Are you feeling lazy lately, or are struggling to lose weight? Do you constantly crave carb-rich food that would only gain your weight further? If yes, know that it's probably your slow metabolism causing unnecessary fatigue, food cravings, and mood swings.
But how to reset your metabolism? Luckily, this problem is not permanent. Your lifestyle choices and diet can help elevate your metabolic rate faster than you can imagine.
Read to find out how.
How Does Your Metabolism Work?
Your metabolism refers to a combination of processes that take place as your body's system converts drinks and food to energy.
The procedure is complex, involving oxygen and calories to release the energy required to fuel your body’s functions. These functions include breathing, digestion, blood circulation, cell repair, and regulating body temperature.
Even if you are resting, your body needs energy. The number of calories a body uses at rest is referred to as basal metabolic rate or basal metabolism.
Your basal metabolic rate depends on various factors:
If you are large and have more muscles, you will burn more calories at rest.
Men have more muscles than women. Their metabolic rate is high, which helps them burn more calories.
As you age, you lose muscles and gain fat, leading to slow calorie burning.
Other than basal metabolic rate, the way your body moves and uses food also impacts the calories you burn a day. For instance, if you jog or run daily, you burn more calories than those who don't.
5 Reasons for a Slow Metabolism
Metabolism is partly genetic and largely outside of your control. Some people are lucky as they inherit a fast metabolism and don't gain weight even after eating a lot or without moving. On the other hand, many have a slow metabolism, and regardless of their efforts, they fail to achieve their desired weight.
But you can't only blame your genes for a slow metabolic rate. There are some other things as well that may contribute to this problem.
Hormones
An overactive or underactive thyroid often affects metabolism. Additionally, stress releases hormones that trigger a slow-down in your metabolic rate.
Lack of Sleep
If you toss and turn every night in bed, it gets hard for your body to maintain a healthy metabolic rate. As a result, it doesn't use the energy well, leading to health problems like obesity and diabetes.
Poor Diet
A poor diet with minimum nutrients and calories is another reason for a slow metabolism. At times, strict diets switch your metabolism to slow-mo. Instead of losing weight, your body clings to the few calories you gain every day, making it tough to achieve your desired weight goals.
As per a study, obese women who ate less than 420 calories per day witnessed a significant drop in their metabolism in just four to six months.
Skimping on Protein
A lack of protein intake may also cause a decrease in your metabolic rate. This nutrient not only helps you stay full but also increases the rate at which you burn calories. That's because the thermic effect of protein is a lot higher than that of fats or carbs.
Consuming Sugary Drinks
Other than your genes, you may want to blame the regular intake of sugary drinks for your slow metabolism. As per a controlled study, people who consumed 25% of their calories from high fructose-sweetened beverages experienced a large drop in their metabolic rates.
A slow metabolism is a nightmare, especially if you want to stay fit and lead a healthy life. Therefore, it is imperative to find out how to reset your metabolism so you can feel good in your own body.
Need some tips? Read further to find all the beneficial things to do to get your fast metabolism back.
8 Tricks To Reset Your Metabolism
Here are a few ways that answer your query of how to reset your metabolism. It is important to note that all bodies are different. So what tip may work for your friend, might not be beneficial to you.
Instead of losing hope, try following the maximum number of tricks from the list. The more rules you will follow, the better results you will see.
Ready? Let's dig in!
Eat Well
This may come as a surprise but the act of eating does reset your metabolic rate. As mentioned earlier, starving yourself won't do any good. In fact, you will gain more weight than lose because your slow body will easily impact your metabolism.
Additionally, don't skip your breakfast at any cost. If you workout during the early hours of the day, having breakfast before an exercise session works wonders for your body.
Practice Lots of Strength Training
In your quest to find an answer to how to reset your metabolism, you will come across many professionals suggesting strength training for this problem. That's because resistance and strength training help increase your body’s muscle mass, and eventually your resting metabolic rate.
