Metabolic Rate: How Much Will It Increase?

gretchen

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How much of an increase in basal metabolic rate can we reasonably expect from eating the Peat way? If my bmr is 1000-1200 calories a day, how is eating this diet going to change that?
 

charlie

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Good question but not sure there is a straight answer for that. I did see someone mention that the difference between a good metabolism and a bad metabolism was only 200 calories. But I am not sure there is any truth to that.
 

WilltoBelieve

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I don't think it could be said that a person can eat a "peat diet" and then their metabolism will increase.
It's like saying, I have a 200 piece mechanics tool kit... so now my car will be fixed.


The key to this is rather to become familiar with one's own reality and location in the abstract time and place, then to become thoroughly familiar with the characteristics of the goal (mostly from reading Ray Peats articles, newsletters, etc., but also by looking at other sources of evidence and analysis).

Ray Peat defines the goal... the characteristics of it and provides us with an outline of the effects of food (substances from carrots to thyroid to chicken fat), water, air, and light, as well as effects of behavior and activities.

But then comes the personal struggle to use all this information and tools and "diet" to find one's way to higher ground.

Remember, anything of true reward of great value will not be won in a day or without great desire, persistence, and work.

So I would say the by imitating someone else's behaviors , one should not expect any fundamental and lasting transformation to occur (although we can still learn something from doing this if that's "where we're at" in our journey).

But... by fully identifying with the goal, by seeking wisdom and understanding, and by striving with all one's might to achieve the result (and when successes along the way prove temporary one has to pick up and continue).... by this, one can expect to find slowly an unfolding expanse of improvement that exceeds one's original concept--- and that will be reflected in an objectively measurable and long-term increase in metabolism (heart rate, temperature, appetite, ability to work and think well, sense of wellbeing).

So after all of this is understood, what can one say?

Your resting heart rate should be stable and comfortable at around 80bpm....
YOu should be able to consume 2500 calories per day without weight gain...
Your temperature should be (you can look this up)...
etc.

But this should all vary to some extent depending on all of an individual's circumstances.
 
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gretchen

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I ate upwards of 1600 calories a day over the summer and held my weight around 102; once I started gaining over that I had to cut back. I would love to eat up to 2000 calories a day, but I just can't deal with all the weight gain; at 5'1" and being so small boned it just isn't attractive. Restricting calories I know doesn't mix with thyroid health and metabolic well-being. My pulse is down to 70 which sucks. I may try Cytomel along with some dessicated thyroid and see if that helps. I'm pretty sure my metabolic issues have to do with the PUFA overdose I did my last year of paleo; ie, nut overdose.
 

charlie

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That darn paleo is a metabolic disaster waiting to happen. It sure happened to me.
 

jyb

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On a note related to metabolism, is it possible to identify a slow down? For example, suppose I have low PUFA in my tissues and at lunch I eat a high dose of it. Should I expect my temps to drop in the same afternoon because of it? Or does it take more time to be measurable - so for example in the afternoon a drop in temps may be due to a bad night's sleep or something I ate the day before?

It's useful to know so that I can troubleshoot why my temps dropped for example. But it's not easy, sometimes for example I will feel okay or good and yet my temps are low, some other times they are a bit higher but I feel more lethargic. (But I think I always feel good when temps are perfect - 98.6 or more - which is quite rare for me).
 

peteybee

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Question for you guys.
How long did it take for your metabolism to start to improve after you started eating ala Peat?
I switched to eating Peat style about 3 weeks ago, from a low-carb approach, and have noticed a slight improvement in energy and boweL movement. I also put on a few pounds, but I attribute that to water weight from the extra carbs, and I'm not concerned about it.
I'm fairly active, and somewhat lean. Not as lean as I was on low-carb, but I don't consider that a negative since my energy level has improved.
Been eating mostly dairy and fruit, with some potatoes and carrots, and a couple of eggs a day too, as well as some liver or steak once a week.
Just curious about your experiences with metabolism.
Thanks.
 

gabriel79

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Hi peteybee,
Welcome to the forujm! 3 weeks is not really much in terms of any diet. Of course you´ll notice some immediate changes like the increase energy because of the sugar. Going to you question... it may depend on how bad your metabolism was before you started. It usually takes years of bad eating habits to crash a good metabolism, it can also take years to correct it. Were you eating high PUFA before? for how long? etc... About the extra pounds, yes, it´s water. Nobody wins pounds of fat in 3 weeks under any diet.
 

jyb

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I'll just say it took me more than 3 weeks to get the Peating right (enough of good sugar and protein especially, bu also aspirin, coffee with a meal, gelatin, high calcium...). If you have hypo symptoms, get into the habit of taking your temperature and pulse throughout the day. If after months of Peating your temps or pulse are still indicative of hypothyroidism, you might consider thyroid supplementation.
 

charlie

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Peteybee, welcome to the fourm.

Ray Peat says it can take from a couple of hours, to a couple of days. You have already reported that your metabolism is increasing due to more energy and better bowel movements. Obviously it is not going to be optimal for a while, but you are already on the upswing.
 

peteybee

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Thanks for the replies.
I know that it isn't something that happens overnight, but it's a worthwhile goal.
I'm happy that there's a way to go about it properly, and it makes sense that a good metabolism is key for optimal health.
Glad I found this forum. Lots of good info here.
 

peteybee

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I'm finding that I want to eat more often while eating in this fashion.
On low-carb, I was fasting for most of the day, and eating one big meal at night.
Now I'm going to the supermarket more often to buy fruit, and I'll be digging into the grapes while I'm driving home.
I think that it's going to take some time for my metabolism to ramp up to the point where it will be compatible to this new way of eating, and even though the water weight gain seems unavoidable, I'm going to do my best to stay with it until things balance out.
 

jyb

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peteybee said:
I'm finding that I want to eat more often while eating in this fashion.
On low-carb, I was fasting for most of the day, and eating one big meal at night.
Now I'm going to the supermarket more often to buy fruit, and I'll be digging into the grapes while I'm driving home.
I think that it's going to take some time for my metabolism to ramp up to the point where it will be compatible to this new way of eating, and even though the water weight gain seems unavoidable, I'm going to do my best to stay with it until things balance out.

More frequent meals, but smaller ones too.
 

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