There are different theories about winter weight gain. However, not everyone is so fat that they get fat in winter. There are people who lose weight in winter and gain weight in the warmer months. As you can see, it is a personal and very individual thing.
Coming back to winter weight gain. There are opinions that man, just like an animal, prepares for winter. Genetics is supposed to influence this process.
Less traffic
Weighting in winter may result from the fact that then most often we significantly limit our physical activity. It’s cold so we try to move from one place to another as quickly as possible. Hence, we rely more on motor vehicles or public transport and traffic is out of the question. Less exercise and the same size of meals is the first point to start gaining weight. When we spend less energy, we should also supply less energy to the body.
Worse mood
The autumn and winter season is the time when we feel weaker, more often tired and more depressed. We are exposed to the sun for a shorter time. The days are shortened. We then look for something to improve our mood. It often happens that the mood improves when we eat something sweet. The so-called happiness hormones. They temporarily improve our mood and we feel a little better. Sweets are products that contain a fairly large dose of energy. When we improve this mood every day, we can gain quite a lot of additional energy. We won’t use it because we don’t move much. So it will turn into spare body fat for the worse times. It makes us start to gain weight.
Less vitamin D.
There are also reports that in winter we gain weight because we deliver less vitamin D, which would have an impact on reducing fat storage. As you know, vitamin is mainly due to the sun’s rays, although some of its amounts are found in fish and fish products, e.g. mackerel, salmon, eel.
Therefore, it is worth trying to spend at least several minutes a day in the air when the sun is shining, to activate vitamin D in our body, and at the same time improve your mood.
More fat in the menu
There are also more and more observations that in winter we do not eat more, but rather we will replace products qualitatively. In winter, we tend to eat foods high in fat. In spring and summer, however, we are more likely to eat carbohydrate-based meals. Fat products contain more energy, and so: 1 g of fat has 9 kcal, and 1 g of carbohydrate has 4 kcal. By eating foods richer in fat in winter, we can provide up to half more calories than in summer, when we eat mainly carbohydrates. However, it all depends on how large portions of meals you will eat.
It is worth taking a closer look at your menu and comparing it with the meals you ate in the summer. You will surely notice the differences. So a lot of sunshine and variety in meals. You should also try to move a little, if not in the open air, at least in the comfort of your home on a treadmill or elliptical. As long as you do not give up your activity completely in winter. Until spring, Mrs. Marlen.
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