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Is a slow metabolism keeping you from losing weight? Here’s how you can finally overcome your weight loss challenges and look and feel your best while building lean muscle mass.
Anyone who’s ever tried to lose weight knows you have to consume fewer calories than your body uses, but how much does your metabolism affect your weight loss or ability to maintain your current weight?
Sheila K Rohe, MSN, CRNP, FNP-C, at Bloom Health NP in Frederick, Maryland, offers the following tips for understanding your metabolism’s role in managing your weight.
What is metabolism?
Metabolism is the body’s process of converting what you eat and drink into energy. Your body takes the calories in the food and drinks you consume, combines them with oxygen, and releases energy so your body can function.
Your body uses energy to breathe, circulate blood, repair cells, and adjust hormone levels, so it requires energy even when you’re not physically active. The number of calories you need to carry out these basic functions is called your basal metabolic rate.
Can a slow metabolism lead to weight gain?
You’ve probably heard people blame their weight gain on a slow metabolism, but weight gain rarely comes from a medical problem. Cushing’s syndrome and underactive thyroid glands can contribute to excessive weight gain, but most weight gain is a complex combination of your genetic makeup, diet, hormones, stress level, and lifestyle, such as how much sleep or physical activity you get.
Losing weight requires that you burn more calories than you consume. You need to create an energy deficit in your body by eating fewer calories and increasing the number of calories you burn through physical activity or a combination of the two.
Long-term dieters may find their metabolism slows in response to weight loss by decreasing the number of calories they need to keep their heart, lungs, and other critical body systems operating. As your body adapts to fewer calories, it may be harder to lose weight, but exercise and B12 lipotropic injections can counteract the effects.
Increase metabolism with exercise
Some people have an easier time losing weight than others, but you can improve your metabolism and weight loss by increasing exercise. When you build lean muscle mass, your body requires more energy to maintain it, which means it burns more calories even when resting.
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a great choice; it uses short periods of rigorous exercise to build muscle and burn fat.
Increase metabolism with B12 lipotropic injections
Lipotropic injections typically include vitamin B12, choline, methionine, and inositol. The injections increase your metabolism and energy and improve insulin function. You’ll notice increased energy levels immediately after the injection, helping you power through your workouts and stay motivated to reach your fitness goals. Fat loss results are usually noticeable about 30 days later.
How Bloom Health NP can help
Losing weight can be difficult, but we can help, even if nothing you’ve tried before seems to work. Our team customizes an individualized treatment plan for your needs.
We provide nutritional counseling, personalized diet and exercise plans to help you reach your goals, weight loss medication, and B12 lipotropic injections to help your body burn fat, boost metabolism, and increase energy. Your first B12 injection is complimentary during your initial appointment.
We also provide IV vitamin therapy to ensure you get the nutritional supplements needed to support healthy weight loss and lean muscle mass.
If you’re struggling to lose weight or stay at a healthy weight, supervised medical weight loss at Bloom Health NP may be an option for you. Call the office or schedule an appointment online today.