Summertime Hardest to Lose Weight?

litaf201

I have such a hard time in the summer sticking to everything....want to get out of work and be outside because we don't get much of this all year, eating out a lot, sitting with friends and the beer starts flowing...I find winter is so much easier. Leave work, go to the gym, go home and hibernate. I am cooking constantly so easy to eat right. I have been maintaining but my weight loss has come to a stand still and I know it's my fault. In ways I am kind of happy I am not gaining and just maintaining!! I have been trying to motivate myself by putting on clothes from last summer that were strangling me and now fit perfect!!! It's really hard! Does anyone have anything that helps motivate them in the summer? I thought the bathing suit thing would work but we have not even opened our pool yet! Thanks!

becky10rp

I think it's always difficult to lose weight - doesn't matter what season it is!

It's a 'mind-set' - you have to want it bad enough to change certain aspects of your life:

- your eating habits
- your exercise habits

I think it's almost easier in the summer to 'kick-start' new behavior patterns because the weather IS nice!

You can work-out right when you get home from work - get your gear on, get outside and run/walk/do whatever you love to do!

Once you have the right 'mind-set' to make the changes - you can make them - then they become habits that you don't even think too much about.

I have a gym in my house - I get home, change my clothes, and work-out.

I don't think about it - I just do it.

Just like in the morning - I don't think about washing my face and getting dressed - it's just a part of my day.

mr_mitch

I tend to gain weight in winter.

I thought it was fairly standard.

Less time outdoors being active. Heavier meals. Fewer fresh fruits and salads etc.

BigT555

its been harder for me just because there is more temptation to go and have a few beers on the weekends....... which i often do

but i also had more weight to lose in the winter so i could afford to have a few beers in my deficit, not so much anymore

justformel

I understand where you are coming from. I am the same way, I do great in the winter, because there is nothing I want to do, so gym it is. Summer its finally nice out I can find a million other things to do. Then a lot of times, we get so busy at home, we forget to eat or its getting really late when we get home, we just grab some fast food. Now this year, I'm actually losing this summer, but summers in the past, I've either stalled on the weight loss or maintain/gain a few lbs back

But I'm always opposite of the norm and don't hibernate in the winter. LOL

SingRunTing

I usually find it easier to lose in the summer. I tend to eat healthier when its hot out and I get outside more. I'm not a beer drinker though, so I don't have that problem.

Jruzer

I definitely find summer the hardest. There are many more opportunities to overeat, at least in my own life, and a lot more opportunities to drink beer on the patio.

wanttolose40lbs

I find it harder in the summer. Even though I get more exercise, there are also BBQ's to attend where the beer is flowing, and the food is good. I try to be a bit mindful of what I'm eating, but I don't obsess over it, summers are so short, they need to be enjoyed.

QuietBloom

That's interesting. The trend is actually for people to lose weight in hotter weather, for a number of reasons (which I think are mainly guesses, but they make sense to me). It requires more calories to cool your body than it does to warm it. And hot weather generally depresses the appetite.

Obviously there are other factors involved, like if you are active outdoors in the summer, or a desk jockey holed up in an air-conditioned building day after day.

kaseyr1505

I've never really lived in a place that had seasons, so I'm going to say my winter-summer is hardest for me to lose. On the rare days that it does dip below 80-70*, I just want to curl in a ball and eat pot roast.

Gel_W91

I find it easier to lose weight in the summer time, the heat kind of limits what you want to eat, prefer leafy salads, cold fruit, smoothies the occasional icecream! Or lighter foods, chicken, jacket potatoes, salmon! Lower calories most days so the odd BBQ doesn't matter too much! I also crave spirits during the summer, much better than wine which I tend to prefer on the cold dark nights.

In winter all I want is comfort foods, big home cooked meals, spaghetti and meatballs, stews with lots of dumplings, shepards/fish pie, anything with mega carbs and warming. Plus the decrease in activity from being indoors more!

