Making the decision to do a metabolism rest is no small matter. The mental transition just to decide to “eat more” is already hard enough when coming from a lifestyle of severe calorie restriction. Most are already scared out of their mind at the thought of blowing up from the extra cals, and typically can’t imagine eating that much food without wanting to puke.
Others may not have those thoughts upfront. They are ecstatic at the thought of more food, and begin salivating right away what items will be added back that they’ve been denying themselves up until this point. They immediately have visions of bread and ice cream, and living happily ever after.
Regardless of how one arrives at the point of beginning their reset, once they dive in and get a few days or weeks in, the question inevitably pops up:
Why am I so bloated?
Sometimes it’s more like, “OMG!! I hate you! I knew this would happen! I can’t believe I fell for this crap! EM2WL is a crock! I can’t button my pants! This sucks! I’m up 17lbs from last week! You better hope we don’t meet in a dark alley, I’m gonna $%&*%$#@@$%^&*(*&%$#@##$^&&%!”…
You get the point. The dreaded bloat/”gain” arrives, and we freak.
When we drastically increase cals, we have to realize that we are asking our bodies to work overtime processing more food that it has in who knows how long. We are also possibly re-introducing foods that we had given up and could have become allergic/sensitive to because of eliminating them from our diet (whether born out of necessity or fad). Increasing our intake of known bloat offenders, only exacerbates this problem, making us think that “it’s not working!” or one of the other lines quoted above.
Lucia enjoying some creamy goodness
The biggest plus of the EM2WL lifestyle is the time factor. You have it, and lots of it. We encourage members to take this time to become in tuned with your body. Learning how your body reacts to different foods, exercises, etc., is one of the most valuable tools that you will have on your journey. Use this time to log your food, as well as the different things that are happening in your body each day. Begin to connect the dots with days/times that the bloating seems overwhelming and what you ate the day/meal prior. This does not always mean that you will have to omit the item from your diet, rather that you will want to take your time increasing that particular item until your body has fully stabilized. Of course, if you notice a reaction so severe (i.e. allergic) that you feel is not worth the risk, then you can feel free to remove the offender from your diet. But you will likely find that given enough time, and with a few simple tweaks, your body can and will adapt to most food items again.
If you are dealing with the “Reset Bloat” or want to prevent it, here are a few tips that can help:
Add carbs slowly. Regardless of if you’ve just come off Atkins or were already pretty carb heavy, carbs, in general are prone to bloating when eaten in excess, and when calories are almost doubling (in most cases), your body sees it as excess (at first). So take it slow.
Add dairy products slowly, for the same reasons as the carbs, this includes protein powders.
Begin with a bit higher protein ratio, protein makes the body to secrete water, thus controlling bloating. Each time you take the carbs up a notch, you can lower the protein a bit more. Continue in this manner until stabilized.
Drink enough water. Bloat is one of those times you have to fight fire with fire. The more water you retain, the more you need to drink. Eating foods with diuretic properties can also help (i.e. asparagus, green beans, green tea, etc)
Reduce your cardio. Where does this one fit in the middle of all of this food talk? Believe it or not, excessive cardio is actually a main contributing factor to poor digestion, as it reduces the acid in the stomach that breaks down food, as well as naturally forming digestive enzymes. When the stomach cannot digest properly, larger food particles are left in lower in the digestive tract = BLOATING. It’s time to cut back, peeps.
Replace heavy cardio sessions with exercise that will stimulate and retrain your nervous system (thus restoring what digestive functions that the intense/excessive cardio has torn down). Do light stretching, or try a restorative yoga class or DVD. This is not the time for power yoga, but a light relaxing session or even a tranquil walk outdoors. Continue (or begin) weight training, but keep the durations shorter, with longer rests (not circuits). The routines provided in New Rules of Lifting for Women are fine.
If you’ve been on a very low fat diet, you will want to introduce some essential fats into your diet as well (i.e. salmon, flaxseed, olive oil, etc).
You’ll want to get some good supplements in your arsenalas you assist your body on this road to recovery, such digestive enzymes, probiotics, etc., as well as specific vitamins to help repair the digestive functions. These will greatly decrease the bloat factor. If you are at a loss for what supplements to use, feel free to check out our Amazon Store, for the supps that we recommend.
