Whenever people have trouble losing weight, they tend to blame it on their metabolism, which is perfectly normal, but the truth is that our daily lifestyle habits are what affects our metabolism in the first place. Here are three common mistakes that can keep your metabolism stuck:

Not Eating Enough
If you’re trying to lose weight, don’t starve yourself! When you drastically reduce your food intake you are definitely slowing down your metabolism. Instead of not eating enough, make smarter food choices. Avoid processed food and eat more of the food that burns energy like chicken breasts and turkey, and most importantly stay hydrated because drinking water increases your metabolism!

Not Working Out Enough
Working out is good, but when you repeat the same workout routine over and over, you won’t get the results you want and your metabolism will start slowing down. Push yourself harder, do the exercise that makes you feel uncomfortable. Spice up your workout with high-intensity interval training (HIIT) which will get you to push your limits. With HIIT, you will burn more calories and get your metabolism activated in turbo mode. 

Not Resting/Sleeping Enough
Sleeping helps your body make enough hormones to boost your metabolism, so if you think that staying up late will improve your system, think again. When your body doesn’t get enough sleep, your metabolism will hit the brakes and the number on the scale will go up. Not to forget that sleeping is one of the most important things for your overall health. Aim at getting 8 hours of sleep a night so your body can recover and perform better the next day. 

So the next time you’re trying to lose weight, think about your metabolism and how you can ensure it’s performing at its best. 

Christelle Bedrossian
Dietitian-Nutritionist
Beirut, Lebanon