If you are into fitness or you are trying to get into shape, there is a high chance that it has something to do with weight. According to a recent study conducted by Harvard Health, almost 90 per cent of individuals in their life span work out only for the sake of weight loss.
This is not just limited to people who are overweight or obese but also includes people who are fitness-conscious or want to lose fat while ensuring that they can gain up some muscle.
The basic idea is that more or fewer fitness goals revolve around weight. Where most people push for extreme workouts, others look for sneaky links that can help them find ways to lose weight without working out too much. Even if you look at the success ratio of this workout, there is no one-fit-all method.
Instead, you will notice that people who do not work out too much but have a very good work ethic and active lifestyle will end up losing weight much faster. Moreover, an intense workout that only offered one kg weight loss to someone might end up working wonders for others.
Experts believe that it all comes down to the way they live and the lifestyle they have. With the help of this article, we will mainly look at simple habits that most people develop unconsciously and these habits end up impacting the exercise and weight loss process as well. The goal is to look at the habits that contribute to slowing down the metabolism so, you can stay young and healthy regardless of age.
Most people assume that weight loss is all about starving their bodies and controlling their appetite. However, experts in fitness and health believe that it is less about the intention and quantity of food and more about the lazy lifestyle that revolves around comfort.
Here are seven simple habits that might be slowing down your metabolism and contributing to weight gain.
Eating while watching TV is a very common practice and most people feel that it is necessary to keep your mouth busy. However, a recent study explains that the mind gets involved in the screen so it is hard to keep track of the appetite eventually you will feel hungry even when you have eaten enough and this will make you consume food more than required.
Late-night eating means everything you consume will be surplus and the extra calories will be converted into fat. It is better to skip dinner or at least rely on light snacks rather than binge eating till late at night.
Chugging down juices, shakes, smoothies, and energy drinks is the easiest way of gaining weight. Energy drinks contain a lot of liquid sugar but they do not stay in the body, so it is more or less like you are eating a lot of sugar. The body is getting calories but the stomach is hungry so you will keep looking for things to eat.
Bad sleeping habits mean that the body is not getting enough time to rest. With less resting the healing process is slow and this will impact the recovery after a workout; moreover, with a bad recovery, the body can feel much more vulnerable which will contribute to feeling tired all the time. Low energy will convince you to eat more and this never-ending cycle of weight gain will never stop.
In the corporate world, most people with desk jobs bring their work home and they feel like it is better to work late. However, experts believe that working late means you have enough time to feel hungry again. Even if you do not feel hungry, you will feel bored and project your emotions to your hunger so you will end up craving food. This will contribute to weight gain.
Most people complain that they feel hungry all the time. Experts believe that hunger is not something that can be felt all the time, instead most people end up projecting their emotions as hunger. They become hungry when they feel anxious or they feel tired even when they are sad and frustrated.
It is better to drink water when you feel emotional, this will calm down your mind making sure the body reaches a good temperature so it can determine if there is a need to eat.
Using escalators, lifts, and cars for every single house errand means you are adjusted to a convenient lifestyle. This also indicates that you are living a passive lifestyle that can contribute to the slowing down of the metabolism.
The best way to deal with this issue is to take enough time out of your daily life that you can at least have 15 minutes of walk. However, if you are too busy, then take the stairs as much as you can, and for the usual daily errands and grocery trips, walk as much as you can.
If you have a good sleeping and wake-up cycle you will have more active time. This will contribute heavily to your weight loss. A simple example of this process is that people who wake up early have enough time for physical activity and they do not have to feel tired. Moreover, just a 15-minute morning walk is enough to help you lose weight faster.
People who start their day with a simple workout and stretching stay active throughout the day which further helps in weight loss. Finally, they feel less tired and less hungry and they become more conscious about the food they eat.
On the contrary, people who stay awake till late at night feel bored and anxious which convinces them to eat high sodium and high sugar-based food for the energy rush. Eventually, this contributes to the weight gain process.
Image credit: Total Shape