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really slow metabolism?

StangBanger

StangBanger

Well-known member
So I must have the worlds slowest metabolism.

6' tall currently 183lbs, 34 years old.

desk job

lift 5x week (hour)
cardio 1-2x a week

currently taking in 2400 cals and GAINING weight.

all the calculators out there say I should be eating like 2800/day just to maintain.

can my metabolism really be that slow?
 
I have you beat, big time.

I feel like to get to 6-8% bf id have to do 2hrs of cardio a day, and eat 500 calories..lol

It sucks, but if you have to lower your calories, lower them. Currently just to maintain 12%ish bf I am doing 5hrs of cardio a week, and eating 1300-1500 calories depending on the day. To start losing again I am going to have to add cardio, or cut calories further.
 
imprezivr6 said:
I have you beat, big time.

I feel like to get to 6-8% bf id have to do 2hrs of cardio a day, and eat 500 calories..lol
Click to expand...

I did just that once....it was the most miserable period of my life, and one i DO NOT wish to ever revisit.

edit: and yes I did get down to that low bf :)
 
alright... good to hear. I keep reading where guys my size are eating 2800-3200 cals a day to maintain... I was like whoa! Id be fat as hell!
 
Same here fellas. Slooowwww metabolism.

I also do 5 cardio + 5 training sessions per week and eat a pathetic ~2,000 calories on average. I have had my thyroid values checked repeatedly, only to find thewm in normal ranges.

I tried the product SHIFT (ramps up thyroid fascilitation) and it did nothing for me except for increase my hunger.

So, I have been relegated to practicing the following:
I rotate/fluctuate between moderate and low calorie days. I do the same with carbs. Protein and fats remain constant except for binge day where I lower the protein intake significantly. I get constipated when I eat lie a pig IF high protein amounts are included (weird).

Typically, my week looks like this:
3 moderate calorie days (2,000-2,200 or so) <-------lower carb (<100 grams)
3 low calorie days (1,500-1,700 or so) <-------low carb (< 30 grams)
1 cheat day (3,000-3,500 calories)<------binge on whatever I want

This seems to work for me; although I NEVER get used to it.
Every day is a battle to stay on course.

It is what it is. I have taken a few days off fromt his tightly rescticted regimen and I immediately blow up :p
 
It might not even be a slow metabolism, your in the same boat i am, we have desk jobs. We sit ALL day. That definitely doesnt help out calorie & fat burning needs at all. I resort to using my lunch & any available break to do anything that involves me moving, fast-paced walk, run to the mini-gym next door and crank out a couple of sets ect. In our case diet is especially crucial. Its not just how many calories we take in, its also what kind of calories are we consuming.
 
StangBanger said:
alright... good to hear. I keep reading where guys my size are eating 2800-3200 cals a day to maintain... I was like whoa! Id be fat as hell!
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Yea definetly don't feel bad, because you are better off then some.. I eat that little, and I am probably carrying a good deal more mass then you, which you would think help my metabolism further...nope..lol
Whacked said:
Same here fellas. Slooowwww metabolism.

I also do 5 cardio + 5 training sessions per week and eat a pathetic ~2,000 calories on average. I have had my thyroid values checked repeatedly, only to find thewm in normal ranges.

I tried the product SHIFT (ramps up thyroid fascilitation) and it did nothing for me except for increase my hunger.

So, I have been relegated to practicing the following:
I rotate/fluctuate between moderate and low calorie days. I do the same with carbs. Protein and fats remain constant except for binge day where I lower the protein intake significantly. I get constipated when I eat lie a pig IF high protein amounts are included (weird).

Typically, my week looks like this:
3 moderate calorie days (2,000-2,200 or so) <-------lower carb (<100 grams)
3 low calorie days (1,500-1,700 or so) <-------low carb (< 30 grams)
1 cheat day (3,000-3,500 calories)<------binge on whatever I want

This seems to work for me; although I NEVER get used to it.
Every day is a battle to stay on course.

It is what it is. I have taken a few days off fromt his tightly rescticted regimen and I immediately blow up :p
Click to expand...

Pretty similar to what I do, however I have been doing IF for some time, but with a similar calorie/carb cycle. Just lower total cals.

You look pretty lean in your Avatar! Can you get that lean on those types of calories, or do you have to drop them lower/more cardio?
 