Some common strength training exercises are:
Pushups
Pullups
Planks
Lunges
Squats
If this would be your first time doing strength training, get help from a professional for guidance. Moreover, follow tips like:
Start with a proper warm-up
Increase weight slowly
Pay attention to any pain
Add variety to your workout
Rest as required
Follow a Proper Schedule
Are you wondering how to reset your metabolism after 50? As you age, your metabolic rate tends to slow down. To elevate it, you must follow a proper daily schedule.
This trick will help you get enough food and sleep required by your body to function properly. You may want to restrict hours for food intake like in intermittent fasting.
Additionally, give yourself a limit after which you must sleep. Adequate sleep works like magic when it comes to increasing your metabolic rate.
To sleep well, you may want to add some cardio in your routine. It boosts metabolism while keeping diabetes and heart diseases at bay.
You can run, do a HIIT workout, or dance before you get tired and sleep like a baby.
All of these lifestyle changes may also prove beneficial to reduce stress. You may see your stress levels increasing with age, affecting your metabolism in a bad way. With exercise and proper sleep, you might be able to easily control depression and give your body the energy it deserves.
Add Lots of Protein in Your Diet
Protein can maintain your lean muscles and has a high thermic effect. As a result, this nutrient proves helpful in increasing your metabolism. In fact, if you want to know how to reset your metabolism in 24 hours, having adequate proteins can be your answer.
Many studies have shown that diets with a high protein content help increase daily energy expenditure by a whopping 70 to 200 calories.
So, how should you add this magical nutrient to your diet? There are a variety of food types that are rich in proteins. For instance, eggs, almonds, lentils, and tuna are all different options available to increase your protein intake.
Add Coffee or Tea to Your Diet
If you love coffee, and can't avoid it, here is some good news. This beverage can help accelerate your metabolism. As per studies, caffeine in your coffee can increase your resting metabolic rate by 3 to 11%.
You can increase this rate by adding more caffeine to your diet. For best results, have coffee in the morning, right after your workout.
However, you need to know a few things before you practice this tip. According to a study, caffeine in tea or coffee increases fat burning by 29% in lean people and just 10% in obese adults. In addition, the effect is greater in young people and tends to decrease as you age.
Move Around
If you don't have time to do a proper workout to reset your metabolism, try moving around in the house as much as you can. The concept is known as non-exercise activity-induced thermogenesis or NEAT and involves doing simple activities around your home to burn a few calories.
In addition to resetting your metabolism, NEAT aids weight management. Besides, people with high NEAT have low blood pressure, better insulin sensitivity and a decreased risk of chronic illnesses.
There are so many ways in which you can increase your NEAT.
Take frequent walking and standing breaks at work.
Do as many household chores in a day as possible. If you have stairs, move up and down a lot during the day.
Install a standing desk in your home office, as standing burns more calories than sitting.
Whenever you get some time, engage in outdoor activities like biking and hiking.
Spice Up Your Food
If you are a fan of spicy food, you may fancy this tip. Spices contain a compound, capsaicin, which helps add heat to your food.
Research has shown that this substance helps increase your body’s core temperature. This results in increasing your metabolism, leading to faster burning of calories. Interestingly, capsaicin may help elevate your metabolic rate by up to almost 5%.
So, don't hesitate in making your food spicy. This is essential for a good metabolism and a flavorful experience.
Increase Your Water Intake
If you are wondering how to reset your metabolism in 24 hours, you may want to try this tip. Water is an essential component for your body and also its metabolism. It helps break down food, to release that much-needed energy.
Additionally, water increases satiety with your metabolic rate.
Therefore, you shouldn't think twice when it comes to drinking enough water. To enjoy your body’s metabolism boosting benefits, drink at least eight glasses of water every day.
Wrapping Up
Now that you know how to reset your metabolism, will you be looking after yourself using the tips above? Keep making these excellent lifestyle changes only to witness some great results for your body. Make sure to be consistent and enjoy a faster metabolic rate that gives you a body to be thankful for.
If you suffer from an underlying medical condition, ensure to talk to your doctor before opting for any of the tricks above.
