Metabolism plays a significant role in the body. It mainly helps process the food and drinks you consume to generate the energy you need for your daily activities. It also affects how much you eat and drink as well as your weight. This is why a slow metabolism is a major concern for many people, especially those trying to lose belly fat. A slower process to burn food makes it more difficult to shed some weight. Your body composition and muscle mass are some of the major factors affecting your metabolic rate. "Those with smaller body frames, who are shorter and may have difficulty holding on to muscle mass, tend to have lower metabolisms," Elizabeth Lowden, a bariatric endocrinologist at the Northwestern Medicine Metabolic Health and Surgical Weight Loss Center at Delnor Hospital, told Popsugar. It can be difficult to speed up metabolism. But there are ways that experts said can help you lose some weight, including your belly fat, despiting having a slow metabolism. Losing Fat With Slow Metabolism Build Some Muscles Lowden said having lean muscle mass can help increase basal metabolic rate. It encourages the body to burn more calories at rest. "Higher levels of muscle mass can also increase the number of calories you burn during activities and exercise," she said. Do More Cardio As you try to gain more muscle, add cardio exercise to your routine. The activities that could cause the heart to pump faster can help lose belly fat, according to Holly Lofton, director of the Medical Weight Management Program at NYU Langone Health. "Huffing and puffing, exerting yourself to the point where it's difficult to hold a conversation, but still possible… that's the level of intensity you want to get to,” she said. "The body loses fat efficiently by doing intense physical activity." Eat Healthy Fats and Protein Another way to improve your slow metabolism is adding good amounts of fats and protein to your diet. The body spend longer time digesting healthy fats and protein, which requires more energy than other food, according to Dori Arad, director of the Mount Sinai PhysioLab. Protein also helps build muscle. Good sources of this nutrient include fish, skinless chicken and turkey, beans and lentils. You can get healthy fats from almonds, walnuts, salmon, trout, avocados and olive oil. Reduce Calorie Intake While adding healthy protein and fats to you diet, try to cut your consumption of food high in calories. Lofton said a slight caloric deficit, or cutting up to 250 calories a day, could help improve metabolism and reduce belly fat. Source
