Can A Slow Metabolism Influence Weight Gain?
Is a slow metabolism to blame? Science has long known that stress can trigger binge eating and lead to weight gain. The biochemical aspects linking stress and metabolism have yet to be worked out, and may eventually provide a target for intervention, but if you want to decrease the impact of stress in your life and on your weight, look to adjusting habits.
Metabolism is the chemical process in which your body converts your food intake into energy needed for normal functions like cell repair, blood circulation and simple breathing. This energy use is known as basal metabolic rate. Several things influence your basal metabolic rate – body size/composition, age, and gender.
If you are experiencing weight-gain, consider well-established factors such as:
- Consuming too many calories: Spend just a few days tracking intake in a journal or online app. While you must be mindful of the stress of long-term micromanagement of your diet, consider weighing your food to truly know your intake during these few days as it can be an enlightening experience. Work with an experienced provider to help you determine the ideal range as you do not want to be too low in calorie intake for extended periods of time either.
- Quality of calories: Review my Anti-Inflammatory Diet and Food Pyramid – and be sure your intake aligns. Better food sources lead to less hunger and lower calorie intake.
- Lack of daily exercise: Start with walking regularly and then ramp up. As you improve your fitness, look to add strength-training to your routine, as muscle strength is a well known benefit to metabolism.
- Poor sleep habits: Start with regular a bedtime and bedtime habits.
- Family history: This one you cannot escape but should still focus on all of the above.
To address stress, incorporate meditation and relaxation techniques into your daily routine. Breathing exercises, particularly performing the 4-7-8 Breath, will help bring calmness throughout your body. Practice it at least twice a day and try it every time you feel anxious or upset. I also recommend a breathing session when you enter your kitchen and mindfully decide if eating is necessary at that moment or not. Often we eat out of boredom or habit.
I have found over the years that many patients focus too heavily on the number on the scale to define health. Instead focus on how you feel and other health-related symptoms, as those are goals that truly impact your vitality and longevity.
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