Contrary to popular belief, your metabolism doesn't slow the day you turn 30, and it's not super speedy for no reason in your 20s. Here are things you're doing that are increasing (or decreasing) your metabolism.
Decreases Your Metabolism:
-Sitting: The less you move, the fewer calories your body needs. The result of a couch potato lifestyle is a slowing metabolism.
-Dieting: Cutting your calories slows your body down and makes it hold on to fat. Essentially your body treats crash dieting like a famine and reacts for survival. A smarter solution: trim only 250-300 calories a day.
-Aging: Your metabolism does fall about 1% per decade, so that means every year you need 10 fewer calories a day to maintain your weight.
Increases Your Metabolism:
-Protein: This helps build muscle, and the more muscle you have, the faster your metabolism. Try to get 20 to 25% of your calories from protein.
-Snacking: Your metabolism gets a small spike every time you eat because you've given it something to do. This is why eating 4 or 5 small meals a day is better than having 2 large meals.
-Cardio: Exercise that gets your heart pumping boosts your metabolism while you're doing it and it makes you burn more calories in the hours after you work out.
-Resistance Training: This builds muscles, which burn calories even when you're resting. Every pound of muscle you gain, you burn 50 extra calories a day.