Why is my metabolism so slow? And what can I do to improve it?

The human metabolism is integral to a number of physiological and biological processes in the body, and it is responsible for more than you can imagine – everything from your weight, to your mood, to your performance. A slow metabolism has a negative impact and is associated with weight gain and a struggle to lose it, so if you feel like this applies to you, keep reading.

What is your metabolism?

Your metabolism is a collection of chemical reactions that occur at a cellular level. It is responsible for converting the food we eat into energy to provide for our daily movements and activity level.

These chemical reactions are controlled by specific proteins and directly correspond to other body functions to keep you energized throughout the day. The metabolism attempts to balance two main activities concurrently: anabolism and catabolism.

Anabolism is the constructive metabolism, that supports the processes associated with building and storing. During anabolism, food is converted into carbohydrates, proteins and fats and stored accordingly.

Catabolism is the destructive metabolism, that breaks down the energy stored to use in the anabolic processes like heat and muscle repair. If you work out intensely and do not replenish your energy stores, your body may start breaking down muscle mass as an attempt to fuel your body.

So why do you have a slow metabolism?

Certain hormones are responsible for controlling the rate of the metabolism, like thyroxine. Thyroxine is a hormone produced by the thyroid and is largely responsible for how fast or slow your metabolism is. If you have a slow metabolism, you may have hypothyroidism which is an under-active thyroid gland. This means that your body is not producing enough thyroxine to properly activate metabolic functions, meaning that you end up storing more of the food you eat as fat stores rather than converting it to use as energy.

However, there is a big caveat to this. A lot of individuals believe that they have a slow metabolism because they feel unable to lose weight. But around 9 times out of 10 this is just due to eating too much food. If you eat in a caloric surplus, meaning you eat more energy (calories) than you burn, you store the excess as fat because your body doesn’t need the extra energy provided.

So the first way you can improve a seemingly slow metabolism is to consider whether you are eating in excess. If you don’t exercise and you have an office job, your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is going to be very low – for a 5ft4 woman, this may be only around 1,350 calories per day. So eat within your metabolic means, don’t overcompensate.

Apart from that, how else can you improve your metabolism?

1. Exercise

The best way to increase your metabolic rate is to expend more energy, this optimizes metabolic functionings as your muscles and cells require more energy to be converted so your anabolic processes have a greater demand put on them.

2. Eat protein at every meal

Eating small meals frequently has a positive effect on your metabolism due to the thermic effect of food (TEF) i.e. your body uses more energy in digesting food. Protein causes the largest increase in TEF, increasing the metabolic rate by 15-30%.

3. Use Beauty of Action’s Slenderiiz Day and Night Drops

This natural product is scientifically proven to give your metabolism an extra boost to work at full capacity. It decreases appetite, curbs craving and helps to control and regulate the hormones associated with fat stores.

If you want to improve your metabolism and lose weight, you need to be realistic about your food intake, and discount any chronic condition like hypothyroidism. For a natural way to boost your metabolism to function optimally, exercise more, eat sufficient protein and use helpful supplements. You may also want to consider how detoxing can help weight loss.