Losing and even maintaining our weight seems to become harder and harder the older we get. Remember those days that you could eat or drink just about anything and you wouldn’t gain a pound? Whether you’re beginning to see the differences now or have been living with a slower metabolism for quite some time, you’re not alone. A major part of aging is having a slower metabolism, whether you like it or not. So, we’re here to help you fight that battle by letting you know what things actually ruin your metabolism because a slow and ruined metabolism can lead to weight gain, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. By adjusting your life by taking notice to these five things, you may begin to see a difference in your body and your energy.
Dieting
This one may come as a shock to some people, but the truth is that dieting too much can actually ruin your metabolism. A common diet is minimizing your food intake, which as many realize, helps them lose weight. While it may be a quick and easy way to lose weight, not eating enough causes your body to go into starvation mode. This will ultimately slow your metabolism down because your body is feeding off of your remaining body fuel and stores fat, leading to unwanted belly-fat storage. And in the chance that you start eating an even normal amount of food compared to a little amount, you will easily gain all of the weight back and even more than before. To avoid this from happening, you should eat often and be active to get that body moving and blood pumping.
Sitting
The majority of jobs nowadays involve sitting at a desk in front of the computer. Unfortunately, sitting at the computer all day doesn’t just ruin our eyes but our bodies as well. Our bodies were not designed to be that sedentary, so without any movement, our metabolism slows down. To avoid this from happening, try standing at your desk (standing desks are becoming more and more popular for a reason). By just standing one hour, you can burn 50 more calories than from sitting. If you don’t have a standing desk, make sure you take a little break every half hour to an hour to stretch your legs and get them moving. Whether this means a trip to the water fountain or a walk around the building, any movement helps.
Losing Sleep
Sometimes life gets hectic and we don’t get quite enough sleep as we’d like. While it may seem that it just makes you sleepy the next day, not sleeping enough can affect you a lot more than that. Losing sleep can lead to metabolic problems including weight gain. This is due to the fact that lack of sleep causes your body to lose its ability to use sugar for energy, thus storing sugar in your body, leading to weight gain. It is recommended to get around eight hours of sleep a night in order to rest your body and refuel it to take on a new day.
Alcohol
Sorry ladies, this may ruin your weekend plans, but we have to say it. Alcohol can severely ruin your metabolism when you’ve had a few drinks. Alcoholic drinks cause you to burn less fat than usual and what you do burn, burns a lot slower than normal. Try to minimize your drinking throughout the week because your future self will thank you.
Eating Late At Night
Whether you eat your dinner late or enjoy a midnight snack, you are ultimately causing damage to your body by slowing down that metabolism. Unfortunately, eating late at night right before you hit the hay prevents your body from properly digesting the food and detoxifying any alcohol you may have had. Aside from that, eating later at night will make you less hungry in the morning, which is an essential meal in your day. This ruins your inner clock, setting you up on a cycle of constantly eating more at night. To avoid this from happening, try snacking on healthy snacks throughout the day to avoid eating a heavy dinner.
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