Top Three Things Slowing Metabolism
1. Sitting too much
We live in a world of ass to chair work. Recent studies not only have proven sitting to stem increased rates of cardiovascular and heart disease, along with diabetes.
While most of our jobs require sitting, there can be ways to combat it to increase your NEAT(non-exercise activity thermogenesis). Simply standing every 45-60 minutes, going through some dynamic yoga flows, and setting a goal of 100 squats, push ups and band pull aparts can do wonders for your metabolism and posture!
Remember, the less we move, the less Thermic our bodies become so you burn less at rest. The more muscle you carry, the more thermic you are!
- Ways to increase NEAT: clean, laundry, take stairs, walk, hike, garden, or pick up the thousands of toys your kids leave out...multiple times a day 😂
Dont forget also about excessive dieting....Essentially, the body senses that it is in an energy deficit, and adapts by downregulating (lowering) the amount of calories you burn through a combination of decreasing your resting metabolic rate as well as your non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT). So the harder you diet, the worse your NEAT becomes and the harder it is to burn calories!
2. Not lifting and only doing cardio
Big mistake here! As mentioned above, your body’s ability to burn calories relies largely in part to not just your activity but your muscle.
Muscle is much more dense and thermic than its counterpart. Also as we age, metabolism naturally slows and muscle breakdown increases. Aging also tends to go hand and hand with more sedentary lifestyles. Add these factors together and you’ve got the perfect recipe for unwanted fat gain. Adding weight training will increase your body’s ability to burn more at rest and even up to 38 hours after you train. Cardio work can burn more while you do it but the post-workout effect isn’t as great.
Research has shown that EPOC(the after calories you burn)...is great after your weight workouts. Add in the amazing benefit of your muscle-burning energy and you could soon plop on the couch and binge watch Netflix and burn more calories in a day than someone who works a 9-hour deal job and runs 3 miles after work!
3. Lack of sleep
Many of us think the early bird gets the worm. We’ve been driven to the extent that you MUST get up early to be successful, in actually...it couldn’t be further from the truth!
Think about it. For example, right now I am not getting the best of sleep with two babies. My 445am alarm hasn’t been set for over a year consistently(I do maybe 2 times a week)...but this largely in part is due to the sleep deprivation over the last 2 years.
Sure, I can get up and try to train and work...but will it be “productive?” Will I be getting the most out of it?
Absolutely not! So getting the sleep you need makes your productivity MUCH better!
Now, if you are in bed by 9-10...430-5am is great! But it’s all about the sleep you get!
Not sleeping can wreak havoc on your immune system, cortisol levels, and other hormones. Research has shown that when individuals don’t get enough sleep, levels of the hunger hormone (ghrelin) increase while levels of the satiety hormone (leptin) decline.
Basically, when you don’t get enough sleep, you feel hungrier during the day, and you’re less likely to feel full following a meal.
Sleeping is your way to recharge the engine, so if it’s not charged and you try running it...you only will wear down quicker.
Sleep helps insulin sensitivity which basically means it allows you to handle carbs and stress better...not sleeping will make fat loss near impossible!
I know I wanted to highlight my top three, but other ways you can mess with metabolism would be not eating enough(especially protein), alcohol, and too much stress!
In other words, prolonged dieting forces your body to burn fewer calories at rest, and it also starts to do less activity overall (tapping your fingers, fidgeting, walking from one room to another, etc.) So cutting out calories can also lead to your metabolism getting slower if you do it for a prolonged period of time.
While all these seem plausible circumstances for someone like myself (😜👉🏼🍼) ...managing them can keep you on a linear path to success.
I know I have days I struggle in one of these categories...and quite frankly, it’s more than a couple days a week!
But what makes the difference is that I am consistent and make strong efforts to do the best in each area!
What about you?
Where is your struggling point? If you need help balancing and figuring out how to be the best version of yourself you can message me today. I would love to help and can relate on so many levels!
Have a GREAT Week!
Coach Mikey
References:
Schmid, S. M., Hallschmid, M., Jauch-Chara, K., Born, J., & Schultes, B. (2008). A single night of sleep deprivation increases ghrelin levels and feelings of hunger in normal-weight healthy men. Journal of Sleep Research, 17(3), 331–334. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2869.2008.00662.x
Schuenke, M.D., Mikat, R.P. & McBride, J.M. Effect of an acute period of resistance exercise on excess post-exercise oxygen consumption: implications for body mass management. Eur J Appl Physiol 86, 411–417 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-001-0568-y