As usual, this is not an all inclusive list, but some very general guidelines that should help you make it through your reset without wanting to shoot yourself…or us.
If you’ve been a chronic low cal dieter, and a follower of EM2WL for any length of time, then you know that we highly recommend doing a metabolism reset. Maybe you’re even doing one now, or planning to soon join the growing number of members who have decided to take back control of their lives from extreme caloric bondage. We all come to the point of metabolism resetting for different reasons. Some of us have actual diagnosis of an ED, and others have just been dieting longer than they care to remember. Our common ground: we have been starving ourselves by eating less food than our body requires to survive. Choosing the path of reset is one of the best things that we can do to recover from the mental and physical damage that occurs with long term, severe caloric restriction, but it is not an overnight process. A question that is popping up almost daily in our inbox is: How do I know when my metabolism reset is over?
We’ve avoided answering that question for quite sometime, much to the aggravation of most. We hated even giving the “6-8 week” guidelines, because, quite honestly, 6 weeks may not be enough for some, too long for others. At EM2WL, we are always stressing that everyone is different. We are individuals. Some people bounce back quicker than others. Yet, there are still those of you wanting specific deadlines, and exact “stopping” times.
Whether you’re at the beginning of your journey, still on the fence, or well on the road to recovery, there are things to keep in mind along the way:
Mental recovery
I mention this one first because it is the area that controls all remaining points:
If you are not recovered mentally, then whether it’s been 6 weeks or 16, you are NOT finished resetting. We give “guidelines” for how long to reset, but your body does not magically know that it’s been 5 weeks and 6 days, thus resetting on the 7th day. Take this time to understand why you are resetting in the first place.
If you are rushing to finish your reset, because you just want to “get it over with” or “hurry up and start cutting” because you “just need to get this weight off”…you have not mentally recovered, and should honestly consider continuing your metabolism reset. When your reset is over, you just know. You completely comprehend that this is your new way of life, and that you will NEVER go back to low cal madness, no matter how long it takes.
If 1200-1400 cals is still an option in the back of your mind somewhere, you have not recovered.
Expectations
Most of these are discussed in the post on patience, yet it still seems like we dive into the reset with unrealistic expectations of what will happen to us. Or, we say that we understand, but we don’t, really. We want to ride out the reset without a hitch and then hop on the cutting path and live happily ever after. Once again, this is when the mental aspect comes into play. That is our old “quick fix” diet mentality creeping in and telling us that if we eat too much, we’ll gain, going backwards and then we’ll NEVER get this weight off. So we go through our reset never fully allowing ourselves to relax and recover, because we’re so busy stressing about the .03265 gain on the scale that is about to happen in 5 minutes. Recall how many times that you have yo-yo’d in the past, or regained the weight after reaching “goal” because you used unhealthy methods to achieve the goal. Remember that if you don’t gain now and fully recover, you will likely gain it later, going back to square one, still with a shoddy metabolism.
Expect to gain weight. You are recovering from an ED (or similar mindset), it’s part of the rehab process. If the weight came off in an unhealthy manner, you will likely HAVE to gain it back (whether in water, or replacing atrophied muscle/essential fat) as part of the recovery. Couple that with the zillion other reasons for scale fluctuations (especially in women), and you have a recipe for seeing the scale move up. Expect the gain.
Expect the mental struggle that comes with that gain.
Expect that you will have to find ways to deal with it.
Expect to deal with bloat when you lift weights, or eat a lot of sodium, carbs, dairy, wheat, etc., as your body adjusts and tries to understand what’s going on.
Expect that people around you will not understand what you are doing.
Expect to lean on others who do understand for support.
Expect to eventually gain full confidence in what you are doing.
Expect to come out of this victorious.
Expect that any weight gained will come off.
Expect to never starve yourself again.
Stay Strong
We’ve never said the the metabolism reset would be easy, but we guarantee that it will be worth it. Quick fixes don’t.work.period. Take this time to set healthy habits and goals for yourself, that will support and affirm your new lifestyle.
Don’t focus on how “much longer”your journey will take, but on the fact that you are finally on the right path. Yes, you have a long journey ahead, so try to keep a realistic perspective.
