Are you trying to lose weight and not seeing results even though you are eating all the "right things"?
Your metabolism may be to blame.
Keeping your metabolism high is crucial for losing weight and keeping it off. However, several common lifestyle mistakes may slow down your metabolism.
With time, these habits can make it harder to lose weight and actually make you prone to gaining weight.
Here are 4 mistakes that can slow down your metabolism:
Eating too few calories
Although a calorie deficit is needed to lose weight, reducing the calories too much is counterproductive. When you dramatically lower your calorie intake, your body senses that food is scarce and lowers the rate at which it burns calories. That's why it is important to avoid all those DIY weight loss diets and work with a professional, who can work out how many calories your body needs and creates a weight loss plan specific for you!
2. Skimping on protein
In addition to helping you feel full, high protein intake can significantly increase the rate at which your body burns calories. This is because protein are the hardest nutrient to be digested and our bodies need to burn more calories to digest protein, this called thermogenic effect of food (TEF).
3. Leading a sedentary life
Being sedentary may lead to a significant decrease in the number of calories you burn every day. Although working out or playing sports can have a major impact on the number of calories you burn, even basic physical activity, such as standing up, cleaning, and taking the stairs, can help you burn calories. When working out, strength trainings are the best to keep your metabolism active. It increases muscle mass, which makes up much of the fat-free mass in your body. Having a higher amount of fat-free mass significantly increases the number of calories you burn at rest. Therefore, killing yourself with cardio will not help you lose weight.
4. Not getting enough sleep
Sleep is extremely important for good health. Several studies note that inadequate sleep may also lower your metabolic rate and increase your likelihood of weight gain. Lack of sleep is made worse by sleeping during the day instead of at night. This sleep pattern disrupts your body’s circadian rhythms, or internal clock.
