Blog
How to eat in winter to avoid gaining weight by spring: valuable advice
Some people believe that weight gain is inevitable during the cold season. We debunk this common stereotype and conduct an audit of your refrigerator.
The off-season is an extremely treacherous period. Cold and frosty weather, restless winds and snowstorms (although today there are more and more frequent torrential rains!) force us to escape depression with the help of sweets, fast food and other forbidden, but so tempting food.
Meanwhile, it is necessary to carefully monitor your diet so as not to notice a noticeable increase in weight by the first warming and not to realize the need to completely change your wardrobe. After all, spring is a wonderful time of year that should be met in excellent shape!
In our new review, we tell you what you should definitely have in your refrigerator and what products you should put aside until better times. We also analyze several common mistakes that lead to weight gain in the off-season.
The Treachery of the Off-Season
Some might say that the desire to eat something tasty and not particularly healthy is purely a matter of discipline. According to this point of view, if you seriously work on your willpower, you will not be drawn to either sweets or fatty foods. However, in reality, everything turns out to be much more complicated.
Contrary to popular belief, it is not only about self-education and self-flagellation. Scientists have found that the desire to "eat away" the bad weather outside is associated with seasonal affective disorder syndrome. In essence, this is autumn-winter depression. This is especially relevant for Russians. In winter, dawn comes quite late and it gets dark early. Everything is complicated by the grayness and low temperatures outside. It is quite difficult to remain an inveterate optimist in such conditions.
Our body reacts to the drop in temperature outside and to being inside in an interesting but quite logical way. Sweets and fast food bring joy to us and our taste buds. Therefore, such food is perceived as the only right decision.
However, there are some pitfalls here. In winter, human activity inevitably decreases, and the food we eat away our sadness is quite high in calories. In spring, it will be quite difficult to get rid of the gained kilograms and get back into good shape.
In addition, simple carbohydrates and trans fats are insidious and dangerous. They guarantee only instant satiety and cause blood sugar levels to fluctuate. As a result, your desire to eat something only becomes stronger, and real satiety does not occur.
You can save yourself. You just need to adjust your diet: include healthy foods and exclude those that are harmful to your figure and health.
How to eat right in the off-season
If you care about your health and are ready to make adjustments to your diet, then you should know a few important rules that will help you organize a balanced and healthy diet.
Don't skip breakfast
Doctors and nutritionists are unanimous: breakfast should never be skipped. In winter, metabolism slows down. To maintain it at the right level, you need to eat the right foods and not skip your morning meal. In winter, porridge is an ideal breakfast - complex carbohydrates will charge your body with energy and vigor for a long time. Experiment and cook porridge from different cereals.
Pay attention to soups
Even in summer, it is advisable to eat first courses. And in winter, it is simply a must! Soup is an ideal dish from a dietary point of view. Opt for chicken broth or vegetable soups. With the help of a blender, you can make delicious cream soups from typical winter vegetables. It will be very nutritious and tasty!
Eat more sea fish
Fish is an ideal product in all respects. If you regularly consume this product, your diet is enriched with polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids. They participate in all key processes occurring in the human body. In addition, fish is much easier for the stomach than meat. It is ideal for dietary nutrition.
Include seasonal root vegetables in your diet
Today, in the winter season, it is quite easy to find absolutely any fruits and vegetables on the shelves of supermarkets. However, the question of the usefulness of these fruits remains open. Try to buy more seasonal vegetables. These include, for example, everyone's favorite root vegetables. These are potatoes, beets and others.
Use spices
Spices have a powerful warming and invigorating effect. Isn't that what we need so much in the harsh off-season? Pay special attention to ground ginger, cloves, cinnamon, all types of pepper. By the way, they also speed up fat-burning processes in the body and start the metabolism. Extra pounds are not a threat to you!
Love nuts
Nuts contain a large number of antioxidants. Among them, the popular vitamin E should be especially noted. It strengthens the immune system, improves the condition of the skin, hair and nails, saturates the body with vitamins and minerals. Nuts are also a very nutritious product. This is an ideal winter snack. Just a small handful of nuts is enough to satisfy your hunger until the next full meal.
What should be removed from the refrigerator
There is a list of very specific products that you need to forget about for a while. Ideally, of course, you should completely exclude them from your diet and not eat them even in the warm season. However, in winter they pose a real danger to the figure and health of a modern person.
Check your refrigerator for these dangerous products and, without a twinge of conscience, eliminate them or give them to your neighbors. These are semi-finished products, pies, mayonnaise and other high-calorie sauces, sausages and hot dogs, fatty cheeses, confectionery and flour products, sweet carbonated drinks.
By the way, it is better not to choose fried potatoes and rice as a side dish. These products are extremely high in calories and do not bring any benefits. Give preference to steamed vegetables, pasta made from durum wheat, buckwheat, quinoa, wild rice.
Common mistakes
1. Not enough water
In winter, you don’t want to drink a lot of water, but you need to. The cold leads to dehydration. Dehydration has never been good for anyone. Force yourself to follow a proper drinking regimen and try to drink 1.5–2 liters of clean drinking water every day. If you have trouble with discipline, download a special mobile app that will remind you in time about the need to drink water.
2. Harmful snacks
There is probably no problem more serious than unhealthy snacks. These include chips, buns, puff pastries, chocolate bars and other joys of life that can be eaten on the go. They are the main cause of excess weight. Choose healthy snacks. These are nuts, muesli, natural yogurt, cottage cheese, fruits.
3. Endless tea parties
And here is a typical Russian feature. In the cold season, all our compatriots without exception develop a keen love for tea drinking. In a day, we can empty many cups of tea. As a rule, we add sugar, milk and other high-calorie products to tea. All this action is necessarily accompanied by something tasty. Stop it! This habit does not lead to anything good.
4. Love for fast food
Crazy queues at fast food shops cannot lie. Modern man is firmly hooked on fast food. Meanwhile, trans fats, which are abundant in such food, lead to obesity, digestive system disorders, and heart and vascular diseases. Choose healthy and proper food. If you love hamburgers and cheeseburgers so much, then cook them at home with your own hands. It is much healthier.
