What a Slow Metabolism Really Means for Weight Loss

Fat Loss

Nov 26

When weight loss progress stalls, it’s easy to blame your metabolism. And while “slow metabolism” has become a buzzword, there’s truth behind it: genetics, muscle mass, daily movement, and even sleep all affect how many calories your body burns. Some people do burn fewer calories naturally.

A slow metabolism means your body burns fewer calories at rest and through daily activity, but it doesn’t make fat loss impossible

Why Some People Naturally Burn Fewer Calories

Genetics, muscle mass, and daily movement patterns all play a huge role in how active our metabolism is. Our sleep habits even change how many calories we burn in a day. The way these factors are expressed in two people of roughly the same size and age lead to different daily energy expenditures, sometimes by hundreds of calories.

So, yeah, it might be true that your metabolism is slower than that of your friend or that fitness influencer you follow. However, having a “slow” metabolism isn’t a death sentence for your goals. Fat loss is still possible, and there are actions you can take to help your body burn more overall calories.

So first off, acknowledge the frustration that you may feel for not hitting the genetic lottery. Those feelings are valid. Take a minute….

Now despite those feelings, let’s get to work with four strategies that can actually help us increase our total daily energy expenditure (i.e., metabolism).

4 Evidence-Based Ways to Support Your Metabolism

1 - Build Muscle Mass Through Strength Training

Muscle is metabolically active tissue, which means the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn just by being alive. This is why strength training is one of the most powerful tools for increasing our metabolic output. Each pound of muscle added raises our baseline calorie burn, and consistent lifting paired with adequate protein keeps that muscle around long-term, leading to thousands and thousands of more calories burned over the years.

I understand that the idea of starting weight training can be an intimidating topic by itself. There is so much information online and trying to digest and sift through it all can feel overwhelming, so here are two pieces of practical advice to help you get started:

Allow yourself to not be good at lifting right away. It’s fine if you don’t know the difference between a barbell or a dumbbell, or if your squat isn’t below parallel yet. We all start somewhere. Having an open mind to getting better matters.
Follow a program. There are so many options out there and honestly, most of them are good! Lifting isn’t dangerous. Search around a little bit, find a program that matches your goals, then start lifting.

Lift consistently for a long time. You’ll build muscle and increase your metabolism.

2 - Move More Throughout the Day (aka boost NEAT)

Not all calorie burn comes from workouts. In fact, non-exercise activity thermogenesis (otherwise known as NEAT, or all the movement you do outside of planned exercise) often accounts for the majority of our daily energy expenditure from movement (meaning yes, NEAT burns more calories than exercise for most people).

Examples of NEAT are things like:

Walking the dog
Taking the stairs
Pacing during phone calls
Standing instead of sitting

One of the simplest ways to boost NEAT is to track your steps. Figure out what your rough daily average step count is, and then set a goal to increase that step count. For example: if you normally hit 6,000 steps per day, aim for 8,000. That bump alone can add up to hundreds of extra calories burned each week.

3 - Prioritize Quality Sleep

Good sleep (both quality and quantity) is one of the most effective levers you can pull when it comes to metabolism.

Poor sleep leads to low energy, impacts motivation and desire to exercise or move in any way, changes hormones that regulate our appetite, and makes it harder to maintain muscle mass. These shifts lead to burning fewer calories and craving more food, all while feeling crappy and tired. Not a fun combo.

Juxtapose those outcomes with how it feels to consistently sleep 7–9 hours: good steady energy, a regulated appetite with better hunger cues, healthy hormone levels that support recovery and muscle building, more mental acuity, and to top it off you’ll probably be nicer because you won’t be so tired.

Good sleep has a cascading effect that makes everything else you do for your health more effective.

4 - Stop Dieting All the Time

This is a topic of conversation many of my clients don’t expect: often the best way to support our metabolism is to stop chasing fat loss.

Chronic dieting — always trying to eat less and lose weight — backfires. Over time, our bodies adapt to low energy intake by:

Reducing their resting metabolic rate (RMR)
Lowering NEAT (we move less without realizing it)
Altering hunger and satiety hormones
Conserving energy at every level possible

This is our body’s survival system at work. It’s not broken, it’s just protecting us.

The solution? Spend intentional time eating at maintenance calories. Instead of always trying to eat less, give your body enough energy to:

Support muscle growth
Increase daily movement and NEAT naturally
Improve sleep, recovery, and energy levels

While it seems counterintuitive, by fueling our bodies properly instead of keeping it in constant diet mode, we set ourselves up for more fat loss in the long run.

The Bottom Line: A Slow Metabolism Isn’t the End of Progress

Some people do naturally burn fewer calories than others. That’s a hard truth. However, A “slow” metabolism is not a reason you can’t reach your health, body composition, and fitness goals. There are things you CAN DO in order to increase your metabolism - lift weights and build muscle, take more steps throughout the day and increase NEAT, improve your sleep, and stop trying to constantly diet all of the time. Implement these four habits consistently for a long period of time, and you WILL increase your metabolism.

METABOLISM FAQ

Q: What is metabolic adaptation?
A: Metabolic adaptation is your body’s natural response to eating less over time. When calories stay low for too long, your body conserves energy by burning fewer calories at rest and during movement. It’s a survival mechanism (not a failure!!) which is why taking intentional breaks from dieting can help restore balance and make future fat loss easier. Learn more about metabolic adaptation.

Q: Why do some people burn more calories than others?
A: Muscle mass, genetics, age, and daily movement all influence how many calories your body burns. For a deeper dive beyond this article, want to read Metabolism Explained: What It Is and How It Works.

Q: What does NEAT mean and why does it matter?
A: NEAT stands for non-exercise activity thermogenesis: all the movement you do outside of workouts, like walking, standing, fidgeting, or taking the stairs. It’s one of the biggest (and most overlooked) contributors to your daily calorie burn, and small increases in NEAT can make a big difference in your metabolism and long-term progress.

We believe that the best way to achieve your fat loss goals is by working with a coach who creates a strategy specific to you — your needs, your preferences, your goals, and your lifestyle. Together we build long-term nutrition habits that support you for life. Find out more about our personalized approach.