Fun fact: When your metabolism slows down, the needle on the scale moves to the right.
Q: I've always hear the word “metabolism” being used a lot. What do I need to know?
A: Your metabolism is the rate at which your body burns calories. It includes a combination of activities occurring in the body- everything from building cellular structures to the breakdown down food. There are several factors that contribute to your metabolic rate.
Q: What are these factors?
A: There are biological and lifestyle factors that contribute to your metabolic rate.
Biological:
Age: After age 30, muscle mass decreases by 3-8% per decade. This is critical because muscle burns significantly more calories than fat.
Mental health: Anxiety, depression, and excessive stress can slow down your metabolism. These factors usually correlate with a change in appetite or craving for high-calorie, fatty foods, and a decrease in activity level. The increase in calories combined with high stress levels slows down your metabolism.
Lifestyle:
Inconsistent Sleep Patterns: This can be a side effect from mental health issues. If you are not going to bed and waking up at the same time and sleeping 7-8 hours per night, this can affect your metabolic rate.
Restricting Calories: If you start to gain weight, an instinctive reaction is to slash caloric intake. This slows down your metabolism in two ways. First, your body will start to burn muscle mass instead of fat. Second, your body’s reaction will be to go into a “starvation mode.”
Changing Meal Times: This causes your body to go into conservation mode because it never knows when its next meal is coming. Make sure you eat at consistent times each day and don’t skip meals. This keeps your body on a consistent, happy calorie-burning schedule.
Sleeping in a warm room: Make sure you keep the thermostat below 75 degrees so your body is able to burn the white fat (bad fat).
Lack of Hydration: Drink a minimum of eight 8oz. Servings of water daily. Also try to incorporate foods such as watermelon and cucumber into your diet as they have a high concentration of water.
Q: So, what’s the bottom line?
A: It goes back to the old adage: Make sure to eat a diet high in lean protein and non-starchy vegetables. And exercise!
To learn more or schedule a consultation with Dr. Korman, contact us here or call the office: 310-577-5540.