Do you get hungrier when the weather gets cold?

vivmom2014

I second the suggestion earlier to eat soups, and lots of them. They are really filling - and obviously warming.

Also hot drinks w/ no calories, coffee & tea = great in cold weather.

lemurcat12

I also crave different and heartier foods (I'm in Chicago too), but have found it's possible to respond to that with foods that aren't actually higher in calories -- like others have said stews, seasonal vegetables, pasta with meat sauce (and I include lots of vegetables), roasted chicken or turkey, etc.

I guess I'm lucky as I was always someone who was cold all the time even when I was at my most overweight. I think that's actually less an issue now, as I tend to move more just naturally. I reserve the right to change my mind in January when stumbling through a foot of new snow when it's zero out and windy on my way to the L. ;-)

brenn24179

I miss my garden vegetables in the winter, so I say like the others soup and lots of coffee!

stealthq

vivmom2014 wrote: »

I second the suggestion earlier to eat soups, and lots of them. They are really filling - and obviously warming.

Also hot drinks w/ no calories, coffee & tea = great in cold weather.

Yep. And hot porridges (oatmeal, polenta/grits, cream of wheat, congee)

cwolfman13

Domicinator wrote: »

Well, it's definitely autumn in the Chicago area. Leaves are turning, temps are dropping, etc. This is my first cold weather season in probably 20 years where I have not had a lot of extra blubber on my body, and therefore I am constantly cold. I have stopped riding my bike because the cold is making me miserable, and I'm even having trouble getting motivated to get outside and walk. As someone who always ran hot in the past (due to all the extra weight, I'm sure) I am not used to this. It's not even close to being as cold as it's GOING go get in a couple more months, and I'm dreading it.

But even worse, I'm noticing that my appetite has gotten crazy. I not only constantly want to eat, but I constantly want to eat junk food. (White Castle, potato chips, fried stuff, etc.) These are things I have not eaten in MONTHS, but now with the cold weather coming in, I think my body is trying to convince me to pack on some weight to stay warm. I also think part of it is that this kind of weather makes me want to snuggle up in the house, and just doing that makes me think of food for some reason.

Does anyone else have this issue? How do you fight the urge to overeat in cold weather? This is all completely foreign to me. I'm not used to being constantly cold, and I never realized how much overeating I did in the cold months.

It's likely not physical hunger but more of a psychological thing. Winter is a perfect storm for this kind of stuff...days are shorter and colder...I'm much less likely to be generally active in the winter even if I'm still getting some of my exercise in. In the winter I'm much more likely to be sitting on the couch watching a movie with my kids an enjoying a fire vs summer when I'm much more likely to have hitched up the bike trailers and ridden the 24 mile round trip to the zoo plus all of the walking.

If I"m just hibernating at home, I'm going to tend to reach for food...not because hungry, but because I'm not doing anything else...in the summer and warmer months, sometimes I actually have to pause to eat.

I think there's also a greater craving for comfort foods in the winter months...for some people, these things can be pretty "junky"...for me, I really learned to appreciate a nice homemade soup or stew which keeps the calories down a bit while providing me with that comfort while I sit by the fire while in the past, this usually meant copious amounts of pizza or wings or something.

Still, it's not unusual for me to put on 5-10 Lbs over winter...I try to get out as much as I can, but my cycling definitely drops off...I spend more time in the weight room for sure, but my cardio gets cut in 1/2 or more. My biggest downfall during these months is the fact that I love good craft winter beers...I could sit around the fire all day just drinking winter brews if I let myself.

missjones513

I get lazier and end up skipping workouts. I eat more because of all the football and TV shows I watch in the fall.

Pawsforme

Yes, I get a LOT hungrier in the winter. I'm not sure if it's because it's colder or if it's due to the longer nights/less sunlight. Or it's possible that what I feel in the winter is my normal appetite -- I know the summer heat and humidity kill my desire to eat.

GrannyCrayCray

When it's cold, and the daylight hours are shorter.... I could and frequently do eat EVERYTHING & ANYTHING! Coffee / Hot Tea consumption is through the roof, and so are potty breaks at work & interruption to sleep during the night. Add some rain or snow to the mix, and I'm hibernating like a (very mean Grizzly) bear. In my very biased opinion, basically Thanksgiving and Christmas are the only highlights to the months Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar.

GIMME Sunshine! Warmth! Fresh Fruit & Veggies! Or, a house on the beach in a tropical climate

Linzon

We got our first snowfall today and all I want to do is sleep for the rest of the winter. Winter is definitely a struggle for me but I'm determined not to let it get the best of me this year. Some great tips in this thread - good luck to us!

krithsai

Soups are my savior. I also try and cook spicier foods in general to warm me up. I treat myself to homemade hot chocolate made with good quality unsweetened cocoa once a week or so.

kshama2001

I discovered spicy cocoa last winter:



http://shop.equalexchange.coop/chocolate/cocoa/organic-spicy-hot-cocoa-mix-12oz.html

brightsideofpink

cwolfman13 wrote: »

Winter is a perfect storm for this kind of stuff...days are shorter and colder...I'm much less likely to be generally active in the winter even if I'm still getting some of my exercise in. In the winter I'm much more likely to be sitting on the couch watching a movie with my kids an enjoying a fire vs summer when I'm much more likely to have hitched up the bike trailers and ridden the 24 mile round trip to the zoo plus all of the walking.

If I"m just hibernating at home, I'm going to tend to reach for food...not because hungry, but because I'm not doing anything else...in the summer and warmer months, sometimes I actually have to pause to eat.

THIS. I am a snacker and often eat out of boredom. During the summer I'm so busy and easily get distracted. In the winter, I allow myself too much couch/free time.

Kimegatron

I'm actually worried about this Winter... I will be practically inactive, I am a boredom snacker, and with losing 32 pounds, I am also feeling the chill in my bones already. Maybe I will switch to .5/week during the winter and hope for the best

Kalikel

I don't get hungrier, but when the temp drops really low, which here is like 32-45F (at night) and not really comparable to the Chicagoland area, I do tend to want to make a stew. It just seems more appropriate to eat hot, filling foods when it is cold outside. That might be a mental thing, though.

I hibernate through summer. Winter is when I'm like, "Yay! I can go outside!" so I'm just now ending my bad weather.

Domicinator

So I've upped my goal to 1/2 lb a week--for my height/weight that translates to about 1900 calories a day. I've been doing that for the last 3 or 4 days, and suddenly this morning, I whooshed down 2 lbs. after an almost 3 week period of losing nothing.

I am still finding that when it's colder outside, I crave hot, fatty foods like burgers, hot dogs, pizza, etc. I'm sure that it's a psychological thing, but I feel like it also could be my body's defense mechanism for the cold. I was obese for probably the last 17 years and now I just don't have all that blubber keeping me warm anymore.

I have found that both times I've upped my calorie goal, my weight has whooshed down within days. I started at 1500, then upped it to 1700, then upped it to 1900. I hope I can stay at 1900 for this last 10 lbs. I want to lose and then go into maintenance after that.