10 Things That Slow Down Your Metabolism
Your body burns calories all by itself—as long as you don’t get in the way. Every cell in your body plays a role in energy metabolism—the process of turning the food you eat into energy that keeps your heart beating, lungs pumping, and muscles moving. The faster your metabolism, the more calories you burn. And just like there are ways to speed it up—by working out, for instance—certain habits can hit the brakes on your natural calorie-churning engine.
Here are 10 things to avoid in order to keep your metabolism going as it should
The fix: Learn the best times to eat—and stick with them.
2. Pesticides in Produce: Organochlorines (chemicals in pesticides) can interfere with your body’s energy-burning process and make it harder to lose weight, according to a Canadian study. Researchers found that dieters who ate the most toxins experienced a greater-than-normal dip in metabolism and had a harder time losing weight.
The fix: Splurge for the organic versions of these 14 dirty fruits and veggies—the ones grown with the highest levels of pesticides.
3. Not Getting Enough Sleep: A 2012 study found that people who sleep less move less the next day, which means they burn fewer calories. But it gets worse: Sleep deprivation actually reduces the amount of energy your body uses at rest, according to the German and Swedish researchers.
The fix: Try these 15 tricks to sleep better tonight.
4.Your Period: You lose iron during your period every month, and iron helps carry oxygen to your muscles. If your iron levels run too low, your muscles don’t get enough O2, your energy plummets, and your metabolism sputters.
The fix: Stock up on iron-fortified cereals, beans, and dark leafy greens like spinach, bok choy, and broccoli.
5. Eating Too Little: When you skimp on calories, your body switches into starvation mode, slowing your metabolic rate to conserve the fuel it’s got.
The fix: Find out how many calories you actually need every day.
6. Sitting Too Long: It takes only 20 minutes in any fixed position to inhibit your metabolism, according to Carrie Schmitz, an ergonomic research manager for Ergotron.
The fix: Try these 7 ways to move more at work.
7. Jet Lag: Your internal clock directly controls the part of your cells that keeps your metabolism chugging along. But when you disrupt your so-called circadian rhythm—by crossing time zones, for instance—your cells don’t function the way they should and your metabolism suffers, according to researchers at the Center for Epigenetics and Metabolism at University of California – Irvine.
The fix: Use these tips to combat the negative effects of flying and learn how a lopsided sleep schedule is just as bad as jet lag.
8. Not Getting Enough Calcium: Another reason to drink your milk: Calcium plays a key role in regulating your fat metabolism, which determines whether you burn calories or store them as fat. A diet that’s high in calcium could help you burn more fat, according to research conducted at the Nutrition Institute at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
The fix: Load up on these calcium-rich foods.
9. Dehydration: All of your body’s cellular processes, including metabolism, depend on water. If you’re dehydrated, you could burn up to 2 percent fewer calories, according to researchers at the University of Utah.
The fix: Find out how much water you need.
10. Skipping Breakfast: When you miss breakfast, you don’t just set yourself up to overeat at lunch. You actually tell your body to conserve energy—which means it burns calories more slowly. That’s one reason a study from the American Journal of Epidemiology found that people who skip a morning meal were 4.5 times more likely to be obese.
The fix: Make one of these 5 delicious breakfasts tomorrow.
Source: WHM