A lot of people just have to look at food and they will gain weight. Unless its a medical problem, this easy weight gain could be attributed to a sluggish metabolism. This could be caused by prolonged dieting in the absence of exercise. A sluggish metabolism is like a blocked gas stove. No matter how much you increase the gas flow, the fire just does not increase in intensity.

Do you recognize the symptoms of a sluggish metabolism? Here are 6 symptoms. Can you identify yourself with any of these?

1  Gaining Weight Even When Cutting Down on Food – If your weight continues to increase or is absolutely stagnant even if you are constantly on a diet, your metabolism could have been compromised. Consistent dieting puts the body in starvation mode. When in starvation mode, the metabolism starts a decline. In extreme cases, one’s metabolism could slow down to snail’s pace.

2  Feeling the Chills - This is a classic symptom of a sluggish metabolism. When the metabolism is sluggish, the body cannot produce enough heat to keep itself warm. As a result, one starts to feel the chills at the slightest drop of temperature. The tiny hairs all over the body start to stand erect. One should look out and compare against those of the same gender and body size. If you are feeling cold more often and more easily than people with the same physique, you could most likely be having a very sluggish metabolism.

3  Sluggish Sex Drive - A sluggish metabolism usually results in an equally sluggish sex drive. The person becomes cold and frigid. This goes back to the body’s survival system. One’s body has a sluggish metabolism because it thinks that it is starving. It could be falsely made to think like this because of dieting. When starving, the body does not want to participate in pro-creation activities. The body fears that the unborn child will not be able to survive in an environment which lacks food. Your body does not know that you are intentionally starving it and that food is available in abundance should the female become pregnant. The sex drive is thus compromised. We have a pre-historic survival system trying to function in an ultra-modern world.

4  Drooping Shoulders – Drooping shoulders are usually attributed to prolonged dieting. The shoulders seemed to have lost considerable amounts of muscle which results in the droop. Since metabolism correlates with the amount of muscles one carries, drooping shoulders can be a very good indication of a sluggish metabolism. Ask a friend or your spouse to assess whether your shoulders droop by comparing you against others. You could also assess this by looking at a picture of yourself and comparing your shoulders to someone who you think has a well defined body. A well defined body can only be achieved by having well toned muscles. As such men and women with well defined bodies more often than not, usually have high metabolic rates.

5  Hunched Posture – A hunched posture could be correlated with a sluggish metabolism. Very often, one has a hunched posture because of the loss of considerable muscles on the upper back region. These muscles help to keep the body erect. A loss of the upper back muscles is a dire indication of a sluggish metabolism. This is because the back muscles are the last group of muscles to be broken down by the body. When this happens, the amount of muscles left in the other parts of the body are probably minimal. Have a look at a side profile of yourself. Do you have the beginnings of a hunch?

6 Protruding Belly – This again is the body’s “starvation mode” programming coming into play. When your metabolic rate becomes sluggish, it is most probably due to reduced calorie consumption. When in starvation mode, your body will fight tooth and nail to hold on to the fat reserves in the belly, thighs and buttocks. This is the last bastion for fat storage and the body will use this very judiciously. This internal programming has helped our ancestors battle famine. In modern times, this survival programming has resulted in very frustrated men and women who cannot seem to get rid of the fat in these areas.