Does your metabolism slow down when you lose weight?

Answer 1

One of the mechanisms of defense of our body is to lower the basal metabolic rate (BMR) during starvation or undernourishment. It's like when we reduce expenses if our income goes down so we don't have to use our savings account. Thyroid hormones (T3) is the main hormone that determines the rate of heat production and oxygen utilization. Our body reacts to starvation and undernourishment by increasing the amount of reverse T3 which is metabolically inactive. This is one of the reasons for a lower BMR during a diet. This occurs mostly with diets that are low in calories but can occur as well with low-carb diets. For this reason it is recommended to practice moderate exercise during a weight-loss program. Other reasons for having increased levels of RT3 are diseases, stress, aging, surgery, diabetes, and some medications used to treat cardiac disease and high blood pressure.