Are You Slowing Down Your Metabolism?

Your metabolism is a complex system and is affected by more things that just what you eat and how much you exercise. There are a number of things that could be playing a part in your metabolism that you may not even realize. 

• Inconsistent Meal Times
• When your meal times are inconsistent, you body gets into a mode where it does not know when the next meal is coming and goes into conservation mode. When this happens, food is put into storage instead of being used for fuel.
• Getting Too Little Sleep
• As with many other things, sleep affects your metabolism. When you do not get enough sleep, your hormones that control hunger get out of whack and increases your cravings for starchy, sugary and fatty foods. 
• Not Eating Enough
• Cutting too many calories can actually backfire when try to lose weight. If you drop your calories too low, your body gets put into starvation mode and slows down your metabolism and in turn, stores more fat. 
• Skipping Strength Training
• Simply put, the more active muscle tissue you have, the higher your metabolic rate will be. In order to achieve more active muscle tissue in your body, you  need to incorporate more strength training into your workout routine.
• Sitting Too Much
• Sitting for more than 20 minutes at a time puts your body in a relaxed, non-energy burning state. Working out for one hour a day does not constitute being able to sit for the remaining 23 hours. It has been shown that getting up and moving throughout the day helps spike your metabolism and keep your energy burning. 
• What you Drink
• Too little water or too much alcohol can affect your metabolism. all of your body's cellular functions rely on water, so be sure to drink enough water throughout the day. On the other hand, too much alcohol forces your liver to work harder on breaking down molecules and work less on burning fat. Not to mention, the calories in alcohol add up quickly and can cause weight gain. 
• Stress
• Stress is probably the number one factor affecting metabolism. It increases the production of cortisol, the hormone the increases appetite. In addition, stress slows digestion and affects our sleep, which in turn, affects metabolism as well.