How to slow down metabolism (metabolism)?

For most, this may sound strange, but for many there is such a problem as slowing down the body's metabolism without harm to health. Superficial knowledge of metabolism can sometimes be dangerous. Today, the Internet is full of many articles written by incompetent authors who, using superficial knowledge, distort the basic concepts of metabolism, turning useful knowledge into potential harm to everyone who reads it. This list includes various mono-diets that are positioned as effective means for losing weight.

Naturally, such articles did not appear out of nowhere. Based on data in sports magazines, the myth has arisen that metabolic rate affects body weight, and that lowering metabolic rate can help you gain weight and gain muscle mass. This is fundamentally the wrong approach to business. Let's consider in more detail when, to whom and why it is necessary to slow down the metabolism. And is it necessary at all.

Editor's note: The article about artificially slowing down the metabolism is written for informational purposes only. We do not recommend that you slow down your metabolism on your own for any purpose. The Metabolic Rate Lowering Principles are presented solely to educate you about the dangers that await you on your way to a perfect and functional body!

Is it worth it?

It is much easier to slow down metabolic processes in the body than to restore them later. If your goal is weight gain (without any priority), you should understand that artificially slowing down metabolic processes is always stress.

• Firstly, the body will tend to get out of the state of stress, which can lead to excessive metabolism afterwards.
• Secondly, it is resource optimization, and if you reduce the rate of metabolic processes, then you automatically turn into a sedentary and sluggish vegetable.

Consider the consequences of artificial slowing down of metabolic processes.

Short term consequences

In the short term you will find:

1. Decreased brain activity.
2. Increased production of growth hormone. This is a side effect. The body tries to maintain a balance of strength due to hyperplasia even with reduced energy consumption, so that, while maintaining overall strength, it can find sufficient sources for food in the future.
3. Decreased physical vigor.
4. Constant sleepiness.
5. Fat gain.
6. Constant irritability.
7. Change in daily cycles.
8. Decrease in power indicators.
9. Decreased stamina.
10. Initial changes in the internal organs, which later transform into numerous chronic diseases.

All this is due to the fact that in most cases a slowdown in metabolism occurs with a change in the catabolic-anabolic background, the body itself is destroyed, believing that it needs to optimize resources before prolonged hunger or other stress (source - Textbook "Biological Chemistry", Severin).

Long term consequences

Long-term consequences associated with an artificial slowdown of metabolic processes can cause very unexpected consequences:

• Violation of the synthesis of hormones.
• Change in hormonal levels with an emphasis on estrogen.
• A persistent increase in adipose tissue leading to extreme obesity.
• Stomach ulcer.
• Change in the ratio of enzymes in the stomach.
• Change in blood insulin levels.
• Destruction of brain cells.
• Destruction of the glycogen depot.
• Fatty degeneration of the liver.
• Atherosclerosis.
• Coronary heart disease.
• Arterial hypertension.

And there are many other side effects. As a result, the body will still strive for balance, which will lead to jumps in the rate of metabolism and finally undermine the health of the athlete.

Principles and reasons

Naturally, the metabolism can be artificially accelerated. In this case, the principles of its slowing down lie on the return of the body to a state of balance, i.e. rollback to a previous lifestyle.

If you began to play sports and the depletion of the body began, then it is enough to reduce the intensity, which will again slow down the metabolism in the body, and change the balance between catabolism and anabolism.

But all the same, there are painful signs of an over-accelerated metabolism that require medication and medical intervention. You can understand that your metabolism is out of the norm towards an unintended acceleration by the following factors:

• Constant hunger. Especially if you eat regularly and a lot.
• Excessive release of heat energy (elevated temperature).
• Increased physical activity, accompanied by insomnia.
• High blood pressure, tachycardia.
• Limb tremor.
• Constant weight loss.
• Quick onset of fatigue due to skipping meals.
• Little sleep during the day.
• Changed daily cycles (three sleeps per day, 1-2 hours each, instead of 1 to 8 hours).
• Emotional instability, leading, eventually, to nervous exhaustion and subsequent diseases of the central nervous system.

