The term metabolism is often associated with dieting and losing weight, with a slow metabolism often cited as the cause of obesity. In fact, it is so much more than that, as it forms the foundation for all vital processes in the body. So without metabolism, nothing works.
To understand why a slow metabolism affects weight loss success and what you can do to boost it again, you first need to know what metabolism actually is and how it works.
Everything you need to know about this and what you can do about a slow metabolism can be found in this article. In the end, there are also tips for a healthy breakfast and foods that can boost your metabolism again.
What is metabolism?
We start with the basics: Metabolism, also called metabolism, describes all the chemical processes that take place in our cells. Various substances in the body are converted into others. In addition to energy production and the maintenance of body functions, it is the task of metabolism to build up and reduce or maintain body substances. This includes almost all the cells that circulate in our body, including muscle and fat cells.
The entire process is broken down into two different metabolic states: catabolism and anabolism, which are explained in more detail in the next section.
How metabolism works
In order for our body to perform vital functions, it needs energy. We supply this energy through our food and the nutrients contained in it. It is then the task of metabolism to break down the food into its individual building blocks and transport them to the cells. This means that proteins, fats, and carbohydrates are broken down into amino acids, fatty acids, and glucose, which are then transported via the blood to their respective destinations. Once there, new substances are formed, such as muscles, nerves, or bones.
Finally, the waste products produced in these processes are transported away from the cells and excreted again. Certain enzymes are involved in each of these steps. They do most of the work.
If more energy is consumed through food than can be broken down, energy reserves are stored in the body's fat stores, resulting in obesity.
Digestion is 
What are anabolism and catabolism?
Metabolism consists of anabolic and catabolic phases. In the catabolic phase, the body breaks down nutrients absorbed through food. This produces so-called ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which serves as fuel for our cells. In addition to many other functions, ATP is needed, for example, to produce body heat or to move muscles.
Subsequently, anabolism uses the released ATP to build up a wide variety of body substances. For this reason, it is often referred to as buildup metabolism. This condition is particularly interesting for strength athletes, as muscles are also built up during anabolism. In order to promote muscle growth, the body should be optimally supplied with protein and other important nutrients during this phase.
Anabolism and catabolism alternate and never run in parallel. Rather, they form a cycle that is regulated by enzymes.
What are the causes of a slow metabolism?
According to Dr. Chih-Hao Lee from Harvard University, the processes just described occur with different intensities in every person. Whether your metabolism is fast, slow, or average primarily depends on your genes. Furthermore, age also influences how quickly the metabolism operates. Thus, with increasing age, the processes slow down somewhat. (1)
How well the metabolism works is reflected in how easily or difficult it is for someone to gain or lose weight. Better said, with a slow metabolism, fewer calories are burned, and excess energy is stored in the form of fat reserves.
However, it would be a fallacy to blame metabolism alone for obesity. Lifestyle, which includes exercise and healthy eating, has a far greater influence. (1)
Those affected by a slow metabolism often not only have problems losing weight, but also tend to feel colder or suffer from concentration problems. Therefore, such individuals often want to quickly get their slow metabolism up and running again to increase their quality of life. You can find out how to do this below.
How can you boost a slow metabolism?
To a certain extent, it is indeed possible to give metabolism a small boost. The two most important points to boost your metabolism are healthy eating and exercise.
What this means in detail will be explored in this section.
Fast Moves for a Fast Metabolism
Exercise not only makes you sweat, but it also speeds up your metabolism. Therefore, you should definitely integrate exercise into your everyday life if you want to give your metabolism a kick-start.
If exercise is already an integral part of your daily routine, it is worth incorporating interval training into your workout. For example, combine your usual jogging routine with short sprints or try high-intensity interval training (HIIT). The short, intense training sessions are easy to integrate into your sports practice and have a great effect. After a HIIT workout, your metabolism will continue to operate efficiently for the rest of the day, burning calories.
