Revealed: The Solution to Winter Weight Gain
How to win the battle of the bulge
If you’ve packed on some pounds this winter, you’re in good company.
Did you know that people tend to gain five to seven pounds over the winter months?
You might find you’re also feeling hungry all the time, less energetic, and overall… blah.
There’s a good explanation… and it has nothing to do with the holiday get-togethers and endless Christmas cookies you (likely) binged on through November and December.
Instead, it’s the season itself… winter.
When the days get shorter, the decline in natural light triggers hormones in your body to prepare for difficult days ahead.
A boost in hormones, like ghrelin, makes you hungrier (to beef up for winter) and more lethargic (so you burn fewer calories).
It also makes you more likely to reach for starchy, calorie-dense foods.
This hormonal reaction could have been the difference between life and death for our hunter/gatherer ancestors who had to survive long, hard winters.
So, you’re not necessarily battling your willpower… you’re battling mother nature in the form of powerful hormones.
What can you do to overcome your body’s self-preservation mechanisms?
Spend more time outside!
It’s the lack of sunlight that spurs these hormonal changes, so getting more bright light in the morning and throughout the day can make a big difference.
For example, getting more morning sunlight helps set your circadian rhythm, shifting the time for sleep earlier.
Doing so will help you eat LESS in the evenings.
Even indoor lighting makes a difference. One study found that people who ate in dim light consumed 39 percent more calories, while eating in bright light led to better food choices.
Make no mistake. You’re not controlling these types of decisions… your hormones are.
The best thing you can do to take back control of your weight is to take back control of your hormones.
In addition to getting more sunlight throughout the day, exercise (outdoors if possible), and spend more time in nature, where you’ll be exposed to charged atoms that help heal your cells and combat stress.