Thanks. That's me on a crap load of supps and eating perfectly for a few months straight. LOL

imprezivr6 said:
Yea definetly don't feel bad, because you are better off then some.. I eat that little, and I am probably carrying a good deal more mass then you, which you would think help my metabolism further...nope..lol


Pretty similar to what I do, however I have been doing IF for some time, but with a similar calorie/carb cycle. Just lower total cals.

You look pretty lean in your Avatar! Can you get that lean on those types of calories, or do you have to drop them lower/more cardio?
Click to expand...
 
Same here. T3 blows for me as well. I won't touch clen (orally anyway, I would consider using it as part of a transdermal) due to the potenial heart damage.
 
MakaveliThaDon said:
you two should both do some googling on "thyroid resistance" ie. reverse t3.
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Whacked said:
I also do 5 cardio + 5 training sessions per week and eat a pathetic ~2,000 calories on average. I have had my thyroid values checked repeatedly, only to find thewm in normal ranges.

I tried the product SHIFT (ramps up thyroid fascilitation) and it did nothing for me except for increase my hunger.
Click to expand...

.........;)
 
TSH and t4 and t3 values won't show you anything in regards to reverse t3. Matter of fact, if that's the case more than likely they WILL be in normal range.
 
MakaveliThaDon said:
TSH and t4 and t3 values won't show you anything in regards to reverse t3. Matter of fact, if that's the case more than likely they WILL be in normal range.
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Already been down this road. TSH is above 3.0(3.5IIRC), don't remember reverse t3 off the top of my head.

I just need to find a Dr worth a ****. My Dr said she doesn't treat thyroid issues until TSH is over 12 or something like that..lol
 
Interesting - please elaborate!! :)

MakaveliThaDon said:
TSH and t4 and t3 values won't show you anything in regards to reverse t3. Matter of fact, if that's the case more than likely they WILL be in normal range.
Click to expand...
 
Whacked said:
Interesting - please elaborate!! :)
Click to expand...
s

sure thing bro.

Actually, I'm gonna point you over to my boy beast's thread called "the official hypothyroidism thread"

Invalid Link Removed

Basically. For a number of reasons. Low iron, low/high cortisol, extreme dieting, etc.. your body starts converting all of it's t4 into what's called reverse t3 instead of actual t3. It's a defense mechanism for the body to slow itself down. Eventually the reverse t3 (being chemically structurally almost identical to actual t3) fits inside of the same receptors t3 should be in and blocks the t3 from actually reaching these receptors. This leads to all the same exact symptoms of hypothyroidism despite good numbers on tsh, t4, and t3 that would indicate NOT being hypo.

Myself and beast are both going through this right now and fixing it. The treatment is to drop any and all t4 you might be on, and do t3 only. The t3 only will lower your tsh, shut down your body from producing anymore t4, and since the only source of reverse t3 is t4, stops your body from being able to produce and make anymore reverse t3. At this point, it's a waiting game, and a matter of allowing what already in your body to decay, and cldear out of the receptors so that actual t3 can be allowed to enter. And this process takes about 12 weeks for it completely flush out of the receptors.

Read some of his links in post number 2 and do some googling. I sound like a nut....I know, but I promise I'm not completely off my rocker :)
 
Anyone here using HIIT, running burst sprints, etc? Plenty of evidence suggests that this form of exercise raises metabolism and keeps it there long after the session is over. It's also shown to be less catabolic than traditional cardio.
 
MakaveliThaDon said:
s

sure thing bro.

Actually, I'm gonna point you over to my boy beast's thread called "the official hypothyroidism thread"

Invalid Link Removed

Basically. For a number of reasons. Low iron, low/high cortisol, extreme dieting, etc.. your body starts converting all of it's t4 into what's called reverse t3 instead of actual t3. It's a defense mechanism for the body to slow itself down. Eventually the reverse t3 (being chemically structurally almost identical to actual t3) fits inside of the same receptors t3 should be in and blocks the t3 from actually reaching these receptors. This leads to all the same exact symptoms of hypothyroidism despite good numbers on tsh, t4, and t3 that would indicate NOT being hypo.

Myself and beast are both going through this right now and fixing it. The treatment is to drop any and all t4 you might be on, and do t3 only. The t3 only will lower your tsh, shut down your body from producing anymore t4, and since the only source of reverse t3 is t4, stops your body from being able to produce and make anymore reverse t3. At this point, it's a waiting game, and a matter of allowing what already in your body to decay, and cldear out of the receptors so that actual t3 can be allowed to enter. And this process takes about 12 weeks for it completely flush out of the receptors.