Get involved with the EM2WL community for support, and make a determination to do what’s best for your body.
Hire a personal trainer and learn your way around the weight room. Set a new lifting goal, if you’re a vet. Try out a new workout class or DVD.
Stop reading magazines or watching television shows (or listen to friends!) that promote unhealthy body images or rapid methods of weight loss.
Read books (including cookbooks) and articles that teach you how to be strong, healthy and fit, without being extreme. Our Resources page is a great place to start.
Focus on changing types of food you eat. You have time to make healthier habits, so use it. Add real foods back to your menu. Cut out diet drinks/food/artificial sweeteners that you’ve always known were bad for your health, but you were willing to sacrifice for lower calories.
Buy clothes that fit and flatter you now. This does not mean resign yourself to a life of being fat, but simply not waiting to get to a “perfect size” before allowing life to begin.It wasn’t until I finally stopped dwelling on where I wanted to be and focused on looking my best in the present, that things came together for me. There’s a difference between being “focused” and being “obsessed“ (more on that in this post).
Enjoy where you are on the way to where you are going. Rushing the process and running through every stop sign and red light may get you there faster, but it may also land you in the ER.
Parting words:
Fuel your body properly. Enjoy your life now. Don’t stress. The results WILL come.
Just thought I’d send in a quick update on my metabolic reset progress:
I’m just starting week 3 of my metabolic reset. My bloat is finally gone, my weight seems to have temporarily stabilized at a one pound gain since starting the reset (for a total of 5 lbs). My jeans fit more comfortably again (I was unable to wear them 2 weeks ago if I wanted to also breath), and on top of it all, I am STARVING all the time!! I really understand now when people say it’s like they woke up a monster!
I’m so excited though because these are exactly the types of symptoms I’ve been waiting for these past 10 weeks since starting to up calories! That’s a long wait, but now I can see some awesome signs that I’m waking up that metabolism! Whoo-hoo!!
Q: I’m increasing my cals like you said, but I gained weight this week! I thought the point of finding my TDEE is so that I can get back on the losing track? I feel like I’m going backwards. I feel stuffed and miserable. I haven’t even hit my TDEE yet, because there’s just no way I can fit all this food into my day. Am I doing something wrong? Do you have any suggestions on how I go about increasing calorie intake?
A: Just a few pointers on increasing calorie intake, while minimizing fluctuations. You probably know most of these things, and this is not a completely exhaustive list/explanation. I’m just mentioning as many as I can think of, glean what/if you can, toss the rest, lol.
Always think of your metabolism as a fire. A calorie is a unit of heat (literally, that’s the definition). In order to increase the metabolism, you want to keep that fire constant. This means everything about it should be as consistent as possible, so that the fire does not die. There has been some controversy over whether or not the “thermogenic effect” of food is real or not, but that is not the main concern here. More than anything, it is helpful in the beginning, when consistency is most important, to follow some of these tips until your body gets used to higher cals again. Once your body is used to the proper cal levels, you will not need to follow these guidelines, as your body will want to be fed, and you will no longer feel stuffed eating such small amounts of food. When you get to this point, you can set up your eating habits in a way that is pertinent to your personal lifestyle.
Eat as soon as possible when you wake up. Start the fire, whatever you need to do, I’ve found that for me, and most people I know, this is what gets it revved.. Plus, if you are having a hard time fitting your cals in by the end of the day, then getting that first meal in nice and early really helps.
As soon as you finish that meal, set a timer for 2-3 hours. This is when you will add another log to the fire. Do this after every meal, for as long as you are awake (even if you stay up late!). For most people, it only takes a week or less of doing this, before you will notice that your body will BEG you for food by the “appointed time”, and you will no longer need the timer. This is GOOD. This means that it is working. Your body now knows/is confident in the fact that it can let go of that meal quickly, because the next one is just around the corner. The opposite is also true. When you miss meals (especially when first upping cals!), no matter how healthy you’re eating, you’re body doesn’t know when it will eat again, so it doesn’t want to let go of any of it.
Add the extra cals slowly, and spread out over those meals. Like an extra 25-50 cals per meal, instead of one huge extra meal. Stay at that level for a while, and if all is well, add more…
Take advantage of macro-nutrient timing. If you enjoy carbs, eat them early on in the day while your body needs them. It’s ok to have a (complex) carb heavy breakfast and a (simple) carb heavy after workout snack.
