BMR

Question
Hi Lawrence.
My name's Nay and I am an 18 year old female who has struggled with my weight all through adolescence. I was a "skinny" child and then gained approximately 15lbs at age 13 (to a total of about 125lbs)through a diet of cafeteria cheesy fries and soft pretzels. I fluctuated around that number for the next 4 years before being diagnosed with bipolar 2 disorder this past year, suffering a debilitation bout of depression, and consequently gaining another ~25lbs to a high total of 148lbs.

I then discovered there were 1200 calories in my typical dunkin' donuts breakfast and decided that I had to make a change. A week ago, I started counting my calories, typically to 1400 a day-ish, and eating more protein and less fat and carbs. The ratio change wasn't intentional, I just happened to end up eating a lot of eggs, tuna, lentils, and mixed veggies whenever I was hungry, and maybe a slice of bread a day. I have not had any trouble with irregularity and take a multivitamin. I also began drinking up to 72oz of water a day and lifting 5lb dumbells every other day. I also walk my dog for half an hour daily and am beginning muay thai classes tomorrow.

Today the scale reads 136lbs.

Because this is a 12lb drop (far greater than the recommended 2lbs a week), I am suddenly very nervous that I have only lost water weight and that my better fitting t-shirts are the result of reduced bloating. I have read that results like this are typical of crash dieting and water loss and are not sustainable and that my BMR is actually decreasing due to some kind of starvation diet.

Trouble is, I eat constantly and am rarely hungry. I am just eating far more nutritious and low-calorie foods and am enjoying it. I'm trying to make a lifestyle change here, so is there any way of increasing my BMR so that my weight loss will continue and be ultimately sustainable?

Answer
Eating right and increasing your exercise will increase your metabolic rate. In your specific case depression cause cortisol which increases belly fat and some medicines used for your type of depression may cause weight gain. You would need to check the side effects for any medicines you may be prescribed currently. If you see that this is the case you might want to check with your doctor to see if there is something else that you can take that may not have this specific side effect. Lentils, tuna, veggies and egg whites are very healthy and will help you loose weight, but you will still have to watch your calories. There is a test that you can take which is called the RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate) this test will tell you how many calories your body is using at rest. This number will help you to determine how many calories your body needs.

Good Luck

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