Read some of his links in post number 2 and do some googling. I sound like a nut....I know, but I promise I'm not completely off my rocker :)
Click to expand...

What t3 dose are you using?

t3 literally has next to no effect on me as far as fat loss. Not saying it isn't "doing" anything, just nothing that makes me say "problem solved"
 
imprezivr6 said:
What t3 dose are you using?

t3 literally has next to no effect on me as far as fat loss. Not saying it isn't "doing" anything, just nothing that makes me say "problem solved"
Click to expand...

It DID on me before I had a reverse t3 problem. It made weight fly off me like no other, I had to be careful on the dosage. Now...until I get the reverse t3 cleared, I'm up to 120mcg and although I sweat a bit more, I haven't dropped a single pound in 3 weeks. So you could say in my present condition, it has pretty much zero effect on me as well. However that SHOULD change and go back to normal once I've been on it long enough to clear the reverse t3 from the receptors so that the t3 can actually enter into them like it is supposed to.
 
MakaveliThaDon said:
It DID on me before I had a reverse t3 problem. It made weight fly off me like no other, I had to be careful on the dosage. Now...until I get the reverse t3 cleared, I'm up to 120mcg and although I sweat a bit more, I haven't dropped a single pound in 3 weeks. So you could say in my present condition, it has pretty much zero effect on me as well. However that SHOULD change and go back to normal once I've been on it long enough to clear the reverse t3 from the receptors so that the t3 can actually enter into them like it is supposed to.
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I guess "should" being the key word. What if it doesnt?
 
As someone who spent most of my life as the chubby kid believing that I was never going to change, I'll throw in my 2 cents on this topic:

First of all, I've lifted for many years. I was relatively big, but never cut. Body fat probably hovered in the mid to high teens. Like most people, I believed that the issue was just a lack of cardio. So I'd do more cardio, lose a bit of fat, but then if I ever got off the routine it'd all come rushing back. It wasn't until the beginning of this year, after 13 years of lifting, that I realized it ALL comes down to diet. I'm not just talking about "eating clean," which I normally tried to do, I'm talking about being scientific about it and tracking your precise macro-nutrients daily.

So, starting at the beginning of this year, I began using the MyFitnessPal app on my phone daily. It told me I needed 1900 calories a day for my weight loss goals. I began the journey at 215 lbs. At that point, I would do at least 20 minutes of cardio 6 days per week, even on lifting days of course. And the weight started coming off quickly. All the while I kept gaining strength as well. Everything went along swimmingly until I got down to 195 or so. I was still making strength gains, but the fat loss stopped, so I figured I needed to retool things.

What I eventually came to realize is that (at least for me), finding foods that I could get the most quantity for the lowest number of calories was important, thus I eat a significant amount of cottage cheese and egg whites, as well as lots of veggies, good protein sources, etc etc. Also, the carb intake doesn't matter nearly so much as keeping your simple sugar intake as low as possible. The only way to accurately track all this is by being diligent with a website like My Fitness Pal.

Anyway, I switched things up, did more HIIT, and the weight slowly kept coming off. As you work your way towards the single digit bodyfat percentages though, you end up hitting the top of the bell curve. Your strength gains stop, your body is operating at full efficiency, and weight all of a sudden just wants to start dropping off. It's a double edged sword though b/c it also becomes easy to lose muscle. For me, that is the point it has got to now, so again I have to restructure things for strength gains.

Through this whole adventure I learned a few things. First, if you aren't losing weight, track your calories, and keep lowering them until you see the results you want. Don't worry about what your caloric intake "should" be; everyone is different. Also, sugar is the worst thing you can have in your diet -- keep that out of your diet, and you'll have a huge advantage. Further, tons of cardio isn't the answer. Your priorities should be (1) your diet, and (2) intense lifting. This in turn will kick up your metabolism to levels that you didn't believe were possible. As BMCJames pointed out in his awesome photo log (and I agree), you should think of cardio purely in terms of exercise for your lungs and heart. I now only do 10 minutes of intense cardio every other lifting day and like I said, I have to keep ramping up my calories to prevent excessive weight loss. On two non-lifting days, I have now switched to doing 90 minute hot yoga sessions, which is a new experience, but one that I would encourage other bodybuilders to try. It really emphasizes weak points and will make you drop weight like there is no tomorrow.

Anyway, as I said, that's just my 2 cents. These are the things I've picked up having dropped 35 pounds in the last 6 months and being into single digit body fat for the first time in my life, so hopefully it's worth something!
 
I can't believe I missed this thread lol.

