The arrival of England’s Fall season means cooler temperatures and earlier sunsets, setting the stage for ‘winter weight gain’ – But it can be easily avoided with just a few subtle shifts to our diet & lifestyle.
Over a billion people across the globe live with obesity. It’s about to get worse.
If losing weight at this time of the year seems increasingly more difficult, it’s not your imagination. The phenomenon of winter weight gain is very real. However, there are various practical “life hacks” that personal trainers recommend for combating the effects of a more sedentary lifestyle as winter arrives.
What is Winter Weight Gain?
One significant factor in our battle against winter weight gain is the fact that many of us don’t treat fitness as a year-round responsibility. During Spring and Summer, we tend to ramp up the intensity of our workouts and we’re also much more selective about the foods in our diets — all to achieve that perfect “beach body” in time for summer.
Unfortunately, once the Fall season arrives, people start slipping. The discipline we had in the summer begins to wane, and we’re content blaming the shorter days and colder temperatures for our inability to get to the gym often enough. Making matters even more challenging is the fact that our body’s primal disposition is to increase fat intake to prepare for the perceived scarcity of food during the winter months.
If we don’t have a strategy, we risk devolving into a sedentary lifestyle where we consume more calories, leading to extra body fat storage.
Fortunately, a Canary Wharf personal trainer guided us through a series of subtle lifestyle changes that are wildly effective in fighting the factors that promote winter weight gain.
Turn Down the Thermostat
We’re for real! Turning the thermostat down in your living space can offer more than cost benefits; it’s also gaining popularity as a hack for burning more calories.
Here’s the science: our weight is primarily determined by our caloric intake. And our bodies are engineered to burn more calories in an effort to keep ourselves warm. So, does that mean that deliberately keeping our living environment colder can make our bodies work harder to stay warm? It certainly appears that way!
In fact, research shows that chillier temperatures stimulate our bodies to release hormones that cause specific fat cells to become more metabolically active. A process that increases our caloric burn rate. In one study, temperatures were successfully lowered to a point that stimulated metabolic activity to rival a 30-minute jog…just by turning down our thermostat and enduring the chillier temperatures!
Incredible!
Drinking Fewer Calories
Let me point out something vitally important - it’s really a simple factoid that a Canary Wharf personal trainer shared with me, but it drives home a crucial point:
Obesity in developed nations, such as the United States or the United Kingdom, isn’t driven by inactivity or a lack of exercise. It’s driven by increased caloric intake, especially beverages.
A third of U.K. adults underestimate the number of calories they consume, and beverages play a huge role. We don’t often consider adding what we drink to our daily calorie intake, but the beverages we’re drinking daily are having a significant impact on our girth.
For example, with the arrival of Fall, those warm, sweetened Pumpkin Spice Lattes can become very appealing. However, such beverages can also add as many as 500 calories to your daily intake - be warned!
That’s just one example. The truth is that calories in liquid form can become a massive liability if you’re not mindful of what you’re drinking. “Smoothies” promoted as healthy often have a very high calorie count, and don’t even get me started on how partying and alcohol can upend your weight loss strategies.
Gotta have it? Opt for small sizes, and, in terms of coffee drinks, ask for skim milk. The best bet is to opt for beverages that are lower in calories and especially low in added sugars.
Eat Smaller Portions | Portion Control Strategy
Managing how much we eat can be just as effective as choosing the right foods when it comes to our weight loss efforts. And deliberate portion control efforts can be highly effective in preventing incidents of overeating.
Whenever you’re eating at home, try preparing your food on plates and bowls, but make sure you use smaller ones. In doing so, you’re sure to consume fewer calories per meal. Simple, right?
Well, some tools can help you eliminate the guesswork that’s involved in losing weight using portion control measures, and they’re very useful. Items such as a bento box, smaller plates, and kitchen scales can be huge allies this Fall for people looking to maintain the progress they made toward their fitness goals over the summer.
Protein: Load Up!
Protein, one of the three macronutrients included in our diets, can serve as a powerful “life hack” for fighting the effects of winter weight gain. Like fiber, protein sources can naturally help us feel fuller because they stimulate the production of satiety hormones in our bodies.
To say it plainly, the more protein sources we include in our diets, the less hungry we’ll tend to be.
Protein also takes longer to digest, so it’s unlikely that you’ll be on the hunt for a snack after eating a protein-rich meal.
Here’s another awesome weight loss hack: make an effort to stock your home with snacks that are high in fiber and protein, rather than ultra-processed crackers and chips.
Great snacking options for fighting winter weight gain include:
Beef jerky
Peanuts
Cottage cheese
Yogurt
Hard-boiled eggs (Psst! You can now buy pre-hard-boiled eggs)
Conclusion
The average adult gains approximately one pound between November and January. Why? Well, the Fall and early winter season are often filled with cozy gatherings with family and friends, and comfort foods will undoubtedly be served in abundance. But these events will undoubtedly make managing weight more challenging.
Fortunately, with the above battle-tested weight loss hacks recommended by personal trainers, not only can you avoid gaining weight, some of these hacks can even help you lose weight despite the colder, darker days of winter.