Hormonal
Rapid weight loss in obese women reduces resting metabolic rate (RMR) by approximately 9.4% and serum T3 by 46%, but the resulting RMR remains within the normal range of lean, non-obese individuals, meaning hypometabolism does not prevent further weight loss.
If you are struggling to lose weight on a low-calorie diet, do not assume your metabolism has slowed down so much that you cannot lose weight. Research shows that even after rapid weight loss, your metabolic rate remains within the normal range for lean people. The reason you are not losing weight is likely that you are underestimating how much you are eating, not that your body is burning too few calories.
mean resting metabolic rate (RMR) was reduced by 9.4% after 5 weeks of a very low energy diet... However, the lowest RMR values measured were similar in these subjects... to RMR values of lean women... The hypometabolic response to weight loss cannot explain the failure of obese subjects to lose weight on weight-reducing regimens.
Why this rating
Small sample size (n=6) but rigorous methodology (indirect calorimetry, controlled diet) and clear statistical analysis.
Source
Resting Metabolic Rates of Obese Women after Rapid Weight Loss*
Stephen Welle et al. · The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · 1984
DOI 10.1210/jcem-59-1-41
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