Written by Kari Dahlgren, NBC-HWC
Last updated on: March 21, 2024
If you’ve ever wondered how to fix a damaged metabolism after dieting, you’re not alone. Many people find themselves caught in a zero-sum game when it comes to weight loss: eating less leads to burning fewer calories, which in turn means you have to eat even less to continue losing weight. This cycle can feel like a never-ending treadmill, ultimately unsustainable and frustrating.
In this article, we’ll dive deep into how metabolism works, exploring why it tends to slow down on a restrictive diet and what steps you can take to repair a metabolism that’s been thrown off balance by dieting.
At the end, I’ll address some common metabolism-boosting tips and put them to the test. Stay tuned to see which tips passed the fact check.
Metabolism refers to the sum total of all chemical reactions that take place in the body, including the process of converting food into energy. Although typical advice for weight loss is to eat less, it is a well-documented phenomenon that metabolism slows down after dieting and restricting calorie intake.[1], [2], [3]
Before digging into the steps on how to fix a damaged metabolism after dieting, here are some important phrases to know:
how to handle water weight and bloating fluctuations
how to fix a slow metabolism after years of dieting
tracking macros vs intuitive eating for maintenance