How do I know my metabolism has recovered from dieting?

On Ep. 354, Nikkiey describes the finish line as your true maintenance calories. Her example: a woman maintaining her weight on 1,100 calories might, after a successful reverse, be maintaining on 1,800 to 2,000. That higher ceiling is the point. When you later go into a fat loss phase, you have far more room to create a deficit without bottoming out at 1,300 or 1,400 calories and feeling exhausted. She adds a telltale sign you are not there yet: if you try a cut and your body just isn't having it, it hasn't healed.

She calls these improving markers a clear indicator that your metabolism is repairing, even when you can't put a number on it.

Give it time. On Ep. 148, Nikkiey suggests holding your maintenance numbers for around four weeks once you get there, though it could be two or three, as long as the signals are coming back. On Ep. 307 she says that if you've been dieting for years, you might need a true 6 to 12 months of repair before another deficit, and on Ep. 354 she notes it could take months. Her advice is to detach from the scale during this phase. If you never felt hungry and your body refused to budge, that wasn't a willpower problem. It was a plan that kept you underfed, and Nikkiey recommends having a coach or professional guide you through the process.