Bad habits that affect your metabolism can often go unnoticed while you think that the cause of your problems has another origin. It is common to hear people blame their metabolism for their weight gain. But do we really know what metabolism is, and what are the bad habits that affect us? To do this, it is first necessary to know what metabolism is.
What exactly is metabolism?
Here's the short answer: Metabolism is simply the measurement of how quickly calories can be converted to fuel, made up of many chemical reactions in our body. Take the liver, for example. If that organ clogs, it will be slow and inefficient, and it will not help you burn fat.
Can slow metabolism make you gain weight?
We all want a fast metabolism, and we all know that a low-fat, low-sugar diet helps build muscle mass and boost it with exercise. However, bad habits can slow your metabolism, make it inefficient, get low energy, and start shedding the pounds, all of which are possible due to any combination of the following vices or misbehaviours:
1.Skimping on sleep is another bad habit
Sleep has a direct effect on three hormones that regulate stress and appetite: cortisol, grehlin, and leptin. When we sleep less, we have the highest levels of cortisol and ghrelin, and decreased levels of leptin, which are what suppress the appetite and the energy balance as a result will affect your metabolism by not sleeping the necessary hours.
2. Eat simple carbohydrates
Simple carbohydrates (for example: muffins, candy, and cookies) do not contain the same levels of vitamins, minerals, and fiber as whole foods, so your body will need its own resources to digest them, and this requires a great deal of effort. Simple carbohydrates also create dramatic fluctuations in blood sugar levels and affect metabolism.
3. Not drinking enough water
Drink less than the recommended 8-10 glasses a day and you may feel lethargic, unproductive, and unable to focus on what you are doing. Correct hydration will make a difference. Read here how to prepare 4 homemade drinks to hydrate.
4. Skipping meals impairs metabolism
This is a terrible idea for several reasons: (1) Your body prepares to live on less food and slows down your metabolism to conserve energy. (2) Your body is going to insist on making up all those lost calories, so you might even overeat at the next meal. (3) You feel tired and irritable, and let's face it, we don't exactly make the best choices when we we feel that way.
5. Living under stress affects your metabolism
Craving for crunchy (and sometimes salty) foods like bagged potato chips are quite common when you're stressed and anxious. Worse yet, chronic stress not only keeps us tossing and turning at night, it also keeps hormones like cortisol flowing.
6. Consumption of processed foods.
Processed foods contain a large amount of sugar, which interferes with the enzyme called lipase that we all need for fat burning. Lipase is suppressed when blood sugar spikes rise. Processed foods also have a lot of salt, additives (like monosodium glutamate) See more information on processed foods here: Sometimes, however, even healthy raw foods like broccoli, cabbage, peanuts, and pine nuts can impede natural fat burning. These raw foods contain chemicals called goitrogens, which can interfere with the way the thyroid processes iodine.
7. Eat a high-fat diet
Fat is very difficult to digest and interferes with the metabolic process. Have you never eaten a high-fat dinner and then don't feel like eating until late afternoon as you're still digesting? Think about this: You're skipping a meal or two, your body thinks it's starving, and it slows down (or shuts down) your metabolism to reserve energy. All of this will undoubtedly affect your metabolism.
If you've ever watched a weight-loss commercial, you have been told over and over how easy it is to lose weight: just take this pill, follow that diet, or buy this piece of equipment, and everything will melt away like magic. Literally billions of dollars are spent each year on weight-loss products and services, and yet millions remain overweight.