Are We Hungrier During Cold Weather?

Everything changes and shifts with seasons, heart rate, our mood, and our overall sense of well-being. It's a fact that you will tend to eat more in the wintertime. Scientists from the University of Massachusetts with a cardiologist Ira Ockene at the head of the research have found that we still have the primitive impulses from long time ago, and that gaining weight during wintertime happens because our ancestors were driven to stock on the food for the winter ahead. It's a simple biology, bodies go into “eat as much as you can while there's enough light outside“ overdrive.

Another widely accepted explanation is that the human body functions best at optimum temperature of 37° Celsius (98.6° F). The surrounding temperature in the winter is much lower than that, so the body gets cold. The blood has to provide nutrients and heat to our bodies. What happens when we eat is that all the nutrients go to the bloodstream and provide energy. Food breaks up into smaller particles, and smaller nutrients release energy.

Winter tends to freeze and slow everything down. As the days become shorter, most of the people go to bed earlier and often full. It's completely fine, animals do it too, it's not something that we should fight off. It's part of the life cycle. As the sun starts appearing less and less, we shut down because we're very sensitive to light. There's a reason the Sun is called the source of life. Don't feel bad for munching, understand that it's a part of life and the earthly cycles. It's time to restore. But we have to compensate for it by being more active earlier in the day and later, when the winter ends.

READ What To Do About The Wintertime Blues

There are no light salads around, so we subconsciously think of them as of summer food. Studies have shown that the average person gains around two pounds every winter (little less than a kilo) and overweight people a lot more. If a person doesn't do anything about it when the winter ends, the weight stays on, and more and more piles on in the future. Majority of people 50 years and older were 30 to 35 pounds (13 to 15 kilograms) lighter in their 20s. In the following part of the article, you can find out what to do to keep the weight off, but it's mostly the common sense, going out, exercising, making your mind engaged in other things, and not indulging in carbohydrates too much.

How To Avoid Gaining Weight In The Wintertime

We already explained that winter weight gains happen because of our biology, and the correlation between being cold and our bodies thinking they're deprived of nutrients when in this state, so the key to keep the weight off is too fool our bodies. The best way to do it is to increase the blood flow. Winter in a nutshell means minimal activity — sitting at home doing nothing. Doing anything that will increase the blood flow, like winter sports or a simple brisk walk around the neighborhood will do the trick.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

Around 6% of USA population suffers from a type of depression that is caused by lack of sunlight. It happens at the time of year when days become shorter, but often goes away in the spring. This disorder decreases levels of serotonin, a chemical known as “happiness hormone”, responsible for mood regulations.

A good way to increase serotonin levels is by exercising. Working out and sweating also decrease levels of the stress and anxiety causing hormone called cortisol. Also, make sure you get your daily dose of light, even though it's not warm, it's still a sunlight and going out still has benefits.

Importance Of Physical Activity

Winter brings holidays to many cultures and parts of the world. We tend to indulge in all the wonderful flavors and it's normal to put on some weight. It's great to gather the family and to share stories by the fire, it makes us all warm and cheery. Carbohydrate rich foods like sugar and starches provide the instant high and warm feelings. Even though it feels nice, don't indulge in carbs because they're energy and you don't have enough time or activity to burn them.

Turn to high protein meals like chicken, fish, eggs and whole-wheat products, because they tend to keep us full longer. In order to keep the weight off, exercise or just walk around. Do house chores, anything that will keep you physically active. This will make the blood vessels carry the blood to all parts of the body and keep it warm.

Another reason we gain weight in the wintertime is because we don't drink enough water. Hunger is often just a side-effect of being thirsty. When the body is thirsty, it tries to squeeze water out of food. Make sure you drink plenty of water. You may not need as much as you should be drinking in summers, but don't go lower than two liters a day.

READ Top 10 Winter Foods

Seek Comfort In Other Places Than Kitchen

If you crave that warm feeling the food offers, there are other ways to achieve it. Hug people around you, pick up a blanket and cuddle with your loved ones. Hugging also releases serotonin, and you've learned about its benefits earlier in the text. Playing with pets is another great way to forget about food and increase serotonin levels.