Our metabolisms play a vital role in our ability to loose weight, as it refers to the body’s process of breaking down and utilising the nutrients from food.

“Dieting” and eating a low amount of calories can slow down your metabolism and prevent it from functioning optimally. Whilst resistance training and eating an adequate amount of protein can be beneficial for preserving muscle during a weight loss phase, which may benefit metabolism function.

Here are some tips to ensure you’re supporting healthy functioning of your metabolism:

1. Ensure you’re eating enough – your metabolism adjusts to the about of food you eat. So if you eat too little, your metabolism may slow down, making it harder for you to loose weight, even on a low calorie diet.
2. Eat regularly – eating regularly helps to maintain metabolic balance
3. Strength training – muscle is more metabolically active than fat, meaning than building muscle can help to increase your metabolism and your body will burn more calories, even at rest.
4. Look after your gut health – the gut plays a vital role in metabolising food, poor gut health can create a less than optimal metabolic environment.
5. Get enough sleep – when you don’t get enough sleep, the body releases a hormone called Ghrelin which creates feelings of hunger within the body. Getting enough sleep helps to balance Ghrelin. 
6. Stay hydrated – water helps our metabolism to function optimally. One study from 2013, found that drinking 500mL of water increases a resting metabolism by 30% for about 1 hour.

– Elisa Mullen (Personal Trainer & Nutritionist)