4 common habits that could slow your metabolism down

Metabolism is the process our bodies follow to create energy that keeps us moving and alive. It is a very complex mechanism that is commonly related to the amount of calories we burn every day. A faster metabolism means more calories burned.

While this is true, getting your metabolism started is not an easy task, especially if you’ve been doing things to slow it down for years. Every body has its own way of functioning, influenced by genes and lifestyle. Still, some habits we do in our daily life could slow our metabolism down. Here are some common habits that you should avoid for a better functioning metabolism:

You eat too little

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If you don’t feed your body when it is hungry, it is essentially being trained to hoard calories and slow down its metabolism. You need enough nutrition to keep your body going. As you add fewer calories to your body, it will likely go into starvation mode, which will result in lean muscle being used for fuel. Your metabolism slows down to save energy.

You drink too much alcohol

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When alcohol is consumed, it is first burned as a fuel source. All of the lipids and glucose that you consumed during meals are then converted into body fat. Alcohol is a substance that requires a lot of attention from your metabolism and makes it difficult to detoxify yourself instead of burning calories and producing energy as it is intended.

Disturbed sleep schedule

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Sleep affects every aspect of our lives, for better or for worse. When our body gets too little or too much sleep, our metabolism is disturbed. A disrupted sleep schedule can cause our bodies to burn fewer calories, rise in cortisol levels, and increase our appetite, which can lead to overeating the wrong things.

You don’t refuel after a workout

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Refueling after your workout is important, even if you are not that hungry. If you eat within an hour of your workout, your metabolism will work faster and you will feel energized while your muscles grow and rebuild when they need it most.