Metabolism slowing habits throw a wrench in some of our best efforts. We may work hard to drop the pounds, but it doesn’t mean we’ll get the outcomes we deserve. Unfortunately, all too many of these habits include those we don’t even recognize as being damaging.
Holding Yourself Back
If you’re stuck with metabolism slowing habits, it’s as though you’re pulling yourself in two directions. The first direction is toward weight loss because of reduced calorie intake and possibly increased activity levels, too. On the other hand, when your metabolic rate is sluggish, your body doesn’t work as efficiently. This means that every calorie you eat has a larger impact on your weight, possibly even sending you toward gaining instead of losing.
If you’re trying to lose weight or stop yourself from gaining, then the last thing that you want to do is slow down your metabolism. Unfortunately, there are a number of very common metabolism slowing habits that can do just that. Some of the things that you do in your everyday life may actually be working against your ability to keep your weight under control.
What are Your Metabolism Slowing Habits?
The following are a few of those metabolism slowing habits and some tips that you may be able to use to overcome them:
- Keeping an inconsistent eating schedule – When you eat at random times throughout the day, you are more likely to gain weight than someone eating the exact same foods every day on a fixed schedule. To get past this problem, find out the best times of the day for you to eat and stick to them as closely as you can each day.
- Eating produce with pesticides on them – The chemicals in pesticides (called organochlorines) can interrupt your body’s ability to burn energy, which makes it more challenging for you to be able to lose weight, even when you’re eating less and exercising more. The best way to overcome this is to splurge and buy organic versions of the fruits and veggies that you eat the most, and for those that you don’t buy organically, be sure to wash them extremely carefully. A simple very brief rinse often isn’t nearly enough.
- Maintaining poor sleeping habits – By starving your body of sleep, you’re far more likely to gain weight or struggle to lose it than you would if you were getting a good solid sleep every night. Not only does your metabolism slow, but your body will actually burn fewer calories while at rest when it is sleep deprived. To overcome this problem, find out how you can get a better sleep and start practicing those habits consistently.
- Eating too little – Far too many people believe that by drastically cutting back on calories, they will be able to lose weight. However, by eating too few calories per day, your body will flip into starvation mode and will considerably slow your metabolism. Speak to your doctor about how many calories you should be consuming in order to lose weight in a healthy way and aim to meet that number. That way, you will still be reducing, but your body won’t think that you are going through a period of starvation and compensate for it to conserve energy.
By correcting these metabolism slowing habits, you’ll get the most out of every other effort you make. In this way, you’ll improve your chances of weight loss and speed up the process while you’re at it.
