Metabolic Health

How to Slow Down Metabolism? A Simple Guide

Mehak Shah

December 6, 2022

Your metabolism is the rate at which your body uses and converts energy. It is affected by multiple factors, and its rate differs in different individuals.

A fast metabolism is linked to weight loss, but it can be challenging to maintain a healthy weight if it is too fast. Conversely, if you want to gain weight or are underweight, a slow metabolism can be beneficial as it is less efficient at using calories, leading to weight gain.

The article discusses some effective and easy ways to slow down your metabolism.

Ways to Slow Down Metabolism

Fasting

If you’re not careful, this method can be unsafe. But eating less often can cause your metabolism to slow down. Your metabolic rate starts to drop to conserve energy when you go without eating for a while or when you don’t consume enough calories.

However, that doesn’t mean starving yourself is a smart way to achieve a slower metabolism. Instead, focus on a brief, medically supervised fasting period to keep your metabolism healthy and slow.

Eat Larger, More Frequent Meals

If you don’t want to fast, you can try this method instead. Eating more food than usual and more often can help you gain weight over time since your digestive system takes extra time to burn calories.

It also slows down your metabolism, though. If you can, try to eat a large meal late at night or make dinner your biggest meal to reduce your metabolism. However, how well this works varies from person to person, depending on age, gender, and how active you are.

Avoid Coffee

Studies show that the caffeine in coffee can temporarily boost metabolism. Therefore, avoid coffee and other caffeinated drinks if you want to slow down your metabolism. Try getting adequate sleep to avoid relying on caffeine to keep you awake.

A High-Fat Diet

A high-fat diet with nutritious foods recommended by a nutritionist can help slow down a fast metabolism. Foods high in fat are difficult to digest and can slow down metabolism.

Carbohydrate-rich foods like potatoes, full-fat curd, parathas, a plate of brown rice, and whole milk can also help slow down a fast metabolism.

A Considerate Sleep Cycle

Sleeping for long hours can be one of the easiest ways to slow down the metabolic rate. It is because your body burns fewer calories while your body remains steady for long hours. Therefore, you will automatically be able to slow down the metabolic rate. 

Medications

Some people rely on medications like antidepressants, which have the side effect of lowering the metabolism, which is harmful to your health. Make a good choice and work on your diet if you wish to slow your metabolism.

Low-intensity Exercises

Doing a lower-intensity workout for a shorter time can help slow your metabolism and ensure you don’t become calorie deficient. Lower-intensity exercise can help keep your desired metabolism while also increasing muscle mass. However, weight resistance training or high-intensity workouts can raise your metabolic rate.

The HealthifyMe Note

There are a few things you can do to slow down your metabolism. Some potential options are following a high-fat diet, avoiding caffeine, doing low-intensity exercise, and fasting. However, remember that seeing results might take a little time and patience. Also, talking to a doctor is essential to ensure there isn’t another health issue causing your fast metabolism.

Precautions and Tips to Keep in Mind

You must talk to a healthcare expert or doctor if you want to change your diet or lifestyle. Making significant changes all at once can be hard on your body and lead to unwanted side effects.

Instead, making small, gradual changes and paying attention to how your body reacts is usually the best way. And sometimes, you may need to try a few different things before you find something that works for you.

Here are some additional tips to follow:

  • Try not to eat food that can cause fast metabolism. 
  • Engage in an irregular exercise routine so it won’t increase your metabolism.
  • Add high-fat and calorie-rich foods like avocados, dark chocolate, full-fat cheese, and pasta to your diet. But it should be in moderation. 
  • Occasionally have a snack before bedtime.
  • Drink milk after your meal instead of water.
  • Make sure you’re having fun because nothing can be more harmful than stress. 

Conclusion

You might find maintaining or increasing weight challenging if you have a fast metabolism. Underweight people with fast metabolism are more likely to face infertility, poor immunity, malnutrition, and increased risk of complications during medical procedures.

If diet, exercise, and other changes are not changing your metabolic rate, consult a doctor to find underlying health issues preventing you from slowing down your metabolism.

About the Author

Mehak holds masters in foods and nutrition from Amity university, Noida. She has a keen interest in public health and nutrition and has been in charge of various projects with milestone NGO. She has worked with people over the globe to bring out the changes in their lives and has always been working towards lifestyle modifications via good dietary practices. According to her a healthy lifestyle is not about the destination but all about the journey.


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