The presence of these signs indicates a metabolic disorder, in which it is best to consult a doctor.

In turn, with a slow metabolism, it is also not recommended to take measures on your own, since this can be an indicator of the following number of diseases and conditions (source - Textbook “Human Physiology”, Pokrovsky):

• Hypothyroidism;
• Lack of growth hormone.
• Adrenal pathology.
• Disturbance in the hypothalamus-pituitary gland.
• Hypogonadism.

When trying to interfere with the rate of metabolic processes, it should be remembered that artificial slowing down of metabolism is a direct path to obesity, diabetes and heart disease!

Natural decrease in metabolic rate

Unfortunately, for many, a slow metabolism is not a blessing at all, but a punishment. So, after thirty, a natural decrease in the metabolic rate begins, which does not stop until death. All of this reduces energy and the amount of food consumed. And among the athletes there are people with a very low metabolic rate. However, in order to keep in shape, they need to follow the regime much stricter. Usually they still accelerate their own metabolism to create the necessary shape, and then return it to equilibrium.

The only plus that they have due to the low metabolic rate is the ability to maintain the acquired shape without any special consequences. Those. with the right diet and daily routine, they can afford to stay dry all year round.

For especially persistent

For especially persistent readers who came to find out what to do to slow down metabolism and gain weight, and they are not particularly confused by the consequences, consider how and how you can slow down the basic metabolism.

To slow down your metabolism you need:

1. Determine your current metabolic rate.
2. Get ahead of the main factors affecting speed.
3. Change your diet.
4. Reduce motor and mental activities.
5. Get rid of artificial adrenaline stimulants (caffeine, etc.)
6. To sleep more.
7. Less often there is.

Well, or a life hack from the studio. Beer and sour cream. Beer, in the form of yeast structures enriched with fast carbohydrates, stimulates the growth of insulin. And sour cream will allow you to penetrate directly into the fat depot, practically not being metabolized into intermediate types of glucose. And slow down your metabolism and undermine your health - everything that is necessary for gaining weight in the shortest possible time by any means.

Calculation of metabolic rate

Note: the formulas given in this section are presented for information purposes and do not in any way affect the real metabolic rate of a person.

The metabolic rate is determined by many factors, ranging from the natural need for movement, mental stress, natural daily routine, etc. In order to calculate the calorie consumption and, based on this, calculate your real metabolic rate, you can read the article presented on our portal about creating a calorie deficit by increasing the natural load.

Otherwise, many people use the formula for calculating basal metabolism. It is also not perfect, does not take into account the presence of glycogen stores and body fat. But for people who are not involved in sports, you can use it, albeit with great caution.

For men

Baseline index (66) + (13.7 * body weight) + (5 * height) - (6.8 * age). So, for example, based on these calculations, a man weighing 73 kilograms, up to 25 years old and up to 185 centimeters tall, consumes about 1650 kilocalories for basic needs. This figure is greatly overestimated, since such a man has about 15-17% of adipose tissue, which does not consume energy. Accordingly, its real consumption is 1142 (source - "Wikipedia").

For women

The formula is the same, only the numbers and coefficients are different. Basic index (665) + (9.6 * body weight) + (1.8 * height) - (4.7 * age). We look at a girl of a similar build and age. The basic requirement is only 150 kcal lower than that of a man. And if you remove the body fat factor, the results are almost identical. 1106 versus 1142 kcal.

And from this we can draw the following conclusion. The formula is not accurate, does not take into account many factors, and most importantly, it is meaningless, since, despite the different coefficients and basic indices, the difference in the results for men and women is measured by 100-150 kcal. This means that the second formula, like the base indices, was created exclusively in the form of a marketing ploy.

You can check the results of the formula using the table. The table is based on net weight, excluding body fat.

