Is “winter appetite” in our heads or is it a real thing? As we get all wrapped up in welcoming December and the holiday season, we can’t ignore the cooler weather, shorter days, and the familiar feeling of an increase in what and how much we are hungry for. If you feel like you eat differently in winter, you are not alone, and what you are feeling is very real! Winter + all of its wonderfulness can trigger biological changes in our bodies that really do increase cravings for higher calorie foods. Not to mention, the stress that comes along with the holiday extravaganza we go through from October through January. So, for the first Tuesday Tips of December lets figure out why we eat more in winter + what we can do about it!
Tara’s Tuesday Tips:
Why We Eat More In Winter & What We Can Do About It
I must admit, winter is not my favorite season. For all my winter loving friends, I am so sorry, but I am not a fan of the cold! Not even a little bit, not a fan! My warm gloves + running tights will be staples for me over the next few months. For some of you reading this, your winter staples will come in the form of warming, hearty foods. I hear you … a big hot bowl of soup on a cold day, count me in. No matter if you love or hate winter, one thing we can all agree on is that our cravings for carb-rich foods, heavier foods, and sugary desserts all go up during this wonderful winter season. But why?
Why Does This Happen Every Year?
The science of why …
One theory is that our bodies sense the cold, and go into self-preservation mode. We then stock ourselves full of carbs, sugar, and fat to use if we run out of fuel during the long winter months. Tapping into our ancestry, this theory supports our natural instinct to “fatten” up to survive the extreme cold of the long winter season. Given that our modern day accommodations provide temperature control + abundantly filled grocery stores, I don’t buy into the whole survival mode as much as some of the other theories. But stocking up for hibernation sure does sound fun.
Blaming it on the weather for a moment, colder temperatures outside drop our internal body temperatures during the winter months. We then look for a way to feel warm + comforted. Our bodies are smart and know we are comforted and warmed by the richer, warmer, heavier foods, and foods that raise our blood sugar. Our bodies need to work harder to keep us warmer + therefore we expend more energy warming up. You guessed it, expend more energy = feel more hungry. There you have it, the reason we want to eat higher calorie, creamy soups, chocolate desserts, macaroni and cheese … comforting and warm and filling indeed.
Going with the most science-based of all, the reason we eat more in winter can be blamed on a disorder called SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). This disorder can be thanked for many of our winter cravings. As we have less exposure to sunlight + thereby lower vitamin D and serotonin levels, we get the blues. To raise up serotonin levels, a natural reaction is to eat heavy, creamy, sugary, fatty foods.
Why else?
In addition to the sciency-nutrition stuff, it is important to recognize that sometimes we simply eat more in winter because of availability and opportunity. Here in sunny Florida it isn’t as much of a problem, but for many of you, the mindless snacking hours of your evening get longer with less daylight. This gives you more down time in the evening to hit the snack drawer.
Availability is another huge factor. The sheer access and availability of winter/holiday foods can be one of the biggest reasons we eat more in winter. Holiday cookies in every meeting room, cute little, red-ribboned irresistible boxes of chocolates in all of the stores. Also, I have officially lost count of the number of you that have told me recently that you can’t stop eating those over-stuffed Reese’s peanut butter trees drenched in chocolate making you feel like it’s the holidays in one little orange wrapper. We eat more of them because they are simply there. It has been normalized that in the month of December these foods are an acceptable and available part of life. Come January, we tell ourselves it is over and magically, it is! Those orange wrapped peanut buttery trees are no where to be found.
What Can We Do About It?
Ok, so now we know why we eat more in winter. What can we do about it? If you know me at all, you know that I am a fixer. Give me a problem, I will work to find a solution. Process improvement is my superpower. Anyway, can we do anything about this? So glad you asked. Here are my top tips:
Stay Hydrated
- If you can’t drink water because you are cold or simply not thirsty, try tea or soup or another hot drink you love. Dehydration can be thanked for a whole host of problems including hunger, headaches, fatigue, constipation, and kidney stones.
Eat Citrus
- Nature’s gift to us during winter … citrus! A good mood food! Eat lots. Fiber + vitamins + polyphenols + antioxidants!
- Read this: The Vegetarian’s Guide To Mood Boosting Foods
Search for Sunlight
- Just 5 minutes per day can make all the difference in Vitamin D levels. Low vitamin D can be to blame for fatigue, depression, apathy, and cravings.
Learn to Understand Calorie Density
- I love this topic. My Tuesday Tips wish for you is to understand the concept of calorie density. If you are a regular around here, you are tired of hearing me say this! I am telling you it is a key to your health + weight maintenance! Fill your bowl with fiber + color + watch your problems melt away 😀
- Read this: Calorie Density 101: How to Lose Weight Eating More Food
Give In to Cravings
- No, that is not a typo. Try the healthy swap first if that makes you feel better. But, labeling a food as “bad” or “off limits” will only make you want it more. Take the morality out of food, the stress of worrying about it is far worse for you than giving in to an occasional craving. The longer you avoid eating the cute orange wrapped peanut butter tree, the higher the chance is that you will eat the whole bag instead of enjoying just one.
Increase Stress = Increase Hunger
- Yes, you do crave sugar when you are stressed. More stress leads to higher cortisol levels, therefore eating sugar makes you feel calm initially but it causes a cycle of highs and lows. Eat mindfully is the best advice I can give here. If this is an issue for you, really pay attention to being mindful + purposeful with your food choices.
- Read this: The Vegetarian’s Guide To Mindful Snacking
Move
- Yes, I had to put it on the list. Eat, move, repeat. The more you move, the more you crave nutritious foods. Adding a little extra movement into your day every day also helps you get off the blood sugar roller coaster! Can’t get outdoors, go up and down the stairs indoors, jump, dance, clean, whatever makes you move!
- Read this: Eat, Move, Live, Repeat
Eat!
- I know, it sounds counterproductive, but hear me out! If you allow yourself to eat your regular meals + snacks, a wonderful thing happens … you are satisfied + you won’t eat the entire cookie tray in the break room! Don’t save your calories, it never has the outcome you want!
Get Help
- SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) is a real disorder. If you think you are suffering with this, depression, or anxiety, get help! Mental health services are more widely available than ever before making it easier, cheaper, and more accessible. Vegetarian or not, health is both physical + mental! Especially in winter + around the holidays, this can be a real problem for any one of us.
Food For Thought
Keep in mind, in winter, our brains + bodies tell us that it is cold outside and perhaps a few extra layers of clothes are necessary. Also necessary might be the double hot chocolate with extra whip cream when the time is right. I am all for enjoying good food in the company of good people no matter what the season is. However, in the winter months, just be extra mindful of your habits. Sunlight, movement, mindfulness, hydration, and healthy outlets for stress are all extra important but equally as difficult this time of year. Heed my warning now before you are knee deep in empty peanut butter tree wrappers!
Happy December, fam! Hope you find something you love about winter as much as I love donning my winter running tights ❄️
⭐Did you learn why we eat more during winter? Have more to add? Leave a comment below!
📸I love to see your creations! Follow me on Instagram @myvegetarianfamily and hashtag it #myvegetarianfamily
📩Be sure to subscribe here to my weekly emails for tips + recipes so that you never miss a veggie thing!