Immediately following your workout is the *best* time to add extra calories (really helpful if you haven’t figured out a way to spread them out). This is especially true if you’ve been setting your timer and eating at regular intervals. The last meal before your workout, be sure to have had some complex carbs and protein. IMMEDIATELY After your workout have some protein and carbs (this is your time to take advantage of a simple carb if you wanted to), this can be your post workout shake w/some fruit, or chocolate milk, or fruity yogurt, or whatever. Pick something that’s easily digested, and scarf it (before you even shower). If timed properly, by the time you get out of the shower, blow dry your hair, fix your make-up, what have you, (approx 30-60 min) you should be STARVING. Even if you’re not, eat again (yes, this is breaking the 2-3 hour rule, but this is the perfect time to do so, and you shouldn’t have eaten anything that made you too full to eat again). The meal after shower should be a real meal (back to the healthy stuff) good protein, good fats, good carbs (preferably veggies) if it’s later in the day. Then set your timer, and resume the regular 2-3 hour eating schedule.
If none of these things work, after staying consistent for 4-6 weeks, then it’s time to start investigating other aspects of your diet. Maybe your body prefers a certain macronutrient ratio, or you could even be allergic to something that you’re eating regularly. With the rise of gluten/wheat/soy/dairy/etc intolerance these days, it may be a good idea to hook up w/a good Dr and have your thyroid checked, or nutritionist to analyze your diet further…
ETA: This list is not an exclusive/exhausted list, or a be-all-end-all approach. This was not written to address any one person’s specific macro-nutrient ratio, so it is very general in that aspect. As stated in the last italicized line, everyone has their own macro-nutrient specific ideals, depending on various sensitivities, activity levels. If you are insulin sensitive, then your “log” that you’re adding to the fire will obviously not be something that spikes your insulin level to an extreme, etc. As stated in the beginning of the post, you may not use every single tip: take what you can, leave the rest. The point is to not starve ourselves, and then wonder why we don’t see results, and to provide a starting point for those trying to break free of unintentional under-eating. Stay consistent, trust the process, and regain your bodies trust in the meantime.
Q: Fix my metabolism, and lose fat by increasing calories?! I don’t get it. Why in the world would I do that?! I don’t want to risk gaining weight. I want this weight off NOW!!
Move past instant (& fleeting!) gratification. Where do you want to be a year from now? Check out Mo’s story!
A: Increasing calories for fat loss can be scary. When approaching fat loss, we have to look at the big picture. We should not simply focus on losing the weight by fill-in-the-blank-occasion/date. Think of where you want to be when the journey is over. The body has an amazing ability to adapt to whatever stresses you put it through:
When we consistently challenge ourselves in the weight room, our muscles adapt — getting bigger and stronger.
When we consistently challenge ourselves with cardio, our bodies catabolize some muscle tissue to become faster and more efficient at the endurance activity.
When we consistently eat at a caloric deficit, our bodies naturally assume that the deficit is the new maintenance, and lowers your metabolism to meet the demand.
So we must take all the above into consideration when beginning our journey. We must decide where we want to be when it’s over; then set our goals, calories, and workouts in alignment with that plan. Someone who has under-eaten (read: dieted) for extended periods of time, must accept that their body may have adapted to a much lower-than-necessary calorie level. If this calorie level is well below what their body needs to survive, then fat loss may have stalled while the body tends to more important processes. Increasing calories and doing what we refer to a “metabolism reset” allows your body to take a break from the stress of dieting. It allows your body to become accustomed to eating proper amounts of food again, reminding your body of what maintenance level eating really is. When Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) returns to a normal state, a deficit can be reintroduced to resume fat loss goals.
Q: So I think maybe I will take it slowly – increasing calories to see what happens. How long do you suggest I do this for? I’m not scared to do it and really want to figure this out. I’m super dedicated to getting in shape and I will do whatever I have to do to make it work!
A: We suggest thatyou take your time increasing calories, to minimize shock to the body and give proper time for the mentality shift. There are some who feel that they will chicken out if they take to long — so they prefer to “rip-the-bandaid” and just get started. The choice is personal, as only you know yourself well enough to decide.
