Slow metabolism is a product of our environments and our habits. Chances are, it took you more than a few days to get where you are now, and chances are, it’s going to take more than a few days to get your metabolism sped up and back in gear. So how do you improve this process and what are some natural ways to speed up your metabolism? With a few tweaks and fundamental changes in your habits, you can speed up your metabolism in no time to lose weight, gain lean muscle mass, have more energy and enjoy life a little bit more. By first understanding what the causes of slow metabolism are, we can figure out how to improve it.

Causes Of A Slow Metabolism

Metabolic damage and slowdown happens to just about everyone, especially here in the United States. The causes of a slow metabolism can be many, but it doesn't take very much to slow this biological process of turning food into fuel. Ever hear that saying, "I'm a fat burning MACHINE!"? That's because they have, through the power of nutrition, exercise, hydration, and sleep, turned their metabolism into an efficient, calorie-burning machine.

Mistakes that slow down your metabolism include not eating enough, not consuming a sufficient amount of protein, not moving around or exercising enough, not sleeping an adequate amount every night, eating processed and sugary foods, and not performing any weight-bearing exercises or strength training, to name a few. Fall into any one of these categories and your metabolism is probably suffering.

When you don't give your body proper fuel to perform its functions from a proficient metabolism, you’re not only unable to absorb nutrients and function at your highest potential, but your chances of maintaining and gaining lean muscle mass goes down, while the ability to gain weight and body fat drastically increase. Talk about a problem! This is usually where people turn to unhealthy ways to lose weight such as excessive cardio, restricted eating habits, binging, purging, fat burners, and in extreme cases, even cosmetic surgery (cringe), only leading them back to where they started.

Other Causes of a Slow Metabolism

Caloric Restriction

Regardless of how advanced we may think we are with our fancy little gadgets and smart TVs, our bodies still rely on human instinct and survival patterns. When we starve our bodies of vital and key nutrients, we go into survival mode. Your body literally has no idea when you’re going to feed it next. So, when you deprive your body of the nutrients it needs to function, it’s going to hold onto body fat, instead of burning it as fuel and slow your metabolism naturally to do so. In order to lose weight, you need to eat and feed your body the right foods to increase your metabolism.

Poor Nutrient Intake

According to nearly every weight loss plan, diet, and infomercial your diet is about calories in and calories out. Wrong. The foods you eat matter. I’ve seen people run five days a week, eat like a bird, and load their diet full of simple carbohydrates and not lose a pound. Diets like IIFYM and Flexible Dieting, do not work. Creating a sustainable diet plan, full of lean proteins, quality carbohydrates, and healthy fats are key to speeding up your metabolism.

RELATED ARTICLE: How To Create An Amazing Nutrition Plan In 5 Simple Steps

Poor, Sedentary Habits & Auto-Pilot

Are you the pilot or the auto-pilot when it comes to your life? Do you have a work-life balance or do you just grind, eat, poop and sleep? Do you push yourself through workouts or push yourself through Netflix binges? Do you leave your makeup on at night or do you have a skin-care regimen that you do every day? Lastly, think about your nutrition. Do you pop into a fast-food or sit-down restaurant 5 times a week or do you spend a couple of hours prepping before it starts?

These questions are to help you figure out if you're driving your life or just living it, watching the time go by. If you're on auto-pilot, the cause of your slow metabolism can be blamed on your poor, sedentary habits. 

Long story short, we call this going into automation; doing the same workout, eating the same crap, and using the same chemicals that have a direct impact on slowing down your metabolism.

In order to jump-start your metabolism, you need to push yourself, get out of your comfort zone, off your booty, out of the passenger seat and into the driver seat of your life (and your metabolism). It's time to change those automated patterns and habits and to implement our 8 natural ways to speed up your metabolism.

What Are The Signs Of A Slow Metabolism

When you’re able to turn your food into fuel and burn off excess calories and fat while building lean muscle mass, you’re in the green. You feel great, you look great, you do great. It’s really that simple. But what about when you aren’t a fat-burning machine, your metabolism is a little broken (or really broken), and you’re feeling frumpy and grumpy? It sucks!

