"I’m keeping this short. You don’t have a slow metabolism. Let’s move on."

You're Not losing Fat Because You're Eating Too Damn Much. Even When You Don't Think You Are. Let Me Show You. - Physiqonomics: "Starvation mode [sometimes referred to as metabolic damage] is the idea that if you eat too little an amount of calories for an extended period of time, your body stops burning fat; in fact, it starts doing the opposite – you start gaining weight ‘even when consuming 800 calories’. Sound familiar? So, how much truth is there to this? Well, see, Starvation Mode is an odd one. Odd because, while it’s not entirely correct; it’s not entirely incorrect either. The correct part: When you reduce calories, more specifically as you begin to get leaner, there is, in fact, some slowing of metabolic rate. The incorrect part: Due to this low-calorie consumption your body just decides HA, fuck you. And proceeds to enter this phantom zone of otherworldliness where the laws of thermodynamics cease to exist; resulting in no fat loss and even gaining fat on some absurdly low number of calories. What’s really going on: As you start to lose body fat and weight, there’s less of you. This ‘lessness’ means your body doesn’t require as many calories to keep you alive...

I wrote damn near an essay on the last point so I’m keeping this short. You don’t have a slow metabolism. Let’s move on. Ok, sheesh, man. Fine.  Two people of the same size [height, weight] and age, have around a 10-15% variance in basal metabolic rate. This amounts to an average of 200-300 calories. Yes, but, I’m a female s – no, stop. Gender will impact metabolism, however, it’s less to do with women’s metabolism ‘being slower’ than their Male counterparts, and more to do with the physiological differences; Men carry more muscle and less fat at a similar body weight. The difference, all things considered (muscle mass, hormones etc.), is a whopping 3%: If we had a guy and a girl who both maintain their body weight at a calorie intake of 1800 calories; the difference between the two would be around 54 calories per day or, the equivalent of one medium-sized apple. So, not much. Well, unless you really, really like Apples. As I discussed in this post and this post, the majority of the differences between two people of the same height, weight, and age is due to exercise, good nutrition, and increased activity in general.   

So if you aren’t in starvation mode and you don’t have a slow metabolism: What exactly is going on? There are two factors at play here.  Misreporting Intake & Calorie Ignorance..."