Is being hungrier in the winter a real thing?
GemstoneofHeart
Posts: 865 Member
I always feel like I’ve heard the old adage that we are hungrier in the fall and winter because our ancestors needed to pack on the pounds when food was scarce.
Is this real? I have been so hungry lately. I also read it might be because we tend to drink less water in the colder months which leads to phantom hunger.
Thoughts?
Is this real? I have been so hungry lately. I also read it might be because we tend to drink less water in the colder months which leads to phantom hunger.
Thoughts?
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Replies
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I notice that walking around in the cold makes me a lot hungrier. I don't necessarily crave more food or have a bigger appetite (like a primal instinct?) but what I eat seems to have less staying power with my body.4
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Yes, it's real. Evolution is a slow process and can't adapt quickly to the abundance of food that has become available to us in the last 100 years. We are still like bears preparing to hibernate.3
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GemstoneofHeart wrote: »I always feel like I’ve heard the old adage that we are hungrier in the fall and winter because our ancestors needed to pack on the pounds when food was scarce.
Is this real? I have been so hungry lately. I also read it might be because we tend to drink less water in the colder months which leads to phantom hunger.
Thoughts?
by that logic we would want to eat more through spring - autumn and less in winter as food was less available then...3 -
The only reason I want to eat more in winter is because I'm indoors more and bored...
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I think I'm hungrier in the winter because it's so gloomy out, so I overeat to feel less gloomy.9
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This is only my personal experience, I find that my calorie intake is more or less the same, but my activity level is not, so I would previously pack on pounds because I was less active in the winter, favouring evenings on the sofa under a warm blanket over walking out in the city or working out. Now that I have made a more conscious effort to move more in the winter - no pounds on
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Seems to be. I recently joked that I must be preparing to hibernate. I want to eat All The Things.1
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It might make sense:
There is a theory to explain reports that swimmers are so hungry immediately after swimming but runners appetite seems to be suppressed immediately after runs. Basically it is thought that post swim hunger is because swimming lowers core body temp. The theory is that the hunger is a response to the body working to warm up the core body temp.
Anecdotally I notice hunger post swim is much easier if I get into hot tub post swim or drink a huge mug of hot tea. So, if you personally find yourself hungry in winter you might try a hot cup of tea? 9 -
I dunno... but for me, I'm not as busy/active (i.e. distracted) during the winter, so the lure/temptation of food is more consistent. So while I'm not any more or less hungry, I do want to eat more during the winter.2
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I have no idea. About all I know is that heat kills my appetite, and spending all day in the cold makes me ravenous. But otherwise in relatively climate controlled situations I'm not any more or less hungry thru the seasons.2
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TavistockToad wrote: »GemstoneofHeart wrote: »I always feel like I’ve heard the old adage that we are hungrier in the fall and winter because our ancestors needed to pack on the pounds when food was scarce.
Is this real? I have been so hungry lately. I also read it might be because we tend to drink less water in the colder months which leads to phantom hunger.
Thoughts?
by that logic we would want to eat more through spring - autumn and less in winter as food was less available then...
Not really. Spring to autumn when food was reasonably available, we could choose to be picky and survive. In winter those who ate whatever was available to them survived better. So there is at least some logic to eating more in the winter. So yeah, we may have eaten less, but we ate whatever we could.0 -
I don't crave more food, but I do find that I can be prone to craving more "comfort" type foods than normal.4
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I think too that the decrease in light can affect moods for a lot of people. I was reading an NIH thing yesterday about how insulin release causes tryptophan to be available to the brain which is tied to serotonin...I'm not even gonna try to explain it - but to me that means I will eat more to increase insulin to increase serotonin, maybe instinctively. It's a balancing act for me for sure in the winter, and it's only in the late October-early January part. So really, November and December. Coincidence (or not) that our ancestors gave us Holiday Food at that time.
Once the days are getting longer I don't over eat as much.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2077351/
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I notice that walking around in the cold makes me a lot hungrier. I don't necessarily crave more food or have a bigger appetite (like a primal instinct?) but what I eat seems to have less staying power with my body.
I always assumed that being cold cost a lot of calories (you know, as the body tries to heat us back up), and that made you hungry.2 -
Yes, it's real. Evolution is a slow process and can't adapt quickly to the abundance of food that has become available to us in the last 100 years. We are still like bears preparing to hibernate.
Unfortunately, people don't have that option and if we did, and ate like bears in hyperphagia we'd almost double our body weight in the fall. That's not saying with all the snow we've had and sub zero temps coming up for the holidays it's not tempting to do just that. As for OP's question, I tend to want to eat more in the winter, especially comfort foods. We keep our thermostat at 65 during the day because it's so expensive to heat our home. I'm convinced there's a correlation between that and wanting more food. Plus I do a lot of outdoor things, hiking, snowshoeing, skiing and shoveling snow.1 -
Our circadian systems affect our behavior and moods, so it wouldn't surprise me at all to find out that shorter days lead to our eating more (bipolar disorders are thought to be malfunctions of the circadian rhythm systems, for example). Here's a couple of articles on research in this area:
https://www.nature.com/articles/1602346#bib6
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1946724?dopt=Abstract&holding=npgSeasonal variations in the nutrient intakes and the meal patterns of humans were investigated by paying 315 adult humans to maintain a 7-day diary of everything they ate, when they ate it, and their subjective state of hunger. A marked seasonal rhythm of nutrient intake was observed with increased total caloric intake, especially of carbohydrate, in the fall, associated with an increase in meal size and a greater rate of eating. The subjects rated themselves hungrier at the end of the meal in the fall even though the larger meals resulted in a greater estimated amount of food in the stomach. In the winter and spring there was a strong negative relationship between the amount eaten in the meal and self-rated hunger at the end of the meal. This correlation was absent during the fall. The results suggest that even with modern heating and lighting seasonal rhythmicity of food intake persists in humans and is a major influence on eating that may act by suppressing satiety mechanisms.2 -
so. moar cookies?1
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I feel it0
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I notice that walking around in the cold makes me a lot hungrier. I don't necessarily crave more food or have a bigger appetite (like a primal instinct?) but what I eat seems to have less staying power with my body.
