Parents and adults often wonder how it is that children and teenagers can often eat large amounts of food, yet still remain thin. This has to do with metabolism, the body’s process of burning calories and storing fat. As people grow older, their metabolism tends to slow down and they notice that they must make changes in their lifestyle in order to avoid putting on extra weight.
The Causes Of Low Metabolism
One’s lifestyle and eating habits, as well as genetic factors cause many people to develop low metabolism. Crash diets, prolonged fasting, consuming products laden with sugar, living a sedentary life, as well as under active thyroid glands are all causes of low metabolism. Fasting and crash diets, however, are often the most common causes of low metabolism as the sudden decrease in calorie in-take leads the body to store more fat and burn fat at a much slower rate, as part of the system’s natural survival mechanism.
Increasing Metabolism
There are many natural ways one can increase metabolism and they do not require expensive treatments or medications. The simplest and most effective way to treat low metabolism is to avoid all diets that require one to skip meals. Skipping breakfast, lunch or dinner in the hope that you will lose weight may allow you to shed a few pounds in the short-term, but once you start eating normal portions again, you will find that you will gain weight at a quicker pace.
Exercising on a regular basis is another simple and inexpensive way to treat low metabolism. If you are able to work out at a gym and start building muscle, you will be even further along the path to increasing your metabolic rate. Additionally, be sure to drink plenty of water throughout the day, replacing sugary soft drinks and sweet, syrupy specialty coffees. Also, it is very important to cut back on most types of alcohol. This does not mean that you cannot have an occasional glass of wine, but it is very difficult to speed up you metabolism and lose weight while drinking several pints of beer.
There are also several types of food that are often taken by people with low metabolism. These include chili, most protein rich meals, mustard, beets, celery, cucumbers, garlic and plain green tea. A good idea is to snack on these types of foods during the day, especially certain vegetables, like celery, which are known to burn a large number of calories during the digestive process.
Additionally, it is highly advisable to eat a light breakfast every day, as it helps raise your metabolism after several hours of sleep, during which one’s metabolic rate decreases. This can mean having some cereal, toast, yoghurt, coffee and tea. As a general rule of thumb, try to eat a breakfast of up to 400 calories.
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