How to Avoid Winter Weight Gain
Everyone knows the feeling. It’s the first day of spring and you’ve just spent all winter hibernating, ignoring your alarm and warming up with comfort foods (helllloooo toast!). Now the weather’s warming up and the reality of bikini weather is creeping closer, you realise you’re going to have to work really hard to get into shape before the long summer sets in, so you decide to spend the next 30 days on a green juice cleanse, training every day and burying your head in fitness magazines, rather than ‘winter warmer’ cook books.Five days of awesome motivation pass by and then, oops, it’s the weekend and warm weather means cocktail parties! Sigh… how you wish you hadn’t gained a few extra kilos over the winter now, so you could enjoy the spring party season...Don’t let this be your reality this year gals – embrace an active winter that doesn’t end with an extra 3-5 kilos. But hhoowwww?? You ask! Here are our top tips for keeping the scales on an even keel this winter:
Food selection
Opt for a pantry of ‘smart’ carbohydrates, by choosing whole grains where possible; brown rice, dark ‘seedy’ breads, quinoa and so on. Cold winter mornings and nights can leave you craving carbs, often due to falling levels of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that affects happiness and is lower during the winter season.
Go Shopping
The right clothes will make training outdoors a much more pleasant experience throughout Winter, and you can still look great! One word: layer! A simple pair of tights down below is good, but up top the necessities are: a wicking, long-sleeved base layer (try Icebreaker), an insulating second layer (something fleecy) and a wind/water-proof outer layer (go for a zip up).
Diarise Your Workouts
It’s completely OK to set the bar a little lower in winter but make sure you stay consistent by locking in a minimum number of workouts each week. Mark them in your diary/calendar/phone and tick them off as they come up. Make sure you treat these workouts as if they are non-negotiable meetings.
Grab a Training Buddy
Training with a friend can determine whether success or failure is the outcome when it comes to your fitness goals. You are more inclined to stick to a long-term fitness plan with a partner, unless you are a highly self-motivated person. Making a commitment to a friend to meet up for a training session means you are less likely to cancel, as you won’t want to let them down!
Create A Seasonal Timetable
Struggling to get up early for training in the winter? Then don’t! Change things up by working out in your lunch break instead and soak up some much needed winter sunshine. Getting a little sunlight each day will not only boost Vitamin D, it will make the winter seem a lot less severe. Vitamin D is essential for healthy bones, but it can also affect weight loss. According to new research when your vitamin-D levels drop so does your ability to keep your weight in check, even when you limit calories.
Have A Backup Plan In Place
There will be some winter mornings when you wake up and it’s colder than usual, raining, super dark and just generally unpleasant. Don’t let these days disrupt your training, have a ready-to-go backup plan in place! Rip out the workouts from your favourite fitness magazines and have them in a pile, ready to pick up and use at the drop of a hat, or save zuzkalight.com to your favourites and pull up her home workout of the day.
Set A Winter Training Goal, or make a “Fitness Commitment”
There’s nothing like a looming fitness event or challenge to get you focused and motivated –particularly if you’ve made the commitment with a group of friends! Our online programs are a good option.