What You Need to Know About Metabolism?
To sustain life, various chemical reactions constantly occur in the body, which are called metabolism. Thanks to this process, the nutrients that enter the body with consumed food are transformed into energy used by the body for digestion, blood circulation, breathing, movement, as well as for restoring damaged cells and tissues.
To understand how to speed up metabolism if weight has stalled, it is necessary to know the main factors on which the rate of these processes depends. These include the following:
- Improper nutrition. The diet should be balanced, food should be consumed regularly in small portions, following a certain routine. Strict diets and consumption of unhealthy foods cause stress to the body, leading to active calorie storage for reserve.
- Frequent stressful situations. The nervous system becomes overly strained, which leads to a slowdown of metabolic processes. In a state of stress, calorie burning significantly decreases.
- Strict dietary restrictions. In the pursuit of quickly getting rid of excess weight, we go on a rigid diet, greatly limiting the consumption of certain foods and reducing portions. But this can lead to the opposite effect, when the weight not only does not decrease but also increases. When the body experiences a lack of food, which is a source of energy, it begins to store calories more actively, resulting in fat deposits. To lose weight, it is necessary to reduce the caloric content of food and also lead an active lifestyle to accelerate calorie burning.
- Lack of quality sleep. Due to insufficient rest, weight begins to increase, caused by a slowdown in metabolic processes in the body. During nighttime sleep, the body restores processes; if rest is insufficient, mechanisms to support the functioning of internal organs and systems are triggered, storing calories. To improve metabolism, sleep should be 7–8 hours.
- Insufficient physical activity. When a person leads a sedentary lifestyle, excess weight quickly accumulates. Due to a passive state, metabolism slows down because the body does not expend large amounts of energy. A small number of calories is consumed, which leads to their accumulation in the form of fat deposits, and muscles atrophy.
- Heat indoors. At excessively high indoor air temperatures, metabolism slows down. If rooms are cool, subcutaneous fat tissue consumes significantly more calories.
- Lack of water in the body. For metabolism to be complete, one needs to drink about 2–2.5 liters of water per day. This may include still water, tea, compote, fruit drink, or freshly squeezed juice.
- The presence of bad habits. Metabolic processes in the body significantly slow down, and metabolism worsens when a person smokes and consumes alcoholic beverages.
The better the metabolism, the more calories are burned in a resting state. Therefore, to lose weight, it is necessary to raise its level.