Burn more calories in the cold?

Dchurch24
Dchurch24 Posts: 16 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Last year (in the Spring and Summer months), I found keeping under or around my calorie goal really quite easy, in fact I lost the best part of 5 stone over that time.
Now it's winter I'm finding it really hard as I'm finding I'm a lot hungrier than I was previously. I've put a stone back on since the end of September.

Is anyone else finding this?

Replies

  • stefosaurusrawrrrr
    stefosaurusrawrrrr Posts: 44
    Definitely! It's summer where I am now, but in winter I tend to get more hungry. A lot of people have told me that it could be because of the cold weather, which makes your body work harder to keep you at body temperature, and so you essentially 'want' more food.

    I don't really know how to explain it, haha...but for example, I went on camp last winter and it was FREEZING. There was no heating or anything and I actually ate relatively normally (no calorie counting or anything) or more than I usually would. Got back home to discover I'd LOST weight. Probably because the body does burn more calories when it's cold (to keep it warm).
  • Dchurch24
    Dchurch24 Posts: 16 Member
    I thought as much ;-)

    I've just amended my profile so that I can have more calories in a day, albeit probably lose weight slower, but I'm happy with that.
  • lauren3101
    lauren3101 Posts: 1,853 Member
    I find a lot of differences in the winter too.

    In the summer, it's warm so I go out more, I do more activities, and I'm quite happy to eat salads. In the winter, I sit in front of the TV because it's cold outside and I crave comfort foods and stodgy dinners.
  • irjeffb
    irjeffb Posts: 275 Member
    I burn calories faster when I run outside in the cold, but I think it's just because I run faster so I can get back into the heat sooner. :)
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    a lot of your basal metabolic rate (BMR) calories come from keeping your body warm. If the air around you is colder, your body will burn more calories keeping you warm.

    that may not be the explanation for why you're feeling more hungry recently, but excessive hunger is a symptom of not eating enough, so upping your calories is probably a good idea regardless of the cause.

    One thing to be careful of, some people find that too much of the wrong kinds of carbs increases hunger, because of poorly controlled blood sugar levels. You need to rule this out. If you're eating a very healthy diet, then it's not this.
  • jedigrover
    jedigrover Posts: 21 Member
    It's a combination of reasons:

    1) People are generally more active in the spring/summer. Temps allow them to be outdoors a lot more. Just extra walking around helps.
    2) I think we may have a bit of a hibernation instinct yet. Our bodies will naturally try to prep for (what for our ancestors were) the lean months ahead.
    3) Our typical winter comfort food is quite rich.
    4) At least in the Northern Hemisphere, Winter coincides with Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, and Valentine's Day...all calorie-dense gatherings.
  • Missjulesdid
    Missjulesdid Posts: 1,444 Member
    In the summer I'm often not hungry at all. A nice salad or something light is very satisfying. In winter, I'm ALWAYS looking for something to eat and I want something warm and very heavy in my gut like meatloaf with mashed potatoes or pizza.

    Also in summer I'm MORE active.

    Anecdotally, I wear a bodymedia fit and yesterday the heat was out at work and it was only 46 degrees in there all day. I was FREEZING. I burned an extra 800 calories yesterday according to my bmf. Maybe from shivering? maybe because I subconsciously moved more in order to keep warm?
  • icmuse
    icmuse Posts: 263 Member
    Body does utilize more calories to keep warm, so it does burn more in theory.

    I always tend to lose weight in winter and gain it in summer, but for a very different reasons (BBQs and beer :-)
  • Dchurch24
    Dchurch24 Posts: 16 Member
    Ahh, yes. In the summer, I balanced the BBQ and beer off by playing more squash and even cycling to the squash court - in the winter, it's all I can do to walk to the car it's so bl**dy cold! ;-) I've managed to play twice so far this year!

    I'm not too worried about the extra stone though, I know why it's happened and I know I can lose it again...especially as I have a new girlfriend now ;-) nudge, nudge, wink, wink....

    I do think there's a bit of the 'hibernation' about us humans. I was saying to a colleague yesterday that in the summer, I find I can get home from work, have dinner a few hours before squash, then cycle to the court, play squash for an hour, cycle back, then put a film on and watch that...all before going to bed.
    In the winter, I find I go home, make dinner. Eat it, then go to bed and crash out, ready to do it all again the next day!
  • SueGlazier
    SueGlazier Posts: 36 Member
    And in our household you can add 3 birthdays in December too when we go out to eat. Not a very good month for us at all. :(
  • monty619
    monty619 Posts: 1,308 Member
    ur hungrier cuz ur not as busy... just sitting in ur house will make you hungrier and being pre-occupied will make you not think about food.

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