why so slow

Interesting article on why sloths move so slowly.  It's an adaptation to having such terrible diets while living in trees where they're relatively safe.  They don't need to move fast, so they conserve energy by expending very little to keep muscles moving and active the way other mammals do.  Similar to being cold blooded, they depend on the environment being warm enough, so they don't have to burn energy keeping their muscles warm.

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20190828-why-do-sloths-move-so-slowly

Growth hormone is utilized in the metabolism of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates.  Even had an endocrinologist tell me that it should really be called the metabolic hormone, as that's even more of its function than growing is. Metabolism is the process through which the body generates its energy.

I'm not deficient in any of these nutrients, my system gets enough, but struggles to convert it into energy no matter how well I eat.  I'm often of the mindset that I need to conserve what I have, careful about every bit I need to spend.   Could be an adaptation of my own, learned over years of feeling depleted all the time.

For over a year now, I've been attempting to expend as much energy as I can instead, to train my body to produce more of it.  This is bound to have limited results given my condition, but makes much more sense than conserving it.  That's not how energy seems to work, given that I'm not literally a sloth.