Training with weights for more muscles
Muscle mass requires more energy than fat mass, not only during exercise but also during rest periods. With targeted muscle building, you can boost your metabolism and increase your daily calorie requirements. You can easily determine how many calories you need to consume each day to maintain your weight with our calorie calculator . On one hand, parameters such as age, gender, height, and weight are used to calculate your daily calorie requirement. On the other hand, the activity level also plays an important role.
In order for your muscles to grow and your metabolism to benefit, you need to train them. Strength training is particularly suitable for this purpose. To promote muscle growth, the training stimuli must become increasingly intense over time. This can be achieved, for example, by increasing the weights used. However, exercise alone is not enough to effectively boost your metabolism. Proper nutrition also plays an essential role in this.
High protein diet
Your metabolism is always working at full speed when you eat, digest, or store nutrients. This process is called the thermal effect. Essentially, it describes how much energy your body has to expend to digest and utilize the food you eat. Depending on what you consume, this effect may vary in strength.
While the thermal effect is only 0-3% for fat and 5-10% for carbohydrates, it is significantly higher for protein at 20-30%. (2) It therefore takes longer for the body to fully absorb protein than it does for fat and carbohydrates. As long as this process is ongoing, energy is needed and thus calories are burned.
However, science has not yet been able to conclusively clarify how significant this effect is. Nevertheless, results from various studies indicate that a combination of high protein intake and strength training can optimize your metabolism.
In the next section, you will find out which foods stimulate a slow metabolism.
Foods that boost your metabolism and cause the kilos to tumble
Proteins as metabolism boosters
As we have already learned, high-protein foods require more energy for the body to utilize them. Therefore, it is worthwhile to make them a staple part of every meal.
The most important vegetable protein sources include legumes such as beans or lentils, nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables, and cereals or pseudocereals such as millet, oats, or quinoa. The more varied your protein sources, the better. Main animal protein suppliers are meat, fish, eggs, and dairy products.
For example, the VERIVAL sports breakfast is a great way to start your morning with a healthy dose of protein . With its 100% plant-based protein power, it provides your body with essential amino acids and stimulates your metabolism.
Green tea – a time-tested magic bullet
In addition to protein, green tea has also been shown to have a positive effect on metabolism. It sometimes contains so-called epigallocatechin gallate – yes, a true tongue twister. This compound is known to stimulate fat burning and increase calorie expenditure. According to a meta-analysis from 2011, just 250 mg of epigallocatechin gallate can boost metabolism enough for the body to burn an additional 100 kcal. This amount corresponds to approximately three cups of tea. (1)
Berries – the all-round talents
Berries are not only rich in vitamins but also contain a considerable amount of antioxidants. These protect against free radicals, some of which are formed during metabolic processes and can promote diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, or atherosclerosis. To help prevent the formation of harmful substances, berries should be a staple in your diet.
Boost your metabolism with a healthy breakfast
With the right breakfast, you lay the foundation for a metabolic boost every morning . It's best to start the day with a healthy and protein-rich meal. You can find out what such a healthy breakfast can look like:
A good base for the morning energy kick is protein-containing cereals such as millet, quinoa, or oats. For example, take a portion of oatmeal and prepare a delicious cereal or cook it into warming porridge.
For the porridge preparation , milk is suitable as an animal protein source or the protein-rich, plant-based alternative made from soy. Muesli also tastes good with yogurt or quark.
Basic recipe: oatmeal
Ingredients
- 250 ml milk or a plant-based alternative for vegans (oat milk, almond milk, soy milk,...)
- 50 g oatmeal (grams of oatmeal)
- 1 pinch of salt
- 2 tsp agave syrup optional
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon of your choice
Preparation
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Boil the oatmeal with the pinch of salt and the sweetener of your choice in the milk or plant-based drink (preferably with constant stirring). Cooking the cereal flakes only with hot water is also a possible option.
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Let the porridge steep for 3 minutes.
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Pour the porridge into a bowl and sprinkle with cinnamon.
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Enjoy!
Nutritional values
Serve with toppings such as nuts, nutmeg, or seeds and add fresh berries or dried fruits to suit your taste. Have you heard of weight loss with intermittent fasting ?