Although I'm glad Makaveli hit it up ;)

Most thyroid panels won't include reverse T3. In fact, a full thyroid panel on my first blood test didn't even contain it. And I'm not saying that all problems are thyroid related (obviously), but I am an advocate of getting blood panels done to check it. Because I put in years upon years of hard work with minimal results and then finally my thyroid just completely crapped out on me and I couldn't even lose with great nutritional discipline.

I wish I would have got that blood work done years ago so I wouldn't have had to go through all the hassle before now, so I'm a big advocate for this, now.
 
So what exactly is one looking for in a blood test? Does anyone have a sample of a test that is good vs. bad?
 
Onlychevy6 said:
So what exactly is one looking for in a blood test? Does anyone have a sample of a test that is good vs. bad?
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I just posted my most recent ones in the weight-loss forum, today.

Outside of that, though, you can find plenty of examples online.
 
MidwestBeast said:
Because I put in years upon years of hard work with minimal results and then finally my thyroid just completely crapped out on me and I couldn't even lose with great nutritional discipline.
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That is the most frustrating part for sure. Putting in 110% effort to get 10% result..lol
 
imprezivr6 said:
That is the most frustrating part for sure. Putting in 110% effort to get 10% result..lol
Click to expand...

Haha no doubt, man. And the thing is, I'm still pretty happy with where I'm at, but I think about where I could have been if all the tools were in place back then. I was always told that I'd just be chubby as it was in my DNA and it was my build; that I'd never have abs. And for the longest time I listened to them, but then I just tried harder and harder than everyone else and sure enough, when I was in grad school, I had some nice abs coming in (granted, they were still covered by a layer of fat, but they showed).

The thyroid thing just sucked the motivation out from under me and took all the fire out of my workouts and definitely put an axe on the diet. I can't wait til it's in place here again and I have that passion to go in every single day knowing that I'm making changes and progressing.
 
MidwestBeast said:
Haha no doubt, man. And the thing is, I'm still pretty happy with where I'm at, but I think about where I could have been if all the tools were in place back then. I was always told that I'd just be chubby as it was in my DNA and it was my build; that I'd never have abs. And for the longest time I listened to them, but then I just tried harder and harder than everyone else and sure enough, when I was in grad school, I had some nice abs coming in (granted, they were still covered by a layer of fat, but they showed).

The thyroid thing just sucked the motivation out from under me and took all the fire out of my workouts and definitely put an axe on the diet. I can't wait til it's in place here again and I have that passion to go in every single day knowing that I'm making changes and progressing.
Click to expand...

just a bump in the road bro. Nothing more, nothing less. I think sometimes you need to take a step backwards to takes two steps forwards ya know? And if having a set back leads to us fixing the thyroid problem, then I think it's going to let us take two giant leaps forwards once it's taken care of.

I know for sure it's extremely discouraging and disappointing and it can suck a lot of the ambition out of you. But I think it's important to try your hardest to not let it completely take you out of the fitness lifestyle. Gotta keep up those daily habits that add up in the long run. I know it's not doing any good right now, but personally I'm still doing exactly what I know WOULD work if the thyroid wasn't a problem to lose the fat, cardio all 7 days a week in the am, 5x a week weights in the pm, strict diet, etc.. Just everything that I know works for me and always has worked. It's not working right now, but by keeping up the same habits and routine, I think it's going to be easier to identify and see once it is fixed, all of a sudden things are going to start happening with regards to body recomp without having to change anything about what I was doing, things will just kind of...fall into place

It's easier said than done I know. Just gotta keep up with them positive thoughts my brother from another mother :)
 
MidwestBeast said:
Haha no doubt, man. And the thing is, I'm still pretty happy with where I'm at, but I think about where I could have been if all the tools were in place back then. I was always told that I'd just be chubby as it was in my DNA and it was my build; that I'd never have abs. And for the longest time I listened to them, but then I just tried harder and harder than everyone else and sure enough, when I was in grad school, I had some nice abs coming in (granted, they were still covered by a layer of fat, but they showed).

The thyroid thing just sucked the motivation out from under me and took all the fire out of my workouts and definitely put an axe on the diet. I can't wait til it's in place here again and I have that passion to go in every single day knowing that I'm making changes and progressing.
Click to expand...

Believe me, I know exactly where you are coming from. I always manage to be in pretty "decent" shape, but it is 10x as hard.

I never let it side track me though. It just means I need to stay MORE consistent, and work harder.

Keep at it man.
 
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