The higher your metabolic rate, the more calories you burn. When your weight “gets stuck” at one level, despite your efforts, this may be due to a slowdown in metabolism. To reactivate fat-burning processes, you should change your approach to nutrition, activity, and lifestyle. A variety of foods allows the body to receive a wide variety of nutrients. Try to eat healthy foods: more fruits, and vegetables, and drink clean water. How should you change your approach to nutrition, activity, and lifestyle if you want to adjust your weight?
#1. Add movement to your day. How should you change your approach to nutrition, activity, and lifestyle if you want to adjust your weight?
Regular physical activity remains one of the most effective ways to speed up your metabolism. The body weight depends on the nutrition physical activity, psychological comfort, and the influence of stressful situations.
The main thing is to always start from your preferences. If you don’t like working with dumbbells and going to the gym, then you don’t have to force yourself to go there to lose weight. Find the direction that appeals to you more and allows you to enjoy the process even without a specific goal in mind.
Particularly useful:
Strength training — promotes muscle growth, which burns more calories.
Cardio walking, running, swimming — helps you actively expend energy. Interval training — has been proven to “turn on” your metabolism for a long time even after you finish your workout. Even simple changes — take the stairs instead of the elevator, get off one stop earlier — make a difference.
#2. Reduce the amount of fast carbohydrates in your diet
Diets with moderate carbohydrate restriction help stabilize blood sugar levels and reduce the production of insulin, a hormone that promotes fat accumulation. This, in turn, reduces appetite and helps the body use accumulated fat reserves. You should not completely exclude carbohydrates: it is better to give preference to whole grains, vegetables and legumes. Whole grains have a beneficial effect on the intestinal microflora, improving its function.
#3. Sleep at least 7-8 hours a day. How should you change your approach to nutrition, activity, and lifestyle if you want to adjust your weight?
Chronic lack of sleep negatively affects the level of leptin and ghrelin, hormones responsible for the feeling of satiety and hunger. In addition, lack of sleep increases cravings for high-calorie foods and reduces overall activity levels. Regular quality sleep helps the body recover and maintains a stable metabolism.
To fall asleep better, you can air out the room in advance, take a warm shower, do some gentle stretching, or do a few minutes of yoga. And it’s better to put your phone and other gadgets away 30 minutes before bed and not use them until the morning.
#4. Minimize sugar
Frequent sugar consumption provokes sharp jumps in insulin, disrupts the pancreas, and slows down fat burning. Replace sweets with fruits, or honey in limited quantities, or give up added sugar altogether. This is called the thermic effect of food. In addition, protein helps maintain muscle mass when losing weight. Fruits, vegetables, and nuts are the best options for a snack.
#5. Include more protein in your diet. How should you change your approach to nutrition, activity, and lifestyle if you want to adjust your weight?
High-protein foods — poultry, eggs, fish, legumes, cottage cheese — require more energy to digest than carbohydrates and fats. This is called the thermic effect of food. In addition, protein helps maintain muscle mass when losing weight.
#6. Use natural spices and hot seasonings for cooking
If there are no contraindications from the gastrointestinal tract, add hot spices to food. Chili peppers, ginger, turmeric, mustard, and garlic speed up metabolism due to the thermogenic effect — the body spends more energy on processing such products. In the daily menu, it is better to give preference to fish or poultry, limiting the consumption of red meat.
#7. Walk every day. How should you change your approach to nutrition, activity, and lifestyle if you want to adjust your weight?
Brisk walking for 30-60 minutes a day or reaching the norm of 7-10 thousand steps helps activate metabolism, especially if you lead a sedentary lifestyle. Morning and evening walks are especially useful for regulating blood sugar levels and improving insulin sensitivity.
#8. Pay attention to vitamins and minerals
The need for vitamins depends on age, gender, physical activity, and living conditions. Water-soluble vitamins C and B vitamins are found in fruits, berries, vegetables, and greens. Sources of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K are fish oil, butter, cream, and some vegetables.
Minerals are divided into macro- and microelements. Macroelements include calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, sodium, chlorine, and sulfur, microelements include iron, copper, zinc, iodine, fluorine, manganese and others.
Calcium is found in dairy seafood, legumes, and nuts. Its deficiency leads to bone formation disorders, nervous excitability, and blood clotting disorders.
Magnesium is present in cereals, vegetables, eggs, potatoes, bread, and meat. Its deficiency reduces immunity and causes cramps and muscle weakness. Magnesium – affects energy metabolism and sleep. If you lack nutrients, you should discuss supplements with your doctor or change your diet.
Potassium is found in milk, vegetables, potatoes, bananas, apricots, kiwi, and cereals. Potassium deficiency is associated with cardiac weakness, arterial hypotension, and impaired renal function.
Iron is found in red meat, fish, poultry, buckwheat, quince, figs, peaches, and rose hips. Iron deficiency causes iron deficiency anemia, decreased immunity, attention, and learning ability.
Iodine is found in the largest quantities in seafood, especially shrimp, and seaweed, and is present in egg yolk, potatoes, and turkey meat. Its deficiency reduces attention and reaction and causes problems with the heart and blood vessels. If the deficiency of the substance has not been replenished for a long time, the thyroid gland increases in size.
Omega-3 fatty acids – reduce inflammation and support fat metabolism.
#9. Reduce stress. How should you change your approach to nutrition, activity, and lifestyle if you want to adjust your weight?
Chronic stress stimulates the production of cortisol, a hormone that not only slows down metabolism but also promotes fat deposition, especially in the abdominal area.
To increase the mood, and raise the emotional tone, vitamins are useful. In particular, the vitamins of Group B, also proved the connection between the deficiency of vitamin D and depressed mood, lethargy, fatigue, a decrease in memory, and performance. The antidepressant effect is given by vitamin C, and some trace elements. Magnesium has a calming effect, and potassium reduces anxiety, and irritability. For the deficiency of the necessary vitamins and minerals, it is easiest to take multivitamin complexes.
Simple techniques that help cope with stress: breathing practices; meditation and yoga; limiting new noise and information overload; and walking in nature.
