Lack of physical activity is right up there in slowing down your metabolism. A question often asked is, are there certain foods that slow down your metabolism? I can answer a definite “yes” to that! So let’s look more closely at the causes of a slow metabolism and see if there is anything we can do to spruce it up.
What exactly do we mean by “metabolism”?
Turning food into energy, after all isn’t this what we all want… energy? Metabolism relates to the process our body uses to turn food into energy. When you’ve got a fast metabolism, you burn up many of the calories you’ve just eaten but with a slow metabolism, because it burns slower it doesn’t complete the job and you end up with more calories stored as fat. Ugh… we don’t want that!
Some other causes:
- Allowing yourself to become dehydrated doesn’t help
- Skipping your breakfast causes your body to go into “starvation mode” so that metabolism slows down
- Chemicals in pesticides work against your body turning food into energy
- Eating grains – even high fibre grains
I’m sure there are many other reasons that come into play to slow down our food-to-energy, but if we try to make sure we don’t allow ourselves to become dehydrated; we don’t skip or skimp on meals that sends a wrong message and causes a shut-down; and we buy organic fruit and vegetables wherever possible. All this will definitely help our metabolism to keep doing what it’s designed to do.
Foods that slow down metabolism
Now some people would relate keeping away from grains to a paleo diet. I want to remind you that I am not paleo! In fact, I don’t have any tag pinned on me. I research information and take from it what I believe to be good. A number of years ago I tripped over the paleo diet in my search for an answer to acid reflux.
I started to read about how whole grains slow down your metabolism and therefore cause you to store extra calories as fat. I did
some further research and found heaps of information that backed up what I read. Hmmm… interesting! I began to learn how just 2 slices of whole wheat bread could raise your blood sugar worse than a can of soft drink (soda). I thought to myself… you’ve got to be kidding?
Not like our Grandparents ate
Of-course you would most probably know the wheat of today is not at all like our grandparents ate. They’ve mucked around with it so much that it’s become a very different type of grain. Much of it has been genetically modified which means it’s exposed to heavy industrial toxic sprays; it’s been mutated and radiated. I bet the grain no longer knows who or what it is!
I don’t want to be putting into my body “food” like that. Who knows what it does when it gets inside you? It doesn’t matter whether you’re eating white, brown, whole-grain or anything in between, it all is digested so rapidly and causes your blood sugar to rise so high, none of it is good for us at all. Think about the amount of bread being eaten around the world… my goodness, is it any wonder waist sizes have expanded at such an enormous rate.
So how to speed up your slow metabolism?
When I found this information out I was really challenged. Could I really not eat bread again for the rest of my life? What about cakes, biscuits and so on? Nothing? To be honest, the answer coming back to me was “no!”
So I ignored what I had learned… no, there must be other ways… and kept on doing what I’d been doing. The acid reflux just kept getting worse. Eventually I came back and revisited the information with more determination and it was while I was doing that I made a new wonderful discovery! Loved it! If I only exchanged the ingredients I could enjoy alternative breads, cakes, biscuits as part of my healthy diet.
Now by using lovely, healthy alternatives
I’ve found my acid reflux has departed. The only time I ever suffer even just a little is when I’ve indulged in something when I’ve been out and about… but I never eat regular bread at home and am very much enjoying the results.
I started to notice I was very gradually losing the excess weight I had put on too… and really, I didn’t care how gradual it was, as long as it was going down. And what does this mean… it means my metabolism has kicked in and is working better than it did before. Now that’s got to be good!
You know, eating protein is so much more satisfying than bread. When eating protein you can burn up to 30% of the calories you consumed just within the digestion of it. Lovely. But let’s just make sure it’s a toxic free protein you’re eating. You don’t want to swap one evil for another.
Short list of protein foods:
- Beans
- Eggs
- Meats
- Nut
- Peas
- Poultry
- Seafood
- Seeds
- Shellfish
Make sure you add plenty of these to your diet and try to cut down/cut out on the amount of regular bread you eat.
So now we’ve looked at what causes a slow metabolism; the foods that slow down metabolism and understand what it takes to speed up a slow metabolism, we are in a much better place to begin making some quality decisions and taking some simple steps to a healthier life.
What steps have you taken which has totally changed your life? We’d love to know.
Would you like to go through the complementary ‘Common Sense Weight Management’ program I’ve written. If you prefer, you can do it in FaceBook through this link.
Warm regards,
Marilyn Williams
Marilyn Williams
Very good information. I am one that is interested in speeding up my metabolism. Thanks for listing these foods. It will be a big help. I look forward to reading more of your articles.
Yes, I think we can all benefit from this knowledge – if we can get the “food to energy” right then we are a long way further in our quest for health.
1)Spend time in the vegetable sctoien. This is the perfect place to start searching for that perfect weight loss food. Most vegetables are filled with vitamins, minerals, and fiber, while at the same time being low in sugar and simple carbohydrates. High fiber varieties such as cabbages and lettuces are a good place to start, but you will get bored quickly and want to move on. Consider taking home squash, jicama, radishes, or something else that you have never tried before. Potatoes and sugar beets are bad choices because of their high starch content.2)Eat enough protein. Protein makes up the basic building blocks of almost every tissue in your body, inside and out. It is absolutely necessary for good health. A healthy protein contains a high amount of lean tissue without carrying a great deal of saturated fat. Cold water fish is a wonderful weight loss food, as is light meat poultry and tofu. If you are a vegetarian, extra care must be taken to ensure that you are eating complete proteins. Tofu is a great choice, otherwise you will need to combine legumes and grains.