I always assumed that being cold cost a lot of calories (you know, as the body tries to heat us back up), and that made you hungry.
I've heard this too but I've never seen any legit studies that would prove it to be true or not. Although, when I'm cold, I twitch and fidget a lot more and bounce around to try to warm up. I also walk faster and brace my core and muscles against the wind. (chicago winter problems). So, I could be increasing my NEAT without realizing it.1 -
I notice that walking around in the cold makes me a lot hungrier. I don't necessarily crave more food or have a bigger appetite (like a primal instinct?) but what I eat seems to have less staying power with my body.
I always assumed that being cold cost a lot of calories (you know, as the body tries to heat us back up), and that made you hungry.
I've heard this too but I've never seen any legit studies that would prove it to be true or not. Although, when I'm cold, I twitch and fidget a lot more and bounce around to try to warm up. I also walk faster and brace my core and muscles against the wind. (chicago winter problems). So, I could be increasing my NEAT without realizing it.I notice that walking around in the cold makes me a lot hungrier. I don't necessarily crave more food or have a bigger appetite (like a primal instinct?) but what I eat seems to have less staying power with my body.
I always assumed that being cold cost a lot of calories (you know, as the body tries to heat us back up), and that made you hungry.
I've heard this too but I've never seen any legit studies that would prove it to be true or not. Although, when I'm cold, I twitch and fidget a lot more and bounce around to try to warm up. I also walk faster and brace my core and muscles against the wind. (chicago winter problems). So, I could be increasing my NEAT without realizing it.
OMG yes! Since moving to Texas from Chicago I haven’t done the brace the core - walk in the cold wind thing! I had totally forgotten that feeling!0 -
i notice thirst/dehydration as more of a winter issue than the creeping-overeat thing. i drink less water because the idea of putting cold liquid inside my cold self is unpleasant, and then there's the forced-air heating and the fact that humidity drops too, if it gets cold enough.
the thing about 'if you think you're hungry it might be thirst' thing is often true in my case, too. we've just had a cold snap and i'm definitely more conscious of something being wrong. i know it's a water thing because i'm paying attention to it. but still my mind keeps trying to deke around the idea of more liquids and talk me into believing that what i need is more soup or more gummy bears.1 -
Thanks everyone for your replies. I’ve been paying close attention and I believe for me it is the decrease in water. I got one of those hospital cups and have been trying to drink 90 oz a day the last two days (which is normal for me in the warm months) and my hunger is less than it was earlier this week.2
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I know I am hungrier in winter..........HELL.....I'm hungry in spring, summer and fall too!!!
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Winter is baking season so when I know there is cake, I want to eat it.0
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Night and day difference for me. Cold, I’ll be hungry frequently. Hot, appetite is non existent until indoors w AC or PM. I’m talking hot. Like 110f+ (Vegas).0
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In my case, nope! I'm hungry AF all the time lol. Though I'm definitely craving lighter foods in the summer.0
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Yes, I am hungrier! And I like soup!0
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Well for me it’s basically the same, I noticed since I went for low carbs diet, appetite is never an issue to me, not that I have a worse one, it’s just I no longer crave for so many stuff I used to,,3
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I find in winter that I crave comfort foods. In Summer I find it easy to eat lighter foods and find myself wanting cool drinks and fresh fruit whereas in Winter, once the cold weather sets in I want hot chocolate and marshmallows, big bowls of pasta, basically anything heavy and comforting but very high fat, carb, sugar and calorie...
My actual appetite is similar in both but it's the types of foods I eat that makes me gain weight in Winter. I am also more active in Summer whereas my Winter activities are more like TV and books (I like walking but it's easier in Summer!). Being more active also means I'm spending more time actually out and about where I'm not sat watching telly thinking about the chocolate in the fridge....
In general just the longer Summer days make me feel more energetic and motivated to do stuff. I'm 10 times more likely to give in and just get a takeaway or cheap ready meal in winter because I come home and it's dark and cold and it makes me tired. But coming home at the same time in summer when it's still light and possibly even sunny makes me feel awake and I'm more likely to actually cook a meal.
The other thing that doesn't affect how hungry I actually am but how likely I am to give in to temptation is the clothes. In Summer it's easier to say no to another slice of cake when you're in a bikini and short shorts all the time. But in Winter when bikinis are a mere memory and it's all coats and woolly jumpers that hide my figure...I'm much more likely to happily accept
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