Is weight loss in winter harder to achieve?
Yasmine91
Posts: 599 Member
I don't know about you guys, but I've noticed that my body absolutely refuses to let go of my weight when it's cold. I live in London and it's ridiculously cold at the moment and this situation is really frustrating me.
Is it down to winter? if so, what can I do to make my body let go of this fat >:P
Is it down to winter? if so, what can I do to make my body let go of this fat >:P
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It's down to your emotions and how much easier it is to hunker down and eat stodgy foods than get out and do something and maintain your calorie defecit
And yes it's damn cold, and getting colder
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It is harder for me - I live in Scotland and it is absolutely freezing here. Cold weather = body craving hot stodgy food. I am extra freezing and miserable on a calorie deficit. I think this is why people in Scotland have an obesity problem. I love a salad in summer but during winter I want bad food like pizza and chips. I don't think there is an easy solution, I think our willpower just needs to be stronger during the cold winter months
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It's really all about calorie deficit. Track your intake and weigh your food and log accurately and you'll lose weight.
It is cold, not just in London, I'm all bundled up at the moment and still freezing.0 -
I live in the NE UK betcha it's colder here currently lol. Agree with the above poster! I find my motivation wanes with the bad weather.0
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I'm in Wales and have found myself doing much better than before. Maybe I'm just different...
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It's feckin' freezing ..I've had my bacon and egg toastie and I'm heading to the gym in 10 mins
And your excuse is what?-2 -
It's feckin' freezing ..I've had my bacon and egg toastie and I'm heading to the gym in 10 mins
And your excuse is what?
Whoah....dude....why are you getting so aggressive for? did I in anyway say that I haven't been eating right or excersising? that's why I have posted this thread in the first place, I'm doing everything right but the weight is comming off much slower than it normally does. All I am asking, is if weather is a factor in weight loss, Jesus Christ.
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I doubt in the UK we really experience extremes of temperature enough on a regular basis to affect the biological function of our bodies.
Do I want to stay inside and eat pie and mash and drink hot chocolate in the winter? Yes. But I also hate exercising in the summer when it's 28-29 degrees because it's too hot for my liking. Sometimes you have to either a) be firm with yourself, and stick to the plan regardless of what is more comfortable or b) think of a reward/way to motivate yourself there. I have to do a combination i.e. I tell myself 'get your flabby butt to the gym' and then when I'm done I slob out with a coffee and Netflix, because that's a little thing I enjoy of an evening after work.
Plus, exercising keeps you warm, so there's zero excuse not to work out in the cold, unless you're ill/severely asthmatic/likely to slip and die on black ice.0 -
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It's feckin' freezing ..I've had my bacon and egg toastie and I'm heading to the gym in 10 mins
And your excuse is what?
Whoah....dude....why are you getting so aggressive for? did I in anyway say that I haven't been eating right or excersising? that's why I have posted this thread in the first place, I'm doing everything right but the weight isn't coming off. All I am asking, is if weather is a factor in weight loss, Jesus Christ.
She's not being aggressive, she was being a S.A., so relax.
If you're not losing, then you need to open your diary if you want people to help you. It doesn't matter what season it is, if you eat too much, you're not going to lose.0 -
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Liftng4Lis wrote: »It's feckin' freezing ..I've had my bacon and egg toastie and I'm heading to the gym in 10 mins
And your excuse is what?
Whoah....dude....why are you getting so aggressive for? did I in anyway say that I haven't been eating right or excersising? that's why I have posted this thread in the first place, I'm doing everything right but the weight isn't coming off. All I am asking, is if weather is a factor in weight loss, Jesus Christ.
She's not being aggressive, she was being a S.A., so relax.
If you're not losing, then you need to open your diary if you want people to help you. It doesn't matter what season it is, if you eat too much, you're not going to lose.
What is an S.A? And that's the thing, I've been monitoring everything, weighing etc, this isn't the first time this has happened, summer time weight comes off so much easier but in the winter this always happens but I've never been able to understand why. Hence why I asked this question ¬¬...
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Its harder for me this winter but its not because the cold is affecting my body. Its because I am not moving as much as I was when the weather was warmer. I know that. I love walking and just being outside doing stuff, but not when its icy and below zero (F)!
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Not for me, but I do all my exercising at home so weather doesn't affect it. I don't have SAD, so no affect from there either. All winter does is make me sleep an hour longer because it's dark out for a longer time.0
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Liftng4Lis wrote: »It's feckin' freezing ..I've had my bacon and egg toastie and I'm heading to the gym in 10 mins
And your excuse is what?
Whoah....dude....why are you getting so aggressive for? did I in anyway say that I haven't been eating right or excersising? that's why I have posted this thread in the first place, I'm doing everything right but the weight isn't coming off. All I am asking, is if weather is a factor in weight loss, Jesus Christ.
She's not being aggressive, she was being a S.A., so relax.
If you're not losing, then you need to open your diary if you want people to help you. It doesn't matter what season it is, if you eat too much, you're not going to lose.
What is an S.A? And that's the thing, I've been monitoring everything, weighing etc, this isn't the first time this has happened, summer time weight comes off so much easier but in the winter this always happens but I've never been able to understand why. Hence why I asked this question ¬¬...