Hey! Thanks for this useful information. I hear a lot of people keep on talking about Kinovelax Diet Plan, but I’m not sure if it’s good. Have you tried the Kinovelax Diet Plan? I have heard some awesome things about it and someone I know lost a lot of weight with it.
Personally I don’t know anything about it. I googled it and just from a preliminary peruse of the subject it sounds solid. Just eating whole foods has got to be good and the world is full of packaged and junk foods. If you go ahead with it, let us know your experiences please.
Enjoyed reading your blogs Marilyn! It’s very informative and eye opening.
Thanks Lucette it’s much appreciated! Please bookmark my site and come back often… would love to see you again. I’ve got lots more to add. 🙂
Hi Marylin,
This article is just amazing , I really liked it.
I used to eat a lot of sugars and breads and of course I was bigger than today. I made a lot of diets and I was starving myself and was getting bigger. I didn’t understand why I was putting weight on . Missing a meal or not eating was the worse thing to do. Today I eat almost everything apart sugar and bread. I can tell that I really feel great !
Thank you for this awesome blog
Thank you Daniella! You are sure on the right track… a walking advertisement for what I’m saying. Good onya! You do know you can still eat bread as long as it’s made out of different ingredients from the norm? I have it occasionally when I get around to baking this and that. I appreciate your comments.
Love this article about what cause a slow metabolism. It is so true that starvation is one of the many reasons your body can slow down when burning fat. I sometimes skip meals and realize that the body will conserve energy when there is a “meal skip trigger” because it isn’t sure when the next meal is coming. Our bodies are amazing, but you definitely have to take care of them.
Yes Tiffany, you are correct. I guess we are all learning more and more to take care of our bodies which is fantastic. I know I am, I didn’t always. I had to when I was growing up, to a certain degree anyway… but once you get out from under your parent’s influence you allow it to tip on its ear. Usually takes a few wake up calls before suddenly you’re interested in looking after yourself. So sad really.
Hi Marilyn,
Loved this read about a slow metabolism. I agree wholeheartedly with the key points about removing grains from our eating regime. My wife and I follow, the best we can, the Eat Right 4 Your Type lifestyle. This has enabled us to tailor-make our food intake and due to our blood and geno-type we rarely eat wheat. It has made a huge difference. Have you researched that eating regime? It may be a great addition to your website.
My wife is a counsellor and studied for 3.5 years as a naturopath. She shows her clients battling with depression and anxiety, the role our eating style can have on our mental disposition. It is not just the physical part of us it affects but also the mental and emotional.
Thank you again for the blog post. I enjoyed it.
Duncan
Hi Duncan, thanks for your comments. You are so right about the “not just physical, but mental and emotional”. I guess when you look at the grass roots of it all, it stands to reason you would feel better mentally and emotionally if you find that physically you feel better. I know it’s more than that too.
I know about the Eat Right 4 Your Type lifestyle although I haven’t fully embraced it. I do know that some people definitely feel better when they follow that way of thinking.
Thanks again Duncan, I’m so glad you enjoyed the read.
Hi Marilyn,
I liked your article. It reinforces what I have come to believe. I recently stopped eating grains (well… about 90% less anyway) and feel much better for it. I cannot say I have lost much weight yet but do feel better. As for the skipping meals, I know that is my wife’s biggest problem. She gets busy at work and skips meals, then ends up eating junk food, We try to prepare meals ahead of time to make it easier but don’t always succeed. Do you have any recommendations for that?
Jim
Thanks Jim. Your wife would most probably do well with intermittent fasting. That is when you fast your breakfast and drink plenty of fluids in the morning. Then have your dinner when it suits you… 11am… 12noon or something like that. The idea is to do all your eating in a certain time frame, for example… eat between 11am – 7pm with the rest of the time fasting with fluids… or just sleeping. 🙂
This method is becoming more and more popular. Some people like to do it day on and day off type of thing, but personally I like the method I described above.
All my life I’ve considered breakfast to be the most important meal of the day, but really, you do not find yourself without energy or anything like that.
The body being in a fasted state for longer gives your body a chance to eliminate without being clogged up with more food.
I think the reducing of grains is a wise choice whether you lose weight or not. Congratulations! Doing things in little steps enables you to really concrete each step firmly. If you want to lose weight, now look at the rest of what you are doing… there are plenty of hints and ideas within this blog.
we think ur website is much handy to me! If you keep up the good work I’ll come back at ur site!
I hope you do find it handy and follow some of the information you’ll find in it. Thanks rijpe.
Wonderful article. Thank you for the information. Will bookmark this site!
Hi Grant, thanks for coming in and taking the time to leave a short comment. I’m happy you found the information helpful. Warm regards, Marilyn
Your page is really awesome. I want to say thank you for sharing the great information with me.
Thanks Candi, it’s a pleasure.
I’ve known about GMO for a long time but I didn’t realise that it could damage the seeds so much.
I believe they have altered the wheat seed about 300 times!