I can’t. I’m currently half a stone more then I was before last year and I can’t shift it. I actively went on a ‘diet’ and today is 20 days .... I lost 2lb by weighing myself today Iv put thre 2lb back on!!!! Iv been eating healthy, vegetarian and cook meals at home, no takeaways no snacks or if they were it was carrot and hoummous or an apple. No alcohol (don’t reallg drink anywAy) and about 1200 calories a day max but today as Iv put it back on I don’t understand?! I’m not period and don’t have periods so I can’t blame that. I never had to watch what I ate or weighed until this happened. I’m 5 foot 2 so this half a stone is having a big affect on me as my clothes don’t fit and it’s all sitting on my hips and stomach and I feel fat. Any ideas?

Bump?

Have you measured all your portions fully?

And are you including everything in your consumption total - including everybteaspon of hummus, every drizzle of oil, every white coffee etc

Spicy food and caffeine?

Yes I weigh, measure milk Into tea etc....

I think Iv been having too much caffeine as has an eye twitch since September and has only just stopped when I stopped an extra coffee I was having at lunch time. So not keen on upping caffeine./.

Exercise. Particularly the sort that builds muscle.

Lift weights or do something like the 30 day shred.
You have to keep it up though as it just drops again when you stop (voice of experience)

As purple mentioned, the only way to genuinely speed up your metabolism is to build up your lean/muscle mass.
Crossfit does it for me. You won't get bulky, just toned. If I go 3 x a week I can eat nearly anything and not put on weight. You burn loads of calories during the workout, and benefit from a faster metabolism, so you're burning more calories even when you aren't working out.

If you're already relatively small (as in a BMI under 25) and at 5'2" and post-menopausal, you simply may need fewer calories than you realise. It's not unreasonable that 1200 calories could be a maintaining calorie count.

I’m in my 30’s so not post menopausal (yet!)

I can’t get to the gym or classes etc partly due to money, partly due to time (LP with disabled child) plus have fibro. I have a skipping rope for home, wall a lot and I tap dance. I’m no less active than I was a year ago (probably more active) so I don’t understand what the problem is now...

Your age. You nice you hit those mid thirties everything slows down. I go to the gym 6 days a week, lift weights, do cardio, eat clean and all I'm doing is maintaining. It's soul destroying and like you, all I need to drop is about half a stone 😫

Oh god it’s depressing! I can’t survive on much less than 1200 calories!!

The Shaun T workouts are supposed to be really good, you ca get DVDs and do it at home (or online?). Make sure you aren't rewarding yourself for your skipping etc by eating more.

Honestly listen to the poster saying build muscle :) look, your physical weight may go up if you do it but you will still look better and leaner with the bonus of having a higher energy expenditure so you will be able to eat more.

Also, have you thought about intermittent fasting? I am losing weight but eating pretty much whatever I want in the evening because I skip breakfast and have a 400 calorie lunch.

All the insanity type work outs I can’t do due to my fibro. I end up in agony and just can’t do it.

No I don’t ‘treat’ myself! I just want to go back to last year! I can’t believe one year can do this!

Could just be a fluctuation, fluid retention maybe? I can go up 4lb after a weekend but be back to normal a day or 2 later. I’d suggest weighing every day and then taking the weekly average. You can use an app like the Fitbit one (you don’t have to have a Fitbit) or happy scales? Get your activity up, try hit 10-15,000 steps a day - get a cheap pedometer and step whenever you can. Even marching on the spot while watching TV will burn calories. 1200 is very hard though

How come you don’t have periods in your 30s? Is it contraception related? Just wondering if that could be a reason.

I’m on cerazette which stops my periods.

I have a fitbit and always do 12000 steps ...

When did you start the cerazette. I piled weight on with that pill without changing eating habits

Like silverdoe I was going to suggest intermittent fasting. I don’t do well on the 5:2 diet as the really low calorie intake on fast days often seems to trigger a migraine but I am getting on very well with 16:8. Basically you consume all your calories in an 8 hour window & then fast for 16 hours. I am 48 & perimenopausal and weight had started to creep on but my usual calorie reduction wasn’t helping.
16:8 has fixed it. There are threads about it on here.

No been on cerazette about 15 years so definitely wasn’t that as I was very skinny when I went on it pre kids. Why does the intermittent fasting work then? Iv read about it on here ... I get dizzy and light headed if I don’t eat for ages...

Intermittent fasting is great but you really need to build muscle to keep your metabolism fighting add Squats, press ups, lunges to your current routine. Also log everything in MyFitnessPal.

With regards to the 16.8 I already mostly do that anyway? Eat at 530pm and don’t eat in the evening, then breakfast about 8 so not quite 16 hours but could put that back couple hours. What is the actual benefit? Iv tried 5.2 and doesn’t work, get too light headed and end up binging

Well not binging as much but eating stuff I shouldn’t as I’m so hungry and light headed so I don’t do it!

Tweak your portions down. See if that works. I do this through plateaus. Generally works. To be honest I find hunger wise I often don't notice. A meal just still feels like a meal.

Op the reason your metabolism 'slows' with aging is because metabolism is essentially just your muscles using energy. And as we get older we retain less muscle year on year Less muscle = less energy used = fewer calories needed to keep ourselves alive each day.
The only way to change that is by resistance training to build some of that muscle back up. Given you've got fibro, do you have anyone you could discuss how to do so with your condition? Resistance training includes weight training, but also bodyweight exercises for strength (press ups, squats) using resistance bands (cheap and can be done at home), swimming even.
I'm 5ft and without doing any resistance training my maintenance calories would be able 1200 a day, I found that impossible, and depressing!