10 Signs Of A Slow Metabolism 

1. Chronic Fatigue
2. Sugar Cravings
3. Dry Skin
4. Brittle Hair
5. Hair Loss
6. Depression/Anxiety
7. Fast Weight Gain
8. Poor Sleep
9. Constipation
10. Cravings (especially SUGAR)

What Does Your Metabolism Do?

The human body is incredible. It will adapt to any situation and strive to live within it the very best it can. This is called ‘maintaining homeostasis’. The less you eat the less energy you’ll be able to make.

Without nutritional information at the cellular level, the mitochondria are unable to make ATP (adenosine triphosphate), thus resulting in a lack of energy for not only everyday use but within the metabolic system as well.

Thyroid levels decrease within the nervous system when fat loss is kicked into gear as a response effort to stop the weight loss (think about the survival mode mentioned above). When an individual calorically restricts or unreasonably increases cardio to lose weight, thyroid levels within the body continue to decrease lowering the actual quality of the nervous system. Along with it rise cortisol levels, down with it goes testosterone levels, and you can say adios to the muscle that you have, or that you’re trying to build. 

What Are The Signs Of Increased Metabolism

Weight loss isn’t the only indication that you have a happy, proficient metabolism. It also shouldn’t be the only goal you have when trying to naturally increase your metabolism because the way your body turns food into fuel and information is important for your overall health, too!

10 Signs Of An Increased Metabolism

1. Weight Loss
2. Weight Maintenance
3. Improved Energy
4. Deeper, Better Quality Sleep
5. Better Digestion
6. Happy Poops
7. Improved Circulation
8. Better Muscle Building & Strength Maintenance
9. Reduced Blood Pressure
10. Improved Cholesterol Levels

8 Natural Ways To Speed Up Your Metabolism

Naturally Boost Metabolism: Increase Physical Activity

It's recommended that the average individual gets about 10,000 steps a day and then 30 minutes to 1-hour of moderate to high-intensity exercise. And we mean, every day.

Whether it’s walking a mile further with the dog, playing an extra round of golf, joining a CF Box, taking up group classes, hitting a hot yoga sweat session, or taking the stairs and parking further away, or playing with the kids, you need to challenge yourself physically as a natural way to speed up your metabolism.

Not just for the way that you look, but for your overall health on the inside, too! Remember, increasing metabolism is the goal, and one of the biggest parts is getting your body familiar with moving around, a lot more.

Naturally Boost Metabolism: Establish a Regular Sleep Pattern

SLEEP! Oh my goodness – SO many people don’t sleep enough. The National Sleep Foundation recommended new sleep times in 2018 to help individuals “make sleep schedules that are within a healthy range”. Of those recommendations, here are the following that you may find as a useful guideline. Sleep is a critical component to helping you fix your slow metabolism.

Sleep is great... unless you don’t get any. Another consideration is to supplement your diet with a ZMA. Often times we don’t get very good sleep because we don’t recover while we sleep. Why not? Because our diet lacks adequate amounts of crucial nutrients that help us sleep and recover better, like Zinc, Magnesium, and Vitamin B6. Supplementing with ZMT, Swolverine’s ZMA & Testosterone Boosting Supplement, there will be no more counting sheep, no more groggy morning, reduced stress and a more positive mindset shift.

RELATED ARTICLE: How to Get Better Quality Sleep So You Don't Feel Like A Zombie

RECOMMENDED PRODUCT: ZMT by Swolverine 

Naturally Boost Metabolism: Minimize Processed Foods

It’s no secret that processed foods are bad for you, so why do you keep eating them? The bad habits you’ve created have trained your body and mind to crave them and invariably you’ve created a monster.

Added sugars such as high fructose corn syrup, indigestible fiber and added synthetic chemicals, wreck your metabolism by increasing insulin resistance. When the body cannot use insulin as it’s supposed to, you end up with a slow metabolism, weight gain, higher risk of diseases and higher percentages of stored fat. Like a sweet seductress, processed foods take advantage of your weak willpower and destroy you from the inside out.

Not worth it if you ask me. So limit or cut out the extra sugars, minimize or cut out processed foods. 

Naturally Boost Metabolism: Don’t Cut Carbs Completely

Whaaaat!? Yeah! Carbohydrates (when not consumed in excessive amounts) aren’t usually the bad guy. While there is a difference between simple carbs and complex carbs (read more here), carbs actually increase cellular osmotic pressure aka cellular hydration.