What foods can really seriously slow down the metabolism. There are two main ways to do this.

The first is to use products that make the insulin factor jump. In this case, the decrease in metabolic rate will be more painful and accompanied by greater side effects.

For this you need to use:

• A lot of fatty and sweet at the same time.
• Disregard proteins.
• Eat food with a long break in time.

As a result, the feeling of hunger within 15 minutes after eating, and then, due to the deficiency that has arisen, the body will independently begin to slow down its metabolism, and accumulate everything received in the fat layer.

Option two is less painful. Here you have to get confused, both with calorie content and with nutrient composition. If your goal is to reduce metabolism as much as possible in order to reduce catabolic processes (for example, after a course of anabolic steroids), then you will have to change your diet as follows:

1. Create a sustainable 30% calorie deficit. From this threshold, the body begins to react and reduce metabolic processes in speed.
2. There are the most complex carbohydrates. Only whole grains that are high in fiber.
3. Eat large amounts of omega 3 and omega 9 saturated fatty acids at a separate time from carbohydrate intake. Breaking down fatty acids is a laborious process that will take your body for a long time.
4. Eliminate all fast and complex proteins from your diet. Only cottage cheese and casein-containing ones. Soy is possible.

As you can see, foods that slow down your metabolism have nothing to do with weight gain. And usually they are used both for drying and for accelerating metabolism. Only the combination of serving and the number of meals changes.

The list of tablets to slow down the metabolism includes:

• Drugs that reduce the acidity of the stomach. This is a category of antiulcer drugs, in view of a decrease in acidity - metabolic processes, in particular, splitting, are slower.
• Preparations containing a large amount of estrogenic stimulants. Ordinary female hormones, which can be purchased without a prescription at any pharmacy. An overabundance of estrogen will cause the body to store energy in case of an unexpected hunger strike and pregnancy.

Fun fact: this will happen regardless of whether you are a man or a woman. An excess of estrogen in any case will lead to weight gain, since the body, with such a change in hormonal levels, will not understand its causes.

• Drugs that affect the secretion of insulin in the body.

Recommendations

The main recommendation is that in no case slow down your metabolism if you do not have specific pronounced diseases. In this case, contact your doctor who will prescribe a specific course of treatment. If you just want to gain weight faster, but at the same time think that your metabolism is overclocked, then you are in an advantageous position in relation to most athletes.

With a fast metabolism, an increased positive caloric balance can be created, which will be more quickly deposited into glycogen. This means that in order to gain muscle meat and total weight, you will have to:

• Increase the amount of proteins and carbohydrates in proportion to the costs (by about 30-40% of the current calorie content).
• Use a fast metabolism as your ally, replenishing the body with food 5-7 times a day (in large portions).
• Train intensely but briefly. So, you will increase protein synthesis in the body, and at the same time you will not spend much glycogen.

As practice shows, it is from ectomorphs that the largest and most powerful athletes of our time are obtained.

True, sometimes for weight gain, you need to change the hormonal background (for which AAS is most often used, but natural stimulants can also be dispensed with). For example, even Schwarzenegger was very thin and had a fast metabolism. This allowed him, at the peak of his career, to have a minimum supply of adipose tissue in the offseason, and to have one of the most outstanding reliefs, with an extremely thin stomach.

Outcome

The editors once again warn you that an artificial decrease in the metabolic rate will not lead to anything good. In the short term, you will only reduce the energy consumption of your own body, you will face reduced energy, drowsiness, and poor health. Your immunity will definitely worsen, since the speed of the body's response to harmful factors will decrease significantly.

But the worst thing is that in the long term, a slowdown in metabolism leads to one single consequence - obesity and disability... Therefore, if you go in for sports, and for some reason decide that your metabolism is too high for gaining muscle mass, then you are simply malnourished in calories. Believe me, with a fast metabolism, gaining a lot of weight is much easier than getting rid of body fat with a slow one.

Watch the video: How to slow down your metabolism. What I eat (January 2025).