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Metabolism and weight gain : Stop losing the battle with fat

Updated on June 15, 2013

What affects metabolism

Gain weight lose weight

Metabolism is influenced by several factors that could prevent you from losing weight and feeling better. Some factors cannot be avoided, but some are directly affected by the choices you make. Your metabolism is the furnace of your body that gives you the energy to function daily and be successful at weight loss. If you are not losing weight, there are reasons why your metaboism is not working as well as it should. So how do you increase your metabolism and lose weight?

Knowing what affects your metabolism will help you understand why you just cannot lose the stubborn weight. Here are the reasons why our metabolism is slow and why you are having difficulty shedding the excess weight:

Your Age

After thirty, your body’s metabolism decreases by 5 percent and continues to decrease with every decade that passes. The reason for a slower metabolism after the age of thirty is, well…your age. Unfortunately, aging is a factor that cannot be reversed. With aging, your body’s muscle development slows down, which affects your metabolism’s ability to maintain optimal performance to help you lose weight.

The good news is that your slow metabolism does not have to be affected by aging. The effects of aging can be reduced by adding strength training to your exercise routine. All you need is a few dumbbells, a few minutes set aside, three times a week to rebuild your muscle mass. Improving your muscle tone will definitely improve your metabolism.

Hereditary

Your genes pay an important factor in your metabolism’s ability to function properly.
Some people were blessed with a fast metabolism, while other people struggle to lose weight their entire life. Your parents play an important part in what your metabolism will be for the rest of your life. This is an unavoidable factor because you cannot change genetics.

Fortunately, the genetically caused slow metabolism can be controlled by decreasing your caloric intake and engaging in daily aerobic activity such as walking. Adding more exercise and watching what you eat will help you maintain a healthy weight and control the effects of your slow metabolism.

Food

The types of food and the calories you consume affect the way your metabolism functions. If you are what you eat, then why would you choose a whole box of donuts over a bowl of broccoli? “You are what you eat” holds true because you need to eat healthy to keep your metabolism working properly. The type of food that you choose creates different reactions that change your metabolism and could prevent the food you choose from converting into energy.

Luckily, this could be changed and your metabolism could be normal again. Everything that you need to change your metabolism is right here. You could fix your metabolism and make it work again. Choosing healthy foods like fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, and less processed foods will help rev up your metabolism to start burning off the excess weight.

Exercise

How much or little exercise you do could increase or decrease how well your metabolism functions. When you exercise, you burn calories. When you burn calories, you increase your ability to burn the extra calories that you consume. The amount of calories that you are able to burn depends on the amount of exercising that you add to your daily routine.

Exercise or the lack of exercise affects your metabolism and your ability to lose weight. By adding strength training exercises and aerobic exercises to your life, you are giving your metabolism the energy needed to reach optimal functioning. Adding exercise to your life will help you maintain a higher metabolism throughout the day, even having it work while you rest.

Losing weight

Weight loss help

No one wants a slow metabolism or wants to gain extra weight if it can be controlled. Knowing the factors that affect the way you process food will help you understand what you need to do to control your weight and your slow metabolism. Check with your doctor to make sure our metabolism is not affect by any underlying medical concerns that require special attention or treatment.

With any change in activity or with starting any exercise routine, check with your doctor to make sure that you are healthy and are able to change your lifestyle. It is important to get a physical, so make an appointment with your primary physician and take the steps to regaining a healthier you.

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