Again, can you open your diary?0 -
from my perspective I'm in summer at moment at I'm get 40c (107f) days, and I'm finding hard to get out and walk ... I'm looking forward to cooler weather where I can layer up and just get out and do stuff. I have to go out very early or wait for the cool of the afternoon which dose no happen
![:\](https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/resources/emoji/confused.png ":\")
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I hate cold but id rather go out and walk/jog when its 30 (f) than 90 (f)! even when its colder, i only wear a small fleece jacket and a scarf. once i get going, ill warm up and dont want massive heavy layers!0
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Weather doesn't matter when it comes to weight loss. It just comes down to commitment. How bad do you want it!!!!0
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No, I don't think the body can refuse to let go of fat, but feeling uncomfortable can make it more difficult for us to withstand urges to eat more and move less.0
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What usually happens is that people tend to stay inside more during the winter, so they aren't as active and they have food more readily available. That combination makes it harder to lose weight in the winter time. However, if people would get outside as much in the winter and would exercise at the same intensity as they do during the summer, they would lose weight more easily in the winter because they would burn more calories. But that's a lot of ifs.0
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Psychologically it is a bit harder for me to do what needs to be done to drop weight in the winter. I'm in Minnesota, our winters are long, and the cold gray weather makes me want to eat warm, heavy foods. Doesn't mean I have to give into those cravings, it's just harder to make good choices. Also, I love walking/jogging outside but in sub-zero temps that's pretty much impossible, and the treadmill is not nearly as appealing, so it's a bit more difficult to stay active. I'm in the hot yoga room a lot in the colder months as my main form of activity.0
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fattymcfatterson2121 wrote: »It is harder for me - I live in Scotland and it is absolutely freezing here. Cold weather = body craving hot stodgy food. I am extra freezing and miserable on a calorie deficit. I think this is why people in Scotland have an obesity problem. I love a salad in summer but during winter I want bad food like pizza and chips. I don't think there is an easy solution, I think our willpower just needs to be stronger during the cold winter months
I understand your point but I believe if you really want to achieve something, you'll make a way to find time for it.
I live in Northern Ireland and I don't eat as many salads as I do in the summer. Instead, I love homemade soups, steamed veggies and Quorn with gravy, etc.
However I walk less in the winter than I do in the summer because of the lack of light. It's not safe to walk at night and it's dark when I go to work, it's dark when I get off work. There's no gym around here so I bought myself an exercise bike, workout DVDs, etc. No more excuses for my this winter!
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Look into vitamin D supplements... I'm not saying it's a magic weight loss cure, but it can be associated with winter.0
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Psychologically it is a bit harder for me to do what needs to be done to drop weight in the winter. I'm in Minnesota, our winters are long, and the cold gray weather makes me want to eat warm, heavy foods. Doesn't mean I have to give into those cravings, it's just harder to make good choices. Also, I love walking/jogging outside but in sub-zero temps that's pretty much impossible, and the treadmill is not nearly as appealing, so it's a bit more difficult to stay active. I'm in the hot yoga room a lot in the colder months as my main form of activity.
Story of my life. I love the post about 30F vs. 90F. Only here some days it can be 3F vs. 90F! At least in the summer there's a point in the morning when it's kind of bright and the sun hasn't risen or is not yet hot - I can easily go running then. Some people run in the cold but I just can't get with the idea of potentially slipping and falling on the ice. Just walking to and from my car feels like living on the edge.
That said I finally just signed up at the Y which is very close to my home. I can transition the 1-2x per week outside running to doing something different in the gym
OP, like everyone else has said there's not really anything magical about winter to prevent weight loss - just possibly some of us eat more and exercise less during that time.
I want to know what the heck's an S.A. too, though.
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It's feckin' freezing ..I've had my bacon and egg toastie and I'm heading to the gym in 10 mins
And your excuse is what?
Whoah....dude....why are you getting so aggressive for? did I in anyway say that I haven't been eating right or excersising? that's why I have posted this thread in the first place, I'm doing everything right but the weight is comming off much slower than it normally does. All I am asking, is if weather is a factor in weight loss, Jesus Christ.
Wasn't being aggressive so sorry if you took it like that.
It also wasn't aimed at you ...just a general point into the internet ether ...we all make excuses for not monitoring our diet or for avoiding our next workout...hell, when I started I was chronically lazy and mildly asthmatic and hadn't exercised for a good 10 years
I just binned excuses, binned looking for reasons and focused on my calorie defecit
That's it ...for the vast bulk of people that's it0 -
S.A. = smart *kitten* (i imagine lol)0
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The basic science of calories in, calories out won't be effected by the weather. But your mind set can be. Even though you claim you are eating right and exercising, there is always the possibility that you aren't realizing something. Your movement could be more sluggish during winter weather, causing you to retain weight. You could be doing less overall daily activity or you could be taking in more salty foods, causing you to retain water.
Personally in the winter, I don't like to get out from under my covers and I wrap up in sweaters and blankets to stay warm (because our apartment is drafty and has one little furnace) so my daily activity becomes fairly sedentary or I spend days cooking all day to warm the apartment with the stove. Even then I am still sedentary because I am just standing in one place at a time while prepping or cooking. I also suffer from SAD so even if it is cold out, if we get some sunshine, I will let the light in so I can get some better emotional status to help me move more. We randomly got some nice weather for the past couple days and will continue to have 60 degree days for the next week or so. I plan on taking full advantage of it.0 -
When it's -25 here and my snot freezes when I walk outside and it physically HURTS to breathe, then yeah, I'm not gonna go running on my road. I do, however, trek my sorry fat butt to the gym and run on the most boring treadmill on the planet.
Also, when I'm constantly FREEZING, I want to just..eat. Eat all day. Like, constantly. I really believe it's harder to do the right things to lose weight, but I don't think the weather affects the body's ability to do so 0 -
In NYC it was 20 degrees F yesterday at 8 am. I was on the eliptical at my gym and noticed it was taking longer than usual to break a sweat. I didn't break a sweat until the 9 min mark with a max incline entry and a resistance of 3. After my 20 min on the machine, I asked my trainer if the duration it takes to break a sweat has to do with one's metabolism. He said yes and added the fact that it was cold inside the gym. So I guess it's a bit harder and takes more energy to exert in order to break a sweat when the environment is cold. Hope this helps.0
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