Maybe it depends on what seasons you like? I LOVE the summer, but I'm also alot more comfortable in the winter time because I'm not thinking nothing to chucking on a chunky jumper and pants. In the summer I know skin is gonna show, and I get stressed!

fvtfan

I totally agree - while it seems it should be easier - it is definitely more difficult for me. Yes, I am more active in the summer but I also tend not eat as well as I should for all the reasons listed by other posters. The biggest thing for me is that I don't want to spend a whole afternoon in the summer prepping for the week, so I end up not having the right things available for me to eat. As we all know, weight loss is all about eating.

Last summer I gave up my healthy eating, kept exercising, and ended up 18 pounds heavier by the end of the year. Trying very hard to be more focuses this summer.

thavoice

The summer is sooooo much easier to lose weight! The great weather has me outside from the time I am off work until past dark working in the yard, running, walking, biking etc.
Plus the heat lets the body sweat so much more! Ya can get up early and run without having to put 3-4 layers of clothes on!

iRun_Butterfly

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who finds this to be true. I find I have to put much more thought into the process during the summer. I've been losing slowly since summer hit, and pretty much for all of the same reasons already stated, cook outs, beer and other adult beverages, pasta salads, etc. Fall and winter are so routine, work, work out, go home, repeat. I love fall and winter cooking too, its so easy to make a huge pot of low cal Chili or other hot hearty food and just eat that for a few days. Easy calorie control!

BarbieAS

I feel like both summer and winter have the same number of social occasions - I'm thinking holidays, Super Bowl, etc (plus my birthday and wedding anniversary, which while I believe everyone SHOULD celebrate them, probably I'm the only one ). I have a MUCH easier time in the summer. First, I love fresh fruits and vegetables, so way more of my meals are produce-heavy - I'll happily make an entire meal just from the farmer's market, but in the winter everything is sort of blah. Second, I detest dedicated cardio, particularly treadmill/elliptical type stuff (classes are ok, but not my favorite and given my schedule of a full time job and 2 little kids it's hard to make it to any...not a lot of Zumba going on at 10pm when I'm usually at the gym, lol). So, being able to get out and just WALK, alone or with my family, is a huge thing for me. We walk to the park, go to the zoo and walk for hours, if we feel like going for ice cream we walk the 2 miles to Dairy Queen, I walk on my lunch breaks, all that stuff. Practically doubles my average daily steps.

cwolfman13

Go workout outside rather than going to a gym. I hibernate in the gym during the winter months, but during the summer I love being outside...I go for a ride or a swim or whatever...then I go have beers on my patio because I've rightly earned them. The only thing I do in the gym during the summer is lift weights, and that's only 3x weekly so not really a big deal...plus I enjoy it...and more beer when I get home.

caracrawford1

Really there is always going to be an excuse for every season. Ie, "fall is hard because there's thanksgiving and you know, Halloween with all the candy!" "Oh I just can't lose weight in winter because its cold and I like warm heavy comfort food and Christmas and new years there's all the parties!" You get the idea. Anytime is a good time. Just be mindful of your portions and fit it in to your calorie goals.

Jruzer

Really there is always going to be an excuse for every season. Ie, "fall is hard because there's thanksgiving and you know, Halloween with all the candy!" "Oh I just can't lose weight in winter because its cold and I like warm heavy comfort food and Christmas and new years there's all the parties!" You get the idea. Anytime is a good time. Just be mindful of your portions and fit it in to your calorie goals.

Not to disagree, but discussing relative levels of difficulty is not the same as making excuses.

I've maintained about a 50 lb loss for 2-1/2 years, but find that my weight tends to trend up in summer and trend down in the fall and spring.

litaf201

Thanks for all the posts!!! Its nice to see that other people feel the same way as me. Reading the one post about gaining 18 lbs just eating unhealthy but not watching what you ate really helped me out...I sometimes use working out as an excuse for those extra beers....I learned a lot from reading it all. I do agree with the healthy food choices in the summer with grilling and fresh fruits, but as someone else said always doing something you have to fit in a meal from wherever you are and sometimes there is no healthy food to choose from. I have gotten a lot of motivation from all of you! On my way to the gym now, then home, shower and off to a car show....at least the days are lighter longer and you seem to have more time to squeeze more in