Metabolism Boosters

there is nothing that will boost metabolism pill or supplement wise. if you are having sluggish workouts either you arent eating enough or something is wrong,especially if its happening more and more.your metabolism hasnt slowed down unless you have been crash dieting or eating VLCD for some time.exercise and putting on muscle can boost metabolism a bit,but thats about it.how do you know your digestion is slow? if you are having issues digesting food. see a dr. could you be pregnant? that could explain the tiredness and the weight in the abdomen.

I don't think a person can actually feel their metabolism slow down, that simply is not how it works. Legally, there are no metabolism boosters. It sounds more like you need to consider what you are eating and why it is seemingly so slow to digest. You may need more fiber or fat or both. I am curious how you know how long it is taking for the food to pass? Is it just feeling, or do you have actual evidence your digestion is slow. If dietary changes don't help, you may want to see a doctor to eliminate possible medical causes. Even staying away from caffeine, if you like coffee, on in the morning may help speed things along, and it shouldn't cause sleep issues since the caffeine will be out of your system by evening.

Don't confuse the rate at which food makes it through your digestive system with metabolism. The trip through the digestive system is a physical process rather than chemical. People worry about their metabolism a lot, but it is rare for people to have anything but a normal metabolism. Sluggish workouts are more commonly caused by lack of rest than by what is going on with the food in your digestive system. The exception would be if you work out for over and hour and start to feel sluggish. That could be caused by a lack of available carbs.

actually there are doctor prescribed meds that DO boost your metabolism, but normally they don't prescribe them unless you have your heart checked and are morbidly obese. If you're wanting to try to boost your metabolism, look at foods that are great for your thyroid. Ones that help it do its job more effeciently. Also look at ones that aren't great for it. Compare that to what you've been eating. Sometimes, and I hate to say this, but if you haven't pooped enough, that can make you sluggish and heavy feeling in your tummy. You may also feel that way as you near your period.

JeanieWww wrote: »

actually there are doctor prescribed meds that DO boost your metabolism, but normally they don't prescribe them unless you have your heart checked and are morbidly obese.

What meds are these? There are only a handful of drugs I know that actually work and in most cases a doctor wouldn't prescribe them if they were just obese.
Are we talking amphetamines or hormonals like Cytomel or T3,T4?

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Forget the medications to speed up your metabolism. Exercise, even moderate, is the best thing. Some Yoga or meditation to get your head together and then.....try getting together with good friends. No drinking or drugs, just talking. A good mental attitude goes a long way to having a good outlook on life and feeling like getting out of bed in the morning!!
I am going to be 70 next year. Older than dirt? Maybe, but I have a good mental attitude. Keep busy, have fun, laugh a lot, love a whole bunch!

BlackPantherChick123 wrote: »

I tend to eat under 30 grams of fat but my average is 20 grams during week days but I don't count them on the weekends. The enzymes I'm taking are RainbowLight Advance Enzyme System. They seem to help me.

There is probably a good chance that is the problem. Fats support hormone health. So going very low fat, you risk a deficiency (since you need a specific amount of linoleic and alpha-linolenic fatty acids). You need 11g of these, and it unlikely to get all of them when only eating 20 to 30g. I would personally bump up fats to 50 or 60g in replace of carbs to see if that changes.

Also, what are your current stats?

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Up your fat to 50-60g/day, drop other macros if you have to. Stop taking the RainbowLight Advance Enzyme System unless you have a specific reason to be taking it. Drink more water, and consider working out fasted. When I was overweight I had the same issues, I thought my digestion was 3 times slower than other people's and that's why I was fat. Nope, it was lack of exercise and a sedentary lifestyle. It seems you've fixed the sedentary part with the treadmill so that's good but you're not getting enough fat, your hormones are going to be out of whack.

Post your stats and people can recommend a good macro split for you that should be more healthy. But otherwise I suggest:

1) Up your fat intake. It's too low.
2) Track fiber instead of sugar in your diary (if you have not done so already). Try to get the daily recommended amount, even the default recommendation from MFP is fine.
3) Drink lots of water each day to help the fiber do it's thing. You should be drinking up to a gallon a day, minimum of a half gallon depending on your overall size.
4) If you don't need the enzyme stuff, don't take it. It could be causing part of your problem. Products like that are good short term to help with digestion but long term they can sometimes cause the opposite effect.

If that doesn't work after a few weeks, consult a doctor for possible IBS symtoms or Crohn's testing. I'd say though, natural fixes like enough fiber, enough water, and enough fat to support healthy hormone levels would work at your age. You're young, you need your hormones working correctly. Just my opinion.

Low fat is great because it also means low calorie, but if you are a shorter/smaller person (IE: Not tall, not saying anything bad about it) your caloric requirements are lower than taller people so too many low fat food items just to keep the volume of food high and the calories low can cause you not to get enough fat in your diet.

Working out fasted, for me, keeps me from being sluggish. Even if I wait several hours after eating for the day before working out it makes me peter out faster during my workouts. If, however, I work out before I eat for the day I have much more energy. I eat afterward.

Just my .02, I'm no expert and freely admit that.