#1 Eating Inconsistently At Odd Times From Day To Day
By eating your meal at more or less the same time each day, your body learns when to burn calories as it knows when to expect food. I know eating regularly may be a little challenging, but this is why meal prep is a must. If you have your meals ready, you have no excuses.
#2 Skimping on sleep
Just as sleeping helps to boost your metabolism, sleep deprivation can lower it. A study published in the US National Library of Medicine found that sleep deprivation reduces the amount of energy your body burns while resting.
#3 Not drinking coffee or tea
Caffeine can stimulate your metabolism for a few hours after consumption, according to research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. So consider this not just permission but encouragement to start off your day with a java or tea fix.
#4 Doing only cardio
Running, biking, swimming, and rowing get your heart pumping, making them super-important for boosting your metabolism. But if you’re not incorporating strength training into your regular routine, you’re missing out on a double whammy. The more muscle you build, the more calories your body will burn, so grab some hand weights, do resistance training using your body weight (i.e., push-ups, lunges, and squats), or ask a trainer to show you how to best use some machines at the gym.
#5 Dietary Toxins in Processed Foods
MSG, harmful fatty acids and toxic preservatives and emulsifers weaken the thyroid reducing metabolism up to 70% in the long-term. Mice with sustained exposure to the chemical preservatives develop significant abdominal weight gain, early insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes. Reducing exposure to dietary toxins, sugars, refined carbohydrates and processed foods will keep your metabolism sharp.
#6 Not eating enough
When you cut your caloric intake, your body goes into starvation mode, because in order to survive it holds on body fat. It’s your body’s way of surviving as it doesn’t know when it will receive a full meal again. And when you get your meal, the majority of the calories will be stored as fat. In this way your body creates an energy storage to survive the famine. This slows your metabolism as your body wants to keep hold of the food, rather than burning it for energy.
#7 Sitting still for long periods
A study found that sitting for a long period can make it harder for your metabolism to return to its full working order once you begin to be active again. If your job involves sitting for long periods then try to get up and move about regularly; even if it’s just to get a glass of water - better if you take the stairs and go get it to another storey
#8 Not drinking enough water
Being dehydrated has a direct effect on your metabolism. 70% of your muscle consists of water, so if your body is not fully hydrated, your muscles will struggle to work to their full potential. Dehydration also affects your body’s ability to utilise fat as fuel. Both of these combined means that your metabolism will slow down. Water is also needed to flush waste out of the body (fat included).
#9 Drinking Water Containing Fluoride and Chlorine
Both chemicals in treated water supplies also interfere with normal thyroid function. If your thyroid is sluggish, your metabolism slows down and even becomes dysfunctional. Drinking fluoridated and chlorinated water supplies will guarantee at least some dysfunction in metabolic processes. Drink filtered water whenever possible.
#10 Lacking Protein
Make sure protein is a component in every meal. It assists your body in maintaining lean muscle. Add a serving, like 3 ounces of fish, 2 tablespoons of nuts daily. Research shows protein can up post-meal calorie burn by as much as 35%.
#11 Skipping breakfast
Many people believe that opting to skip breakfast will aid their weight loss, but it actually does the complete opposite. When your body has been without food throughout the night, it needs fuel to keep it going, and by skipping breakfast, you are effectively telling your body to conserve energy, meaning that it will burn calories at a slower rate; slowing your metabolism. 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.
