Is this true about metabolism?

[PeggyBird]

I just read that your metabolism adjusts to burn whatever calorie intake you are at? For instance, it said that if a person starts to eat 2500 calories a day their metabolism will adjust and they will burn that amount but if they suddenly lower to 1500 or even 2000, their metabolism will adjust and they will still only burn that amount. Is this true? My daughter and I started eating smaller meals about 4 times a day keeping the total as close to 1600 as we can and we started exercising--walking/jogging 3 miles a day, twice a day but we are at a standstill almost a month later? Any helpful comments????

[Skailark]

Hi there!

Well..As far as I know your metabolism depends on your calorie intake, muscle mass and your activity level. If you are person with a active lifestlye and have more muscles in your body than fat, then calories burnt is more. I think you are doing the right thing here by lowering your calorie intake and increasing your activity level. I dont know if you have hit  a plateau. If you have then there is a different strategy to kick start your weight loss and metabolism. Here is a useful article at Ranaesheart. Hope you find it useful.

How to survive a plateau -  

http://www.ranaesheart.com/2008/06/how-to-survive-plateau.html

Just follow the link and let me know if you fopund it useful.

Am sure there would be other members here to add their useful comments.

Good luck!

[Barb135]

The more muscle you have the more calories you will burn while exercising, but you need to make sure that you change things around too - like varying the number of calories you eat, doing different exercises, etc as you body can become used to doing the same thing every day, so it's no longer a challenge for you muscles.  

There are also other factors involved - metabolism can be affected by your age (usually as we age, our metabolism slows down), thyroid function most certainly affects your metabolism, as do other body functions.  

If you are sure that you have no medical issues preventing weight loss, I'd suggest changing your routine around on a regular basis, including raising/lowering your calorie intake, doing both strength and cardio, etc.........just don't do exactly the same thing every day.  

[Barb135]

Oh, forgot to mention - I'm not sure about the "metabolism adjusting to burn whatever calories you eat" --- I think that might be why a lot of us gain weight - because we eat more calories than we burn - either because of slower metabolism , not enough activity or both.  Your metabolism doesn't automatically speed up to accommodate however many calories you eat.   I know for a fact that MY metabolism is NOT going to speed up enough burn 2500 calories/day no matter what and if I tried to eat that much, I'd weigh a ton in no time flat.  

AND, no 2 people have the exact same metabolism, so YOU might be able to eat more calories and exercise LESS than your daughter or visa versa

[Barb135]

Oh, forgot to mention - I'm not sure about the "metabolism adjusting to burn whatever calories you eat" --- I think that might be why a lot of us gain weight - because we eat more calories than we burn - either because of slower metabolism , not enough activity or both.  Your metabolism doesn't automatically speed up to accommodate however many calories you eat.   I know for a fact that MY metabolism is NOT going to speed up enough burn 2500 calories/day no matter what and if I tried to eat that much, I'd weigh a ton in no time flat.  

AND, no 2 people have the exact same metabolism, so YOU might be able to eat more calories and exercise LESS than your daughter or visa versa.  Hope this helps answer your question.  

[Barb135]

Sorry - I don't know why that posted twice -- I really don't stutter................lol