5 Tips To Reduce Weight Gain In Winter

The winter season can be dark and cold, but it is also extremely enjoyable and as a result it is filled with pitfalls that can impact your health and fitness goals. Try and implement some of these tips into your lifestyle to help you overcome them and get through the winter as unscathed as possible.

1. EXERCISE SELF CONTROL

We’ll start with the most obvious one and just like the rest of the year, do not go crazy with your excess calories. It may be cold and there may be a lot of festive celebrations but that doesn’t mean that you need to let loose, well not completely anyway. Of course, you should enjoy yourself and eat and drink what you want but try and balance it out or you’ll pay for it in the new year.

2. STAY ACTIVE

Even if you go to the gym less or don’t venture outside a lot besides work and commitments, try and find things to stay active. Whether it’s a quick home work out, a local walk or run or taking a dog for a walk; make the most of your time as active = more calories burned and a faster metabolism.

3. COOK YOUR OWN MEALS

You should only be consuming fresh food and making all of your own meals from scratch. That way you can monitor what is put into it. The main idea here is to consume high quality nutrition and avoid unhealthy takeaway meals. You can eat out occasionally of course but save it for the odd cheat meal or special occasions.

4. AVOID SUGAR AND SALT

Food and drink are one of the main culprits of weight gain during the winter. Those, along with our desire to stay warm and lack of activity can culminate in its success to ruin all of our hard work the rest of the year. Where possible, restrict or remove all salt and sugar from your diet and that will go a long way to minimising your weight gain.

5. AVOID STRESS

The winter season can be a stressful time and cortisol and other stress hormones are known to increase the consumption of foods high in fat and sugar. High stress levels can lead to weight gain, around the middle in particular with visceral adipose tissue, so it’s very important to avoid stress wherever possible and try to enjoy yourself!