The modern American lifestyle, which embraces poor diets and sedentary lifestyles, makes it hard to maintain a healthy metabolism. Metabolic health refers to your body’s ability to convert food nutrients to a usable form of energy.
Entrepreneurs are particularly vulnerable to this problem due to the extraordinary demands of their businesses. Because their life is so busy, they tend to have a poor diet and lifestyle that lead to metabolic dysfunction or inability to make energy properly. And when your energy levels are low, it may affect your physical and mental performance during work.
Caffeine and sugar can temporarily compensate for poor metabolic health and help you get through the day. However, the long-term consequences may include insulin resistance, a condition that negatively affects your energy, mood, and longevity. To prevent diabetes and other chronic diseases, here are five ways to improve metabolic health.
1. Eat more protein
When you eat food, it can temporarily increase your metabolism for a few hours. This occurrence is due to the thermic effect of food (TEF), or the energy it takes for your body to digest, absorb, and metabolize the food you eat.
Compared to carbs (5-10%) and fat (0-3%), dietary protein requires the most energy for metabolism, with 20-30%. Ultimately, not only does eating protein boost your metabolism, but it also helps prevent overeating by providing you with a great sense of fullness. So, make sure to put some lean meat, poultry, and eggs in your meals.
2. Drink more water
From aiding digestion to weight loss, drinking water has several benefits — even more so when you avoid sugary drinks. Sugary beverages, such as soda, coffee, and energy drinks, all contain calories. When you replace such beverages with water, it automatically reduces your calorie intake.
Moreover, drinking plenty of water can boost your metabolism (non-active period) by up to 25% for over forty minutes. If you want to keep your metabolism at peak performance, especially at work, don’t forget to drink water at least every hour.
3. Don’t skip meals
No matter how busy you get in managing your business, you should never skip meals (especially not breakfast). You may presume that skipping meals is a quick way to lose weight but cutting too many calories convinces your body that you’re running out of food, prompting it to create fat stores to conserve energy.
Eating breakfast improves your metabolism in the morning and keeps you energized throughout the day, which is something you need to perform at your best. It will also help prevent you from craving highly caloric foods later in the day.
4. Stand up more
Sitting too much can be associated with a sedentary lifestyle, leading to several adverse effects on your health. Sitting down for too long, especially during meetings, can result in weight gain because you burn fewer calories. While high-intensity workouts and weight lifting are ideal, standing up more often can be an excellent alternative exercise that won’t take too much time from your busy schedule. So, make sure to stand up during breaks and do a little stretching. Or try going for walks to promote some physical activity.
5. Get enough sleep
Getting adequate sleep plays a crucial role in your metabolic health. Sleep deprivation can throw your entire metabolic system out of balance by disrupting your body’s glucose regulation. When you don’t get a full night’s rest, it makes it more difficult for your body to metabolize glucose, leading to weight gain. Sleep also impacts your hormone levels, particularly cortisol — a hormone that regulates appetite. In other words, a single night of sleep deprivation increases your cortisol level, causing you to crave food during the evening.
Conclusion
As entrepreneurs, having optimal metabolic health is essential to get the energy you need to last throughout the day. While your morning coffee or sugary snacks in the afternoon may give you a temporary source of energy when you feel tired, those are only suboptimal solutions. If you want to succeed in your business, don’t sacrifice your metabolic health to compensate for your busy schedule. Because at the end of the day, your business will only go as far as your health takes you.
