In the Covid-19 pandemic, we spend most of our time at home, often inactive, and often find ourselves in front of the refrigerator due to boredom. But beware! These wrong habits can cause annoying problems; such as slowing down your metabolic rate!

Malnutrition and insufficient physical activity may be the underlying cause of the slowdown of the metabolic rate, which is affected by many factors such as advancing age, genetic structure and hormonal problems. Therefore, if you are gaining weight or having difficulty losing weight despite dieting, your metabolic rate is the most important factor to consider!

Acıbadem Kozyatağı Hospital Nutrition and Diet Specialist Nur Ecem Baydı Ozman pointed out that the higher the proportion of muscle tissue in the body, the higher the metabolic rate, “On the contrary, as the ratio of fat mass increases due to inactivity and malnutrition and the ratio of muscle mass decreases in parallel, metabolic rate slows down. As a result, weight gain or difficulty in losing weight becomes inevitable. " says. So how can we accelerate our metabolism, which has slowed down due to our changing lifestyle and wrong eating habits in the pandemic? Nutrition and Diet Specialist Nur Ecem Baydı Ozman explained 8 tricks to accelerate metabolism and made important suggestions and warnings.

Protein is essential, and 2 times a day!

"What we call the thermal effect of proteins, the energy they spend while digesting in the body is higher than other food groups." Nur Ecem Baydı Ozman, Nutrition and Diet Expert, continues as follows: “When you consume protein, the calories you burn increase as well as the calories you consume. In addition, since proteins provide satiety for a long time, they should be included in your diet regularly. You should definitely choose foods in the protein group such as eggs, yogurt, meat products and pulses for breakfast and one of the other meals. However, as the protein-containing foods are generally very high in saturated fat, their excessive consumption can lead to cardiovascular diseases. For this reason, be careful not to exceed the ideal consumption amount.

Do not skip meals

Be you for the sake of losing weight, do not go hungry! Because when you are hungry, your metabolism slows down in order to keep up with this food shortage. Therefore, if you are hungry for a long time, your metabolic rate will slow down and it will be difficult to lose weight after a while. Nutrition and Diet Specialist Nur Ecem Baydı Ozman said, “Here we see the importance of eating less and more often. If you get your daily calories at 2-4 more meals instead of 6 meals, your metabolic rate will increase. " says.

Do not eat very low calorie diets

When you follow very low calorie diets, your body is deprived of the nutrients it needs to take at a minimum level, resulting in muscle loss. Muscle loss also results in a slowdown in metabolic rate. This may cause you to be unable to maintain your weight over time, or even to gain weight. How many calories you need per day is calculated according to your age, gender, height, weight and activity status. While dieting, you should not fall below 1200 calories per day and make sure that the calories are made up of the right food groups rather than counting calories. For this reason, it will be more correct to implement calorie restriction under the control of a nutritionist during the weight loss process.

Consume plenty of water!

According to some studies; Drinking 500 ml of water can increase the metabolic rate by up to 30 percent. By consuming 2-2.5 liters of water a day, you can increase your metabolic rate and reduce the risk of experiencing problems in your body that may arise from thirst.

Make sure to include exercise in your life

Exercise increases the basal metabolic rate, in other words, the energy used for vital functions of people while at rest. Therefore, you should definitely include 150-300 minutes of moderate intensity exercise in your life. You can practice any of the alternatives such as walking, swimming, and cycling.

Use iodized salt

Iodized salt can affect the metabolic rate indirectly, but not directly, in the long term. Iodine is an essential nutrient for the synthesis of thyroid hormones. In our country, due to insufficient iodine in water and soil, hypothyroid disease can develop due to insufficient iodine we get from food. "The metabolic rate slows down in this disease" warning Nur Ecem Baydı Ozman says: “Therefore, make sure that the salts you buy are fortified with iodine. If you store salt in dark colored containers that cannot see light, you will prevent the loss of iodine in its content. "

Caffeine speeds up, but…

Caffeine, found in foods and beverages such as tea, coffee and chocolate, also helps increase metabolic rate. However, it is useful to consume caffeine-containing products without exaggeration, as they can also have negative effects such as diuretic effects, palpitations and insomnia. Scientific authorities report that it would be harmless for a healthy adult to consume up to 400 mg of caffeine daily. About a glass of black tea contains 50 mg of caffeine and 100 mg of caffeine in coffee. Another point you should pay attention to is to drink an extra glass of water with each beverage containing caffeine.

For green tea

There are studies showing that green tea helps reduce body fat mass. Nur Ecem Baydı Ozman stated that this effect is not very significant and miraculous and said, “Green tea can create a meaningful effect when combined with other positive factors such as physical activity, adequate protein and energy intake. You can consume green tea by staying within safe caffeine limits daily. "About 1 cup of green tea contains 30-50 mg of caffeine."

Don't think of spices as miracles

There are studies showing that the substance called capsaicin in red pepper can speed up the metabolism slightly. Nutrition and Diet Specialist Nur Ecem Baydı Ozman emphasized that the practices such as consuming chili yoghurt and adding plenty of bitterness to meals do not significantly accelerate the metabolic rate and said, “In addition, consuming too much bitterness can have negative effects on intestinal health in the long term. At this point, taking into account the balance of profit and loss, you should use spices in moderation, aim to benefit from the mineral content and flavor, consider it as a fat burner or metabolism accelerator, and not exaggerate. says.

Two healthy and delicious recipes from the expert:

Green tea smoothie

Preparation: You brew green tea in 1 cup and cool it; Blend together with 1 tea glass of kefir, 1 small banana, 2 balls of walnuts and 1 teaspoon of grated coconut. You can choose this smoothie, which is both filling and keeping your metabolism active, for your afternoon snack.

A protein start to the day: Green oatmeal oatmeal

Preparation: You can mix 1 egg, additionally 1 egg white, 2 tablespoons of curd cheese, 2 tablespoons of oatmeal, dill or parsley, a little chili, salt and any other spices you like and make an omelette in a low-fat pan. This omelet allows you to start your day with a fast metabolism and to meet all the nutrients you need to take practically in one go.