Exercising and eating right are the only things that promote weight loss. Your metabolism plays a vital role in weight loss and the more effective your metabolism the easier it is to shed those extra pounds. So, if you notice you’re working out and following your diet you may have a slower metabolism.
To boost your metabolism your best bet is to look at your habits that may be impeding it. Below is a list of some of the most common and uncommon mistakes you may be making that are hurting your metabolism.
Not eating enough – While losing weight is dependent on consuming less calories than you burn it doesn’t mean you should over do it. In fact eating too little food can have the opposite effect and force your body to attempt to save weight and instead goes into starvation mode which burns muscle mass instead of your fat stores. Furthermore it decreases your metabolism and the rate you burn calories to conserve energy.
Bartender Buddy – Drinking in moderation is okay but making it a habit can harm your metabolic rate. The body instead detoxifies instead of burning calories. As well as impair muscle building hormones.
Poor Protein – More muscle means a higher metabolic rate. You need to make sure to consume enough protein to promote and maintain muscle growth.
Bad Bed Time – Chronic sleep deprivation can slow your metabolism, mess with your appetite control, and increase cortisol levels which makes you store more fat.
Sitting too long – Many of us are sitting at a desk every day at work which makes us begin to lose muscle mass and in turn lowers our resting metabolic rate. Simple changes like getting up for a small walk once an hour can help as well as maintain insulin levels.
Too Much Stress – Stress has numerous harmful impacts on the body and one of them is a blow to your metabolism by slowing it down as well as causing sleep disturbances.
Too Little Carbs – A lower carb diet can promote short term weight loss but if taken to certain extremes can impair your metabolism. Carbs helps your body metabolize protein as well as promote muscle mass so the too little carbs means an less muscle growth which means less calories burned while resting. Furthermore, muscles lacking energy won’t be able to work out as hard as they normally would be thus lowering calories burned.
For more ways you might be making mistakes with your metabolism, click here.