Many people that have trouble losing weight or maintaining an optimal weight may begin to suspect that that they have a slow metabolism. Some doctors and health professionals believe that the number of people that claim to have a slow metabolism is over stated. They suggest that most individuals simply need to eat less, consume more healthy meals and snacks and start exercising. While everyone that is overweight doesn’t likely have a slow metabolism, there are people that do. There are a specific set of symptoms that are common in people with this “condition”. Understanding what those symptoms are can help an individual determine whether or not a slow metabolism is the cause for their weight gain or if they simply need to cut back on what they eat and start an exercise program.
Low blood pressure, skin that is unnaturally dry, feelings of sluggishness or tiredness, feeling cold a lot and/or being constipated can all be symptoms that your metabolism is slow and that there may be some type of medical issue. It is very important that you visit your doctor to rule out serious conditions such as hypothyroidism. If it is determined that your metabolism is slow but not due to some medical condition, there are various ways that you can begin to boost it no matter how old you are.
An individuals’ metabolism starts to slow down when they reach the age of 30. After this age it’s much harder to eat the way that you did in your twenties and still maintain your weight or to simply cut back on a few meals and lose weight. This is partly because you are starting to lose muscle and gain fat. Muscle burns fat and calories much more effectively than fat does. It is very important that you rebuild this muscle to maintain your metabolism or to boost it if it has slowed down. Also avoid going on any type of restrictive diets. The best way to lose weight is to eat a low fat, balanced diet, exercise and lift weights.
If you consume a diet that is too low in calories your body will automatically slow your metabolism down so that you don’t starve to death. While restrictive diets may have worked when you were in your twenties and teens as you get older, it gets less effective. This is partly because these types of diets cause you to lose muscle, water and bone. The less muscle that you have, the less calories you will burn. You’ll be forced to lower the amount of calories that you consume in order to maintain your weight or lose it. The best thing to do is to exercise and build muscle so that your body becomes a calorie burning machine at all times. Restrictive diets lead to yo-yo dieting. You have probably noticed that these types of diets may allow you to lose weight at first but eventually you will gain back more then you lost. This is because you have destroyed your muscle and the muscle is what’s going to burn calories.
Again, the symptoms of a slow metabolism include constipation, low blood pressure, being cold a lot, feeling tired and having a slow pulse. You should absolutely go visit your doctor and ask him or her to run some tests if you are experiencing these symptoms.
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