Here Are The 3 Worst Eating Habits For Your Metabolism

Having a fast metabolism allows your body to process the calories you consume as rapidly as possible. But what happens when your metabolism turns sluggish? In that case, you may start to gain weight, and you'll probably want to know how to improve your situation (and your metabolism) quickly. Sometimes, the answer to revving up your metabolism lies in making a few changes to your eating habits.

Generally speaking, one's metabolism encompasses all the body's processes that work in tandem to turn food into energy. Every person's metabolism is unique based on factors such as age, gender, genetics, and even their medical history. For instance, the Mayo Clinic lists more than 10 inherited conditions that can affect metabolism, such as Hunter syndrome, porphyria, and Tay-Sachs disease.

In other words, you likely have a baseline metabolism that's faster or slower than others in your peer group. Yet regardless of how fast it is, you can end up making your metabolism work less effectively if you make certain lifestyle choices. That's why it's essential to learn three of the most prominent behaviors that can decrease the efficiency of your metabolism.

Dr. Chris Mohr, a fitness and nutrition advisor at Fortune Recommends Health, says that many people engage in three activities that hurt rather than help their metabolisms. And the first of those activities is skipping meals.

As Mohr explains, "It's easy to skip a meal when we're busy, but missing meals may lead to overeating later on due to increased hunger and less ability to make rational decisions." Fortunately, solving this metabolism-inhibiting problem is relatively easy. "I recommend maintaining regular meal times to help control hunger more effectively," says Mohr.

In addition to keeping up with a routine meal schedule that prioritizes eating, focusing on daytime eating (rather than delaying eating until the evening) could be an option, too. A 2021 experiment published in Current Biology tracked 12 adults, half of whom ate their meals between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. and half of whom ate the same amount between 12:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. The former group saw more weight loss and metabolism improvements over a period of eight weeks of following their schedule than the latter group did. Though small, this test seems to support Mohr's advice to divide food over waking hours to reduce the chance of overeating.

Are you eating all meals but still seeing little change in your metabolism? You may want to kick the habit of relying on ultraprocessed foods. 

In Dr. Chris Mohr's experience, the added sugar, sodium, and less healthy fats in ultraprocessed foods can lead to overeating. Mohr states that "overeating leads to excess calories, and [consuming] excess calories leads to weight gain and associated healthy co-morbidities, leading to energy crashes and a disrupted metabolism." A 2023 review from Food Research International on the effects of ultra-processed food on normal metabolisms supports Mohr's assertions. Researchers concluded that eating ultra-processed foods negatively affected the gut biome, which in turn caused metabolism to be thrown off-balance.

Not sure which foods in your pantry and fridge are ultraprocessed? A 2019 article in Public Health Nutrition names high-fructose corn syrup, additives, emulsifiers, sweeteners, and flavor enhancers as some of the ingredients typically found in ultraprocessed products.

The final metabolism misstep that Dr. Chris Mohr recommends avoiding: taking in too little protein and fiber, both of which help with fullness and fuel. Protein is particularly beneficial if you're attempting to speed up your metabolism. 

According to Healthline, when you consume protein, you force your body to expend extra energy to break it down. This positive "thermic effect" of protein has been documented and corroborated in recent studies. For example, a 2020 article in Journal of Obesity & Metabolic Syndrome discussed several trials that explored the metabolic value of eating high amounts of protein. Researchers observed a correlation between high-protein diets and weight maintenance over six months to one year, in part due to protein's predictable thermic effect.

To be sure, Mohr concedes that making sure all your meals have protein-rich and fiber-filled foods takes some upfront planning. But he's quick to share a doable way to increase your daily protein and fiber consumption with the goal of improving your metabolism. "Try to incorporate more whole foods like fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains into your diet," he says. "Staying hydrated is also key. If plain water isn't your favorite, try adding a slice of lemon, some berries, or cucumber to mix things up."