Tips To Avoid Gaining Weight This Winter

Holidays are coming up and it can be difficult to avoid gaining weight. Here are a few tips to help you avoid gaining weight this winter and keep it off.

To avoid gaining weight, we must first understand why it is so easy to gain weight in winter.

Why we gain weight in winter

Increased Metabolism

We require more food in the winter because the body demands extra energy to stabilize our body temperature and stay warm. This leads to increased metabolism.

If it is possible for you, stay in a controlled, warm temperature, and your body will not require this extra food.

The tendency to reach for comfort foods

Going back to metabolism, the body is generating heat to help heat us up, we may naturally crave comforting, warm, and dense foods.

The cooler air, along with shorter days, also triggers behaviors in the body that encourage fat storage, couple this with warm dense foods, and it is easy to gain weight.

Less Likely to make it the Gym

Shorter daylight and colder weather give us more excuses for not going outside for a run or hitting the Gym.

We feel less motivated to go out and exercise and many of us would rather binge-watch our favorite series or reach for the warm comfort foods.

Now that we know why we gain weight in winter here is a list of foods to avoid followed by alternatives to reach for;

 

Photo by @chadknight

Too much Meat

Meat is harder for the body to digest; the body must work harder to break it down.

The hard work the body must go through will deplete your energy, leaving you dull and lethargic.

If you enjoy your mum’s meat stew recipe have some, be mindful to eat this no more than two or three evenings a week.

Whenever possible, opt for fish instead of meat, fish is easily digestible with very high nutritional values and leaves the least amount of imprint on you.

Fish is one of the earlier forms of life in evolution and has, therefore, has a less complicated system making it easy to break down and assimilate into the human system.

Candy

The holidays in winter means candy will be everywhere! It’s okay to indulge in moderation. Keep in mind, however, that most of the candy will be sugary with milk, and too much of this can lead to weight gain.

Instead of the gummy or chewy candies, reach for hard candy instead.

It takes longer to consume a piece of hard candy so that you will have much less.

Alternatively, go for dark chocolate; it is 70 % cocoa, has more antioxidants, less sugar, and cream.

Wheat, White flour and Refined sugars

Candy usually goes hand in hand with the holiday cookies, cupcakes, lattes, and cappuccinos.

Switch the cookies or baked treats from the middle of the day snack to the end of a healthy balanced meal, this will ensure that you will have fewer of them.

Alternatively, instead of a cappuccino or latte, opt for tea or almond milk.

Finger millet and Pearl millet are a great alternative to wheat products.

Melted Cheese

It’s easy to forget that cheese is a diary. A common topping to casseroles and vegetables and comfort food, especially over in the winter!

As comforting as cheese can be, it is still dairy. Only children have the necessary enzymes to break down the dairy entirely.

In adults, the undigested diary forms mucus and leaves you feeling lethargic.

Do your best to skip the cheese.

Helpful tips

Warm water with Lime

It can be challenging to crave raw vegetables in the winter.

Personally, the last thing I want to eat on a cold evening is a bowl of lettuce.

Despite the difficulty, It is still important to keep raw vegetables in your diet to keep up your energy levels.

Drinking a cup of warm water before eating your bowl of raw salad can help you become more accepting of it.

Warm veggies with cold salads

Add warm vegetables such as steamed kale, spinach, or broccoli on top of a cold salad if you are having a hard time eating salads.

Soups

Soups filled with lots of vegetables and potatoes are a great way to feel warm and stay healthy this winter.

Following these simple tips will help you avoid gaining weight over the holidays get you through the winter.

How are you avoiding the winter weight gain? Let me know in the comment section.

Cheers!