If you are trying to lose weight and are seeing little or no results, you may have a low metabolism. A low metabolism may increase your risk of weight-related diseases such as obesity. According to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, run by the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention, over 63 percent of people living in the United States are either overweight or obese. at is almost two-thirds of the population. Know if you have a slow metabolism so you can find ways to decrease your risk of a serious health condition -- and finally see the weight come off.
Step 1
Fill out the questionnaire provided on the United States Department of Agriculture's website to find out how many calories your body needs. The questionnaire is an interactive tool that provides personalized information on how many calories your body needs per day. You need information such as your age, sex, weight and height.
Step 2
Choose your activity level. You must decide on four choices for activity level, which are sedentary, low active, active and very active. Don't forget the short bursts of exercise you may do such as short walks, gardening and yard work. Levels of "low activity" is any amount of exercise that is less than 30 minutes a day, while exercising 30 to 60 minutes is a day of exercise is "active." If you exercise more than 60 minutes a day, then you are "very active."
Step 3
Click the check box labeled "Daily Calorie Needs." You don't need to fill out the other information on the page, such as vitamins, minerals and other nutritional information. You can always go back and fill out that information at another time if you need more nutritional data.
Step 4
Write down how many calories your body needs from the answer given on the interactive tool. Plan your diet so that you consume the same amount of calories recommended for you.
Step 5
Take your weight weekly. If you are gaining weight, then you might have a low metabolism. However, gaining weight may not indication that you have a slow metabolism. You may have chosen an activity level that is higher than your actual activity level. For instance, you may have filled out "active" for your activity level, when you have a low active activity level.
Step 6
Revisit the interactive tool to modify your answers to the questionnaire. You only need to fill out the questionnaire again if you want to modify your answers. The updated answers will give you a better picture of your metabolism rate.
Things You'll Need
- Dietary reference intake tool
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