Personally, I did it very gradually.
Take the time to set up your true maintenance level and work from there. It really will feel like a guessing game until you do. Trust that it will feel so good to finally be in control. You won’t be starving yourself, only to have your weight shoot back up as soon as you eat normal again. It may seem (upfront) that this means you will take longer to lose the weight than the usual fast track (eat nothing, cardio madness) route, but consider the truth. If you’re at a plateau (now) anyway, how will you ever know if it really took longer? Perhaps (and most likely) you will just stay at or keep hitting the same plateau. You really have nothing to lose, and you don’t want to spend the rest of your life lowering calories.
As women, our metabolism starts decreasing every decade after 30, requiring us to eat lower calories. So you want to make sure that you start out at the highest end of that spectrum NOW. With no plan of action, sure — you may eventually come to the point where you have to eat 1300 calories and workout three hours/day to maintain your physique. Alternatively, you can put it off for a few more decades, or prevent it altogether by adding enough muscle mass and eating enough now.
Because increasing calories always brings some concerns, I thought it might be helpful to have a synopsis of the process. We’re all different, and of course will respond in different ways, but at some point during the process we may feel like we are all alone in our reactions to increased cals.
We often hear the success story of the person that upped their cals and dramatically started losing weight again, and I find that this can often lead to calorie increasing being looked at just as any other “fad diet.‘ With claims sometimes sounding similar to those of magazines, “lose 10 lbs in 10 days” many want to jump on the calorie upping bandwagon and start shedding that weight again. And who could blame us, we’ve all obviously been there, losing and gaining the same pounds over and over again, and we just want it off and are “willing to try anything”
Or are we?
It’s very important to note that although many see success very shortly after upping their cals, that this is not the case for most. In fact it’s quite the opposite. I am a STRONG proponent of giving your body the proper fuel that it needs, but it’s extremely important for me to make this point clear:
IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A QUICK FIX, YOU’VE COME TO THE WRONG PLACE.
Seriously, I’m not trying to be mean, just stating the facts. I know that many people are coming to this decision for different reasons, some are on those last few stubborn pounds, and others are just beginning their journey. Whether you have 5 or 100 lbs to lose, the process CAN work for you, but much patience and the correct frame of mind are required. Regardless of where you are or why you want to eat more, keep the main point the main point: It’s time to stop starving your body, and get/keep your metabolism on the right track. period. everything else that happens as a result (building muscle, losing fat, looking good, finally being able to wear shorts/bikini, etc) are just extra. Yes, we’re all a bit vain, in that we want to look good, and there is nothing wrong with that, but there are a zillion different “quick fixes” and starvation/over-exertion plans out there if that’s the route that you want to go (again, and again as you continue to re-gain the same weight), but I can assure you, this ain’t one of ’em.
So enough of that part of my ramble, and on to what to expect:
Upon starting this process, some dive in w/little to no knowledge, and some take it slow. What I’ve found over time, is that those who take the time to properly educate themselves and prepare for the mental aspect, have much greater success. Often those that dive in, thinking that they’ll up their cals and fit into that bikini by next Friday have a rude awakening. We see the success stories of those that up their cals, but we don’t see the mental transition that had to take place before/during the process.
Typically, a person is coming into this process after already having had “success” on lower cal diets, therefore this “success” (and I use quotes because they have typically re-gained the weight) will always be at the forefront of their mind as a “just in case this doesn’t work” option. So the first place of mental acceptance that a person has to arrive at is: IF YOU GAIN THE WEIGHT BACK, OR HAVE COMPLETELY STALLED, IT WASN’T A “SUCCESS.” A person who does not feel this way, will run at the first sign of trouble. You have to become completely convinced that super low cals, excessive cal burns through exercise, and eating under your BMR are no longer an option. Lowering cals, begets lowering them more during plateaus, and becomes a slippery slope, especially if you are already a too low of a cal level. You’ll eventually drop into that gray area, and your body either starts holding on to every morsel of fat, or completely stalls out. Think of it this way: WHEN YOUR CAR “RUNS OUT OF GAS,” IS IT “TECHNICALLY” COMPLETELY EMPTY? More than likely there is still some smidgen of gas in there, right?. But just not enough to make the large body of metal “go.” This is what happens to your body when you make it try to operate on bare minimums.
