If you are faced with the problem of a fast metabolism and no matter what you seem to do you can’t put on the pounds you need to reach your optimal weight, then you may need to learn how to slow down metabolism with some changes to your overall activities. It is important to remeber that your body size, composition, your sex and age are most likely to affect your metabolism. Changes can be made without the use of any medications, just through focusing on your eating and exercise habits as well as your overall lifestyle.
How to Slow Down Metabolism
1. Eat More Calories
It is a fairly simple idea. If you eat more calories, you will gain more weight. This means every time you eat, you eat more than you normally would.
For example, for dinner you are making steak, mash potatoes and corn on the cob. If your usual portion is 4 slices of steak, increase it to 6 slices. If you usually eat 1 scoop of mashed potatoes, eat 2 scoops. And if you usually eat half of a piece of corn on the cob, eat a whole piece or even 2. The addition of more calorie dense foods includes trail mix, granola, full-fat dairy products, meats, nuts and dried fruits. Another easy way to pack on some extra pounds is by adding a little something extra to the foods that you eat, such as some mayonnaise on your sandwich, honey added to your tea, peanut butter on crackers, butter on your toast and on pasta, you can drizzle some olive oil on it before you add your sauce.
You can also slow your metabolism down and allow your body to gain weight by allowing more space between meals. This means instead of frequent snacking and meals, you condense that into three large meals spaced out to breakfast at 7a.m., lunch at 1p.m. and dinner at 9p.m.
- Complex carbohydrates
Simple carbohydrates, like sugars, are both digested and absorbed at a rapid pace, whereas complex carbohydrates, like bread, are digested and absorbed at a much slower pace and the total oxidation of the carbohydrate is lower with complex carbohydrates, thus, to slow down metabolism, you should opt for more complex carbohydrates. Examples are whole grains, potatoes pastas and dairy products.
- Nuts and seeds
Adding nuts and seeds to your diet can be quite helpful. There are many delicious uses for them, such as sprinkling them onto a salad, eat as a side with lunch and can also be used in cooking recipes. These delicious little things, when eaten, can provide the body with healthy unsaturated fat. And they have a high caloric density and pack in the most calories per ounce. They are also rich in the amino acid known as arginine, which is used by the body to produce nitric oxide. The metabolic rate of the body can be reduced through the use of nitric acid.
- Healthy fatty foods
Foods that have a higher fat content will also slow down your metabolism because it cannot be digested quite as easily as some other foods that slow your metabolism down. It is important to remember to stay away from fried and fast foods and munch away on low-fat desserts, baked chips, nuts, seeds, eggs, avocado, fish etc.
2. Exercise Mildly
Exercises that are mild in nature can help you to build your muscle mass, which helps you to gain weight, whereas more vigorous exercises are designed to help you lose weight. So instead of running, slow down the pace and walk. Add strength training to your routine and build up more muscle mass to put on some extra pounds. The following video provides great tips on physical exercises to slow down metabolism.
Fitness Training Basics: How to Slow Down Metabolism
3. Keep Yourself Warm
It is important to keep yourself warm in order to slow down your metabolism, because the loss of heat in your body is a major drain of energy. Uncoupling proteins, which interfere with ATP production, are increased when your body is cold. So instead of the food you eat producing useful energy it produces heat.
This situation also lends itself to an increase in the levels of thyroid hormone, which can also lead to your body producing uncoupling proteins. This thyroid hormone is also known to be “the most significant regulator of BMR”; it actually is representative of about a half of the BMR. A helpful tip is to always try to stay in the warmest possible area possible at all times.
4. Sleep Adequately
How to slow down metabolism? Just sleep. While you are asleep, your metabolism slows and stays like that even for some time after you wake up. Your body burns calories with every movement it makes, no matter how small. When you exercise, of course you burn calories, but your metabolism also remains at an increased level even once the exercise is done and you are resting. Try to sleep if possible, because every mile you walk, even if it is just a stroll or a walk through the mall, burns one hundred calories and also raises your metabolism as well.
5. Avoid Certain Things
- Cold water. Drinking cold water is not a good idea, in that your body reacts to the cold by warming it up, which expends energy.
- Caffeine. It is also suggested to avoid caffeine, because it is a stimulant, which will speed up your heart rate and therefore your metabolism is increased as well.
- Metabolism-activating foods. There are also certain types of food that can help to speed up your metabolism too. For example, foods that are high in protein and spices added to foods can help to increase the rate of your metabolism, and Asian cultures also believe that green tea has metabolism boosting effects, so green tea should also be avoided if you are trying to decrease your metabolism.
6. Ease Stress
Stress is a major cause of an increase in the metabolism. The hormones levels of adrenaline and thyroxine greatly affect metabolism rate, if they are increased there is a direct link to an increase in your metabolism. These two hormones increase during the fight or flight reflex.