Weight loss effected by seasons?

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CamillaEdwards
CamillaEdwards Posts: 37 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Is weight loss ever effected by the season? For example when it is a cold winter do you loose/ put on weight differently than in a warm summer? Or is it irrelevant? Thank you all X

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  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    edited November 2015
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    CamillaEdwards wrote: »
    Is weight loss ever effected by the season? For example when it is a cold winter do you loose/ put on weight differently than in a warm summer? Or is it irrelevant? Thank you all X

    Indirectly yes. (To be clear, it COULD be a factor).

    Most people are outdoors less in winter months and this reduces overall activity (you burn fewer calories). Probably more extreme in people with seasonal depression.

    Then you also have some of the traditional winter holidays that can involve larger calorie intakes.

    Note that these reasons still fall under the calories in/out model.

  • JakeBrownVB
    JakeBrownVB Posts: 399 Member
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    Personally I dont find my TDEE changes that much between summer and winter. Was on 3100 cals from summer to winter and consistantly lost 0.5lb a week.
  • Leyshinka
    Leyshinka Posts: 54 Member
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    I tend to lose weight much more easily in winter because I drink more hot drinks which fill me up more and I find this replaces any snacking I would have done. I also love soups and replace many a meal with simple soups.
  • __Roxy__
    __Roxy__ Posts: 825 Member
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    I lose more weight in the winter, for sure. I find that is when I have the most free time to track and go to the gym. I drink more tea and eat more home cooked meals. I watch a lot more movies in the wintertime too, and so I park my exercise bike in front of the TV so that I can at least get a little work out during that time. :)
    I find it a lot harder to track or go to the gym in summer, and I drink more caloric beverages and eat out more (whether that be in restaurants or bbqs or whatever). Just my style... I know winter is good for me :)
  • rustyquinn
    rustyquinn Posts: 41 Member
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    Well I guess I am the odd ball here lol.
    I have depression and winter is hard on me. I feel so energetic when the sun is out. Winter here (Northern Ontario) is about 4-5 months, cloudy, and gets dark early. Not to forget cold.

    When I'm low I just want to sleep winter away like the bears do. Lol.
  • choppie70
    choppie70 Posts: 544 Member
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    I do not think weight loss is affected by the seasons at all. Some people tend to put on a bit of weight in the colder months because they are less active and/or they eat more types of comfort foods during the colder months.

    It takes the same amount of calories to burn off a lb. of fat no matter what season it is.
  • Lourdesong
    Lourdesong Posts: 1,492 Member
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    I tend to want to eat when I feel cold to warm me up. This happens more often in winter but this tendency also shows itself in summer wherever A/C is blasting enough to be chilling. I've caught myself countless times mindlessly going for food as a reaction to feeling cold. But I think it's just an habit, any excuse to eat was a good one for most of my life. If being too hot didn't often come with feeling nauseous I might have a tendency to problem-solve with food there too.
  • Working2BLean
    Working2BLean Posts: 386 Member
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    SideSteel wrote: »
    CamillaEdwards wrote: »
    Is weight loss ever effected by the season? For example when it is a cold winter do you loose/ put on weight differently than in a warm summer? Or is it irrelevant? Thank you all X

    Indirectly yes. (To be clear, it COULD be a factor).

    Most people are outdoors less in winter months and this reduces overall activity (you burn fewer calories). Probably more extreme in people with seasonal depression.

    Then you also have some of the traditional winter holidays that can involve larger calorie intakes.

    Note that these reasons still fall under the calories in/out model.

    I fall under this behavior model

    I can ride my bike for 2.5 hours after work in the non-winter months. That can chew up 2000 calories a day. I lost weight at twice the pace during the summer.

    My challenge is that I like to eat at maintenance level and exercise to create the defecit. I exercise in the winter but it isn't the same hitting a treadmill inside at a group ride or racing with friends.



  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,573 Member
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    I agree with @SideSteel . I think it's more about how the seasons affect YOU in general - does the winter depress you? Do you tend to eat more when you're depressed? Do you get outside less? Are you more likely to over-eat a lot of comfort foods that are perfect for the winter but high in calories?

    Or in the summer are you more likely to eat more snack foods, more ice cream, drink more alcohol, etc....?

    The seasons don't really affect my weight loss, but they CAN affect my moods, which DEFINITELY may affect my weight loss.
  • Pawsforme
    Pawsforme Posts: 645 Member
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    My appetite is markedly different in the winter versus the summer. In the winter I'm a lot hungrier. I don't know if it's the colder weather or less sunlight or what. In the summer the heat and humidity put a huge damper on my appetite.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    Don't use the season as an excuse to eat poorly or not lose weight. I'm not saying OPis looking for an excuse, but some people always are. You can lose wtight, eat well, and exercise in any season.
  • summerkissed
    summerkissed Posts: 730 Member
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    I drink too much alcohol during summer so I tend to put on weight.......nothing like a cold beer on a hot day lol
  • riffraff2112
    riffraff2112 Posts: 1,757 Member
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    Definitely winter is hardest for me. Terribly cold winters keeps us indoors and I get super busy at work. I really have to stay focused to fall back into bad habits every winter. So far so good this year!
  • 007Aggie
    007Aggie Posts: 110 Member
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    I gain weight in the winter. I live in a cold place where it gets dark really early. All I want to do is curl up in bed or on the couch under a blanket.

    In the warmer months I can walk for miles each day with my dogs or while my kids play at the park. It's just not doable in the winter.

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