The majority of clients I’ve worked with over the years had matter-of-factly accepted the notion that they had a “low metabolism,” possibly secondary to yo-yo dieting.
Several comprehensive reviews of the literature (including one by a National Institutes of Health expert panel), however, have concluded that the negative metabolic and body composition side-effects frequently attributed to yo-yo dieting are not supported by careful review of the data. The conclusions: yo-yo dieting does not have a lasting negative effect on resting energy expenditure (REE), or muscle tissue/lean body mass (LBM), and does not make future attempts at weight loss more difficult (at least from a physiological standpoint).(1,2)
If your belief that you have a low metabolism is not addressed with factual information, then you essentially have an underlying expectation of failure—which may become a self-fulfilling prophesy.
In my continuing education seminar: Advanced Training in Weight Management one of the four 90-minute sections is all about metabolism. Since 1993 I have extensively studied this area of literature. For a more detailed review of all aspects of dieting and exercise on metabolic rate, see Metabolism: Facts & Fiction, (which is right out of my book, The NEW Healthy Eating & Weight Management Guide) which addresses the following:
1) Energy expenditure (defined)
2) How does energy restriction affect resting energy expenditure (REE)?
3) How does yo-yo dieting affect REE
4) How does physical activity affect REE?
5) Does adding muscle increase REE in a clinically significant way?
6) How does hypothyroidism impact REE?
7) What you need to know to maximize your success.
All the best!
-Dorene
1. National Institutes of Health National Task Force on the Prevention and Treatment of Obesity: Weight Cycling. J Am Med Assoc. 1994;272:1196-1202.
2. Wing R: Weight cycling in humans: A review of the literature. Ann Behav Med. 1992;14:113-119.