Metabolism Recovery

For the last week or so I have been questioning ‘Why the Rush?’ What do I have to gain by losing weight as fast as I can? Sure, I will reach my goals faster, but then what? Am I going to be restricted to 1200 calories every day for the rest of my life? For some time now I have been hearing a voice telling me to slow down. I just assumed it was Fat Girl with yet another tactic to get me to eat bad foods. Today I stopped and listened to the voice and to my surprise it is actually skinny girl! She actually needs me to slow down my weight loss. We all know the story about the turtle and the hair and we have all head the phase ‘slow and steady wins the race’.

Let’s face it, I am doing this for my future, not to get thin as quick as I can. It’s not like I am a contestant on the Biggest Loser or anything. This journey is for me, and for me only. I am a researcher and critical thinker by nature. I want to know they facts, they how’s and the why’s of life, so it is only natural that I have spent a lot of time researching weight loss issues.

It seems that dieting does slow down one’s metabolism, which in turn makes it easier to gain weight. This is because when you restrict calories your body eventually puts a stop to ‘starvation mode’ by slowing down. Everyone knows this yet we all go on these diets, restrict our calories and then cry foul when we plateau. Most people then restrict their calories even further and then reach their goal weight with a stuffed metabolism. It’s like we dieters are setting ourselves up for failure from the get go.

I recently came across the concept of ‘Metabolism Recovery’. In short, it simply means having a 2-4 week break from dieting every month. You can only begin to imagine the words I have been hearing from Fat Girl about this concept! And it is this reason that I am approaching this with care. I am currently on the Tony Ferguson Plan, yet after some research and careful menu balancing I am in the process of altering this.


There are 3 phases of the ‘Metabolism Recovery’ technique. Phase 1 lasts for a week and during this phase I plan to consume 1200 calories. Phase 2 goes for 3 weeks and consists of approx 1500 calories and finally Phase 3 (which is the metabolism recovery stage) goes for 2-4 weeks and you consume 2500 calories. I am also going to be combining this with a high protein, low GI diet. For the last week or so I have avoided dairy, but I am planning on re-introducing it in the form of cheese this week.

Phase 1 will technically start on Monday – giving me today and tomorrow to continue as normal and maybe even bend the rules slightly.

My plan for Phase 1 consists of 3 main meals and 3 snacks. In total my goal nutrients will be:

Carbohydrates: 91 g

Protein: 137 g

Fat: 34 g

Calories: 1200

Don’t forget to check the link to my diet journal to see what I am eating on Monday: http://www.calorieking.com.au/public/?member=photographer

I had a great workout today at Curves. I finally have my Curves Smart chip – so the computer pushes me to work at a high level. I also love that I can see so much information on the computer afterwards. I burnt 335 calories today!

What I didn’t realise was that my body measurements and weight are used to create an ‘animation’ of me! I got a shock at seeing my own body there on the screen but also got a bit of a giggle!

My results came back for my essay yesterday also. I got 70/100, which is considered to be a distinction. I should be happy with this result but I do feel a bit disappointed. Most people at uni are just happy to pass... I want to get at least 80% for everything. I think I am so keen on being a good student at Uni because I really let myself down in High School. I never studied and only did assignments at the last minute.

I managed to pass year 12 and get an okay result but I often wonder what I could have done if I actually tired. It’s hard to admit to having regrets in life... it’s similar to wishing for a daughter. I do regret not trying at High School but at the same time I am happy with where I am in life.