This is the science behind feeling fuller and feeling fuller longer from quality complex carbohydrates consumed in appropriate amounts through a nutritious diet. By doing this, you also increase your metabolic rate.

Don't have time to eat healthily? Meet your new favorite, natural real superfood supplement (that tastes like breakfast in a cup, seriously DELICIOUS), CLEAN CARBS by Swolverine. This product is made from Sweet Potatoes, Yams, Oats and Blueberries and delivers you the energy you need between those busy times, when your rushing out the door without breakfast, or before/after your grueling workout. Consider yourself warned, they are magical.

RELATED ARTICLE: 5 Signs You Need To Eat More Carbs

RECOMMENDED PRODUCT: CLEAN CARBS

Naturally Boost Metabolism: Get Outside More

Woohoo! Who doesn't want to get outside more? Even if it’s for a walk around the block, Frisbee with your kiddos, ball toss with your dog, or even planting a new plant, your body will reward you for getting out and about more often. While your boss might not let you take your entire desk site outdoors, here’s is our favorite recommendation: head outside first thing in the morning!

Sure, at first it may be a little daunting, and sure, you’re going to have to carve out some extra time (~30 minutes) in the morning, but your body and your metabolism will reward it for you. By setting a positive circadian rhythm, you’re able to boost your metabolism! Eat a nutritious breakfast when you get back and head on your way with the rest of the day.

Naturally Boost Metabolism: Be More Social

Getting connected socially with family and friends can benefit much more than just your attitude and your outlook, it can help fix your slow metabolism, too! Social isolation or the lack of social integration and overall support has been increasingly related to poor physiological functioning and metabolic disorders.

High social integration rates significantly lower risks of metabolic deregulation. By getting together with friends and family, or establishing a sense of community, whether it’s a lot of people or just a few, a little interaction can go a long way with your weight loss, muscle gain, and help boost your metabolism.

Naturally Boost Metabolism: Hydrate Often

Appropriate hydration has been clinically reported to reduce obesity and improve insulin sensitivity. The more liquid you have in your body (since we’re nearly 60% water!) the more lubrication you have for cells to move around, the better delivery of nutrients like oxygen, blood, and nutrients your body will have. The better delivery you have, the healthier and happier your systems will be. Not to mention, you actually feel better!

(Read The Quick Guide On The Importance Of Hydration)

Naturally Boost Metabolism: Supplement with THERM

When combined with the previous tips, adding in a natural, thermogenic weight loss supplement, made with clinically proven ingredients, you can burn more calories at rest and get that much closer to your goals than with diet and exercise, alone.

• Increase Energy - Research has shown, that ingredients such as Guarana, contains up to 4 times the amount of caffeine than coffee, and creates long-lasting sustained energy, for your most ambitious of endeavors [R]
• Boost Metabolism - Therm helps reset and start your metabolism, from the inside out, so you can burn more calories at rest [R]
• Enhance Weight Loss - Several studies have shown that ingredients included in Therm, such as Green Tea Leaf, Garcinia Cambogia, Cocoa Extract, and Yerba Mate, can help suppress appetite, promote the natural thermogenic process and aid in weight loss. [R]

Natural Ways To Speed Up Your Metabolism: Takeaway

If you feel that your metabolism is slowing down, and you’ve tried everything, don’t give up just yet. By implementing some of the methods above, you can speed up your metabolism and increase your overall health, happiness, and appearance. While looks aren’t everything, if you’re overweight or underweight, there’s a good chance your metabolism has gone kaput! Strive to create balance overall – it takes willpower, but you can do it if you set your mind to it and commit. Set some goals, make a plan, and speed up your slow metabolism. Your body will thank you.

SWOLVERINE is an endurance athlete and active lifestyle brand. Made for the elite athlete, and the strong-willed our products were designed to fuel your athletic performance. We perform when you perform. 

We believe that everyone can optimize not only their athletic performance but their human potential. The way we believe we can optimize performance is through transparency, clinically effective doses, and clinically proven ingredients with evidence-based outcomes. We provide the nutrients you need to power your active lifestyle.