Now, let’s say that you “get” all that, and are ready to get this party started and start losing weight again, all while stuffing your face. I mean, we can eat like it’s Thanksgiving everyday and watch the lbs melt off? It’s a win, win, eh? Um….no. The next thing that a person will have to realize it that, the longer you have been in the super deficit/overexertion phase, the more patience you’ll need to have during your “re-feed” phase. Yes, ultimately you want those lbs to melt off, but some people need to take a couple of steps back first, and will actually GAIN some “scale” weight up front (the “scale weight” can be different for each person, sometimes it’s just bloat/water weight, sometimes a person has lost the weight unhealthily, and the body must first recoup before it can function properly).
The analogy that I like to use here can be understood by anyone who has a newer phone (be it Blackberry or iPhone), or other rechargeable device. When your battery runs out on your phone, it doesn’t matter what you do to it, there’s only one way to make it work again (other than putting in an entirely new, newly charged battery). You have to plug it in. Most phones or devices nowadays, will not start working the second that you plug them in. They often need a few minutes of “re-feed” charging before they will even *turn on*. Then once they’re turned on, you can’t just unplug them and walk away, you have to wait. Different devices take different amounts of time to charge, and different charging sources also come into play. If I plug my iPhone into the wall charger (when completely dead), it takes about 1-5 minutes before it can turn on, and then another 30-1hr before it’s completely charged. However, when I plug it into the USB on my PC, or car charger, it takes all.day.long. But, regardless of where I charge it, and how long the process takes, the end result is that it’s now charged, and I can unplug it, walk away and expect it to perform whatever command I give it. I can continue to expect this, as long as I continue to charge it properly from here on out (not letting it go completely dead again), for the life of the phone.
Such is the case for your body. Your individual needs may vary. Your recharge may be different from the next person, you may have to gain a couple of pounds (not turn on yet) until your body has had it’s set “internal” time of charging. Then you may have to sit at a standstill/maintenance (still plugged in) until your body is fully charged. Once you reach this point, you will be able to move forward (finally unplug), give your body commands and expect full compliance, as long as you treat it right, agreeing not to starve it again. Quality/sources of food (wall charger vs. USB) will also affect the variations in length to the process for different people.
If you’ve been a “low carber” for a while, then expect some water retention as you add healthy carbs back into your life. It’s ok. Your body needs carbs and has to learn to adapt to them again. In this scenario, probably 98% of the gain that you “see” will be water.
If you’ve been a low cal “binge-er” (eating low cals for an extended period of time, then having a “binge” ever so often in moments of “weakness”), then expect your body to react negatively at first. It will assume that this is just another one of your “binges” and that “starvation” is just around the corner, thus the desire to hold on to everything that comes through. Once it senses that it will receive regular feedings, it will react accordingly by actually letting go..
Remember, your body does not give a darn about your “weight loss” goals. It has one goal- survival. It’s up to you to convince it that you’re on the same team, and it will stop fighting you.
Some people see results in a week or two, some need 4-6 weeks or more for things to completely balance out. Know this going in, and prepare to be in it for the long haul. The first 2 weeks are usually the mental aspect of eating more and convincing your mind/body that you are on the right track despite scale fluctuations. Following weeks, may become easier as far as the eating aspect goes, but be prepared for discouragement if the scale is still not moving. This is normal, and not the time to run for the hills. Often times a person needs to eat in a hypercaloric (surplus) or eucaloric (maintenance) state for some time before their body believes that they are not “crying wolf.”
Give your mind/body enough time to be fully convinced. Remember that your life will (hopefully) last for several more years, giving yourself deadlines like “this summer” or “tank top season” does not register w/your body. If you plan on “eating more” for the rest of your life, then this will only be a very short time in the grand scheme of things.
You will hear me say, over and over to people that are on the “Eat More” or “metabolism repair” path:
Take your time, pace yourself, enjoy the journey, and don’t quit just short of the finish-line.
Trust the process. You can/will reach your goals.
This is your life, not The Biggest Loser. There is no cash prize for starving yourself, while working out 6 hours/day.
are fine.
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