Metabolism is a huge topic in the world of fitness and nutrition. There are countless videos and articles online that give tips on how to increase metabolism so you can shed fat and lose weight effectively. That said, despite this topic being covered quite extensively, you will be hard pressed to find anyone giving tips to slow down metabolism. People with a naturally fast metabolic rate can find it quite frustrating to try and add weight or build any kind of significant muscle mass as their bodies burn through energy stores very fast. If you’d like to finally figure out how to slow your metabolism down, to gain weight and muscle, then this article is for you. In this article we will be outlining foods that can help you gain weight, as well as the activities which potentially could reduce how fast your metabolic rate goes, and much more.
An article by the National Library of Medicine describes metabolism as the whole sum of reactions which occur throughout the body within each cell and that provide the body with energy. This energy provided is essential for everything we do including movement, reproduction, growth and development, etc (10).
In simpler terms, metabolism is a summation of all chemical processes in the body that allow an organism – including human beings – to sustain life. In this internal process, the body expends energy and burns calories in order to keep you alive. This internal process never stops running, for it is essential to processes such as blood circulation, breathing, controlling your body temperature, cell repair, waste elimination, ensuring your brain and nerves function – basically everything need to keep you alive.
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Every human being has functioning metabolism- after all, we cannot survive without one. However, not every metabolism works at the same rate. Some people, especially those who are naturally thin (and in some cases underweight) often have fast metabolism, while for others it is low or slow.
Natural factors that influence how fast or slow your basal metabolic rate – the number of calories you burn as your body performs basic (basal) life-sustaining functions – include:
This metabolic rate starts to decline from age 1 to 20 years old, where it remains steady till we get to about 60 years old. After 60, our metabolism starts to decrease again (2).
The researchers theorized that this is mainly due to body composition, i.e. women tend to have less muscle than men and usually carry about 10 percent more body fat (6).
A review published in 1990 stated that in terms of diet, eating more food appears to increase resting metabolic rate while eating very little (e.g consuming very low calorie diets) and fasting leads to a decrease in your resting metabolic rate (5).
The researchers also found that going back to a regular sleep schedule helped the metabolism of the previously sleep deprived participants increase and go back to normal (13).
From the list above, we can see that there are a number of things which can slow your metabolism down. Things as simple as how much sleep you get at night, what you eat, how much exercise you do, and even the state of your overall health can reduce your metabolic rate, although we wouldn’t suggest depriving yourself of sleep or starving yourself if you are trying to gain weight.
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For many people, a fast metabolic rate is a great thing. It helps them lose weight and/or maintain a healthy weight. However, if it’s too fast, some people end up being too thin and underweight, which is not healthy.
If you are in the later group, the question of how to slow your metabolism down to gain weight is certainly one that you have struggled finding answers to. Here are some tips on how to naturally slow down your metabolism without risking your health
To do this, get a calorie calculator and input what you eat for about a week. This will show you what your mean daily calorie intake usually is. From here try adding 300 to 500 calories to this number. Eat this number for a week or two and then try adding another 300 to 500 calories more. Including more healthy fats in your diet can help you increase your calorie intake.
Findings from a randomized controlled trial published in 2018 found that eating a low carbohydrate diet leads to increased energy expenditure compared to eating a moderate or high carbohydrate diet (3). Increased energy expenditure means your metabolism is working fast which may lead to weight loss – and a harder time gaining weight.
If you workout, try doing fewer high impact workouts. High impact workouts burn calories very fast in the moment and long after you’re done working out – as they keep the metabolism high. This is great for weight loss but terrible for weight gain. Low impact exercises will still affect the metabolic rate, but not as much as high impact exercises.
A point to remember is that unlike cardio which burns a lot of calories in the moment, strength building tends to continue to burn calories long after your workout is done. Counter this by eating in a calorie surplus.
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As previously stated, your metabolism naturally slows down from age 1 to 20. From 20 to 60 it remains steady and then starts to naturally decline after 60 years. However, if you are actively trying to slow down your metabolism there isn’t a specific amount of time that you should wait to see results. Just practice patience and consistency.
No it does not.
While long term fasting will certainly cause a drop in metabolism (7), the multiple findings over the years on short term fasting have shown that it tends to increase your metabolic rate (12, 14, 15).
Junk foods and high sugar foods will certainly help slow down metabolism. However, they are not good for your body and health in the long run. It’s best to safely reduce your metabolic rate by increasing your carbohydrate intake.
Be sure to eat healthy complex carbs and ignore refined carbs. Examples of healthy carbs include vegetables, quinoa, farro, barley, legumes and lentils, sweet potatoes, whole grains, brown, wild or black rice and oats.
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Like with weight loss, slowing down your metabolism is highly dependent on activities we do on a daily basis. While slowing down your metabolism through unhealthy means is tempting, we encourage you to try healthy methods of doing this, gaining healthy weight the natural way. Eat more healthy carbohydrates, exercise using lower impact workouts and more weight, and eat on a caloric surplus. It will take time, but it will be worth it in the end.
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