If you have been using your workout equipment and eating fresh, healthy foods but your weight loss has slowed down, it may be due to changes in your metabolism.
Connection Between Weight And Metabolism
The term metabolism is thrown around all the time like it is the end-all, be-all of weight loss. In reality, metabolism is simply the process where your body turns food (calories) into fuel for the body. This process takes place in your body in three different ways:
- Thermic Effect of Food (TEF) – To simply digest the food you have consumed, your body requires energy. There is a slight amount of calories burned to process food, but it generally a minimal amount.
- Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) – While you are awake, you will make many small movements, from walking around to fidgeting as you sit. These small movements burn calories without much direct effort from you.
- Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) – Your BMR, also called your Resting Metabolic Rate, is the rate at which your body burns calories when completely at rest. Even if you are sleeping, your body will be burning a set amount of calories to keep you alive.
Slower Metabolism Due To Lean Muscle Mass Loss
So, if your metabolism is activated by simply existing, it makes sense that exercise will boost your metabolism even more. However, if your weight loss has slowed down even though you have been working out, it may be due to a loss of lean muscle mass.
Muscle tissue requires more calories than fat tissue, allowing you to burn more calories simply by swapping fat for muscle. In fact, 4.5 lbs of muscle can equal up to a calorie burn difference of 50-100 calories. If you have traded in 20+ pounds of fat for muscle, you can expect your BMR to rise significantly.
However, if you have neglected the muscle-building aspect of your weight loss and gone purely for fat loss, your body may not have the muscle mass to help you burn more calories. Also, if you are dieting too aggressively, your body may be cannibalizing its muscle mass for energy, causing your weight loss to slow dramatically.
Ways To Boost Your Metabolism As You Lose Weight
If your weight loss has slowed down or stopped and you suspect your metabolism is to blame, you don’t have to stay stalled. There are multiple ways for you to fight a slowed metabolism, such as:
- Engaging in HIIT workouts and using machines like the ProForm HIIT Trainer Pro
- Take metabolism-boosting supplements
- Add a couple of strength training days to your workout routine
- Make sure you have the right amount of sleep
- Focus on eating unprocessed foods and limit carbs
With some lifestyle tweaks and a few new exercises, you can get your metabolism going at full speed again and weight loss back on track.
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