Metabolic Damage
Jun 12, 2009
If you've caused metabolic damage as a result of following starvation diets, losing weight too rapidly in the past or just plain poor nutrition, it can be extremely difficult to achieve any further fat loss at all. The good news is, metabolic damage can be repaired. All it takes is the right combination of metabolism stimulating exercise and metabolism stimulating nutrition (Not just a diet), all done consistently over time.
The big irony is that most of the diet programs that claim to help you get rid of excess weight, only end up making it harder for you in the long run because they use harsh metabolism-decreasing diets and not enough exercise (almost never any weight training).
It may take longer if your metabolism is really messed things up with less than optimal eating habits in the past, especially if you've lost a lot of lean body mass, but it is never hopeless. Anyone can increase his or her metabolism. Most people get an almost immediate boost in metabolic rate when they start repairing the damage. However the results are not going to be overnight. It takes a little time...
Eat 5-6 small meals per day, approximately every 3 hours, with a substantial breakfast and post workout meal. Maintain a small calorie deficit and avoid starvation level diets (2100-2500 calories per day for men and 1200-1500 for women). Select natural, unprocessed foods with high thermic effect , lean proteins like chicken, turkey, egg whites and fish are highly thermic, as are all green vegetables, salad vegetables and other fibrous carbs.
When doing cardio, push up the intensity a bit if you really want to get a metabolic boost. Walking and low intensity cardio is fine, but higher intensity is more metabolism-stimulation. When doing weight training the basic exercises that include the largest muscle groups or even call into play the entire body as a unit, squats, front squats, split squats, deadlifts, stiff legged deadlifts, overhead presses, all kinds of rows and core activation exercises, will have a much greater metabolism simulating effect than isolation exercises (concentration curls, calf raises, tricep extension, etc.)
The weight training is extremely important in cases of metabolic damage because this is the stimulus to keep the muscle you have and begin re-building new muscle tissue, which is the engine that drives your metabolism. The men don't usually have a problem with the wight training, but some women don't want to lift weights as part of their fat loss program. Well those who won't lift weights can expect a very, very long metabolism repair process (weight loss) if the achieve it at all. Consistency is the key. Nothing will undermine the rebuilding of your metabolism like inconsistency. If you stop and start, or skip meals and workout often, you will not even get off the ground.
After you metabolism is back up where it should be, it takes continued stoking of the furnace to keep it there. Once you get your metabolic engine running, you've got to keep feeding it fuel or the fire will die down. You have to keep putting small amounts of wood (the right type of fuel) on the fire at regular intervals or the fire burns out.
It's also difficult to get the fire lit again. In the case of metabolism, it's like going through that initial few weeks of overcoming inertia all over again. Your goal is to get your metabolism burning hot and keep it burning and this cannot be achieved by missing meals, missing workouts or with sporadic infrequent training.
Attempting to starve the fat with crash diets is what causes the metabolic damage in the first place... If you're interested in the healhty, sensible way to take off the fat, while keeping all your muscle and actually increasing your metabolism in the process, then follow these guidelines.. No gimmicks or false promises. You have to work at it and you have to be consistent.
HAPPY TRAINING !!