To begin living a healthy life brings you rich rewards. Regular exercise, a better diet, and a positive attitude will see most people lose their weight. However, for some of us, life is not so straightforward. If like me, you have a slow metabolism, it'll seem that whatever you do you just can't shed the pounds you'd promised yourself you would. And this can be so de-motivating. But there is good news: you can fight a slow metabolism. Here are the 10 steps you can take!
1. Think twice about that miracle diet.
Shun the promises offered by rapid diets. Quick fixes, like diet pills and crash diets, are only able to slow down your metabolism. Instead, make it your realistic goal to bring about gradual, long-lasting changes to your body. This is a much more healthy way to deal with your most prized possession, and it will actually be more successful in the long run.
2. Cut out artificial sweeteners & refined sugars.
Filling your bloodstream with daily sweet fixes just sets your body upon a vicious cycle. To be constantly craving sugars and sweeteners does nothing but cause an imbalance in your hormones. It really doesn't matter whether you indulge in natural sugars or sweeteners, as they both have this negative biochemical effect. You need to learn how to live without unnecessary sugar.
3. Don't do cardio exercise, do metabolic workouts.
Most of the ideas we have about fat-burning exercises are actually the cardiovascular type. These exercises, however, can serve to lower your thyroid function as a result of an excess of cortisol. Instead, go for these more balanced metabolic exercises.
4. Try mindful breathing.
Nothing hurts your metabolism more than stress. Chronic stress can lead to adrenal fatigue, a loss of muscle mass, bad digestion, and decreased thyroid function as a result of hormonal or biochemical imbalances. To calm you down, I suggest taking 10 minutes per day to make some deep breaths from your diaphragm. They will relax you and contribute to removing your stress. Here is a helpful video to show you how to make these breaths.
5. Give up eating 'fake food'.
So much of the food we are apt to buy is loaded with the kind of chemicals, preservatives, and additives that fill your poor liver with toxins, reducing your metabolic rate. Though this type of food is virtually impossible to be free of, you can at least actively pursue eating as much organic food as possible.
6. Get plenty of sleep.
Whenever I have a bad night, having had nowhere near enough proper sleep, I feel so run down and useless the following day. This low feeling is exactly the same degree of performance my metabolism is functioning at. When I'm like this, only some good sleep can make me feel better. So, the best thing you can do is try and sleep for between 7 and 8 hours between 10 pm and 6 am each and every day.
7. Eat more fat.
Although polyunsaturated (bad) fats should be avoided, mono-saturated and saturated (good) fats are very good at cleaning your liver and increasing your thyroid hormone to give your metabolism a real pick-me-up. To learn more about the types of good and bad fats there are, watch this short video.
8. Drink a lot of water.
Water is absolutely vital, and your organs need plenty of it to be hydrated for optimal performance. Make sure you drink plenty of water each day so your organs will be able to detoxify better. Why not add a pinch of Himalayan salt to your water too? This will give you even better absorption.
9. Cut out carbs on sedentary days.
Energy filled carbs are really the fuel your body uses to exercise its motion and power. So, though you may be eating sandwiches, pasta, and potatoes every single day, you may not be putting in the same amount of exercise every day. We all have days of rest, but you should see that when you do have such a day, you eat less carbs. Save those potatoes for the days when you are really working hard.
10. Stick to it!
You don't need to overexert yourself with this list - they are all just simple, subtle changes you can make to your day. But these changes will be rendered useless if you don't stick to them. It's the most important thing that you give your body a chance by replacing old bad habits with good new ones.