Autumn comfort eating
Gail1471
Posts: 3 Member
Is it just me or has the onset of Autumn brought more hunger for stodgy comfort food? I was enjoying the extra calories of trying to maintain my weight after loosing 16 pounds. When I was loosing weight I was so strict with myself for 9 months and now Im like a pig indulging in Apple pie and other sweet and stodgy carb loaded food. I've rarely completed my food diary because I don't want to see the total and I've gained 3 pound in a week. I'm less motivated to exercise too. I know what I need to do, move more, eat less and log everything. Just wondering if others are having the same issue.
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Replies
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I am currently in a 1000 calorie deficit so no comfort food here. It sounds like you reached your goal and have gone back to old habits. Try to nip it in the bud as early as possible.13
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IMO, comfort eating means the road to weight gain.7
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Autumn brings most mammals this 'eat all the everything' feeling IMO.
But if I do fall for that I will regret.
Soups really help, and tea, and roasted squash. Try some new foods that give you a warm feeling, have some fibre but are not going to break the calories bank. B
Best wishes.
p.s. I have seen a few posts where people admit that over the winter months they put on a few pounds and have to take it off in spring, those were maintainers I believe. So yes, you are probably in the same boat.
Its up to you to investigate a way to have your winter comfort food without giving up all the work you have done to lose
You can do this.
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For me, autumn & winter are heaving cooking/baking times because the cold weather and less daylight have me restricted on being outside. Cooking/baking/eating are ways to relieve boredom. When I can distract myself, I don't feel that need to eat for something to do.6
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Really craving carbohydrates in the fall may be due in part to decreasing daylight and the resulting chemical changes in the brain. Some people are enormously sensitive to this. If you are one of them, you can try a couple of things. One is to get outside more at mid-day. Another is to get a light box of the kind used to treat seasonal affective disorder and use it 30 min each morning. Doing both has worked for me.3
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My advice is to log it. The calories still count even if you don't, and pretending you didn't eat them isn't going to help. I'd been gradually loosening up and letting myself eat up to 200 calories over maintenance several days per week. Then one day last week I ate 800 calories over maintenance. Seeing that number shocked me enough to get back on track the rest of the week. I am not going to let indulging in comfort foods undo the work I've done to get to this size. I'll eat small portions that fit in my calorie goals but I'm not going to let autumn/winter/the holidays become a food free-for-all. Logging keeps me honest with myself.8
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My guess is that this has nothing to do with season but a lot to do with overrestricting for 9 months.5
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OP I get like this every year and especially this year which is my first maintenance holiday season. Last year I was still in the losing phase. I have been successfully maintaining since April and haven't had any issues but the colder weather certainly has me ravenously hungry. I just keep logging honestly. If I gain there will be no surprises why. I also keep a 250 deficit in my goal so that I have a slight calorie bank to adjust for my lazy logging and (lately often) overages. It will all work out. If I notice myself out of range well I'll just have to get back to a real deficit and correct it.1
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OP - there is a lower calorie alternative to literally ANY fall/winter food you might crave. You just need to do your homework and be willing to try new things. Pumpkin Greek yogurt, baked apple zoodles with cinnamon, sweet potatoes, butternut squash. Since you have more time (with it getting dark and all) its a great time to experiment in the kitchen. DONT give up what have lost.4
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My comfort foods are stews and soups...they're generally right on par with where I need to be calorie wise.4
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Always log everything. Every day. If your'e prone to eating things that you shouldn't, log before you eat it.2
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kommodevaran wrote: »My guess is that this has nothing to do with season but a lot to do with overrestricting for 9 months.
She lost 16 pounds in nine months. Why do you assume she was overrestricting?
I lost 15 pounds in the last 10 months, I'm dead in the middle of my healthy BMI now.
Autumn has always been a time for me to want to eat more carbs/food in general - for all the reasons already stated. Less outdoor time, shorter days, a touch of Seasonal Depression maybe, all the yummy holidays, biology screaming to "put on some fat, it's getting cold."
I battled 5-10 pounds every winter for the last nine years since I reached my healthy BMI. I keep telling my body it's okay, I'll keep you warm. It still fights me.1 -
Because of the bolded that reads like a restrictive mindset:cmriverside wrote: »kommodevaran wrote: »My guess is that this has nothing to do with season but a lot to do with overrestricting for 9 months.
She lost 16 pounds in nine months. Why do you assume she was overrestricting?Is it just me or has the onset of Autumn brought more hunger for stodgy comfort food? I was enjoying the extra calories of trying to maintain my weight after loosing 16 pounds. When I was loosing weight I was so strict with myself for 9 months and now Im like a pig indulging in Apple pie and other sweet and stodgy carb loaded food. I've rarely completed my food diary because I don't want to see the total and I've gained 3 pound in a week. I'm less motivated to exercise too. I know what I need to do, move more, eat less and log everything. Just wondering if others are having the same issue.1 -
Just chiming in to say just after 4 days of using the SAD light every morning for 30 min I am no longer a carb craving machine plus I had enough oomph to get to the gym for some weight training and interval work this afternoon. Hopefully I will be on track for the rest of fall and into winter.0
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Thats not a bad question really though - does the body need more food when it is cold? Does the cold affect how many calories the body needs or uses?
I have no sources (so don't ask) but perhaps it is an evolutionary response to light patterns/season change? Being extra lean moving into the colder months (less food availability) was likely not ideal for hunter/gatherer homo sapiens. I could be environmental conditioning much the same as an animal entering seasonal torpor (i.e. bear.) Reduce energy expenditure, increase energy consumption for storage? Idk I definitely don't think there is a significant need/use of increased calories (i.e. you don't need to eat more to maintain during colder months.) Rather you are stimulated to eat more due to potential food shortages in the near future? Just a thought...0 -
I imagine the desire for starchy foods over the winter season is also to do with availabity as much as putting on fat to keep warm. Foods would have been fairly scarce over winter so much like other animals storing fat is a good plan.
But in terms of modern day living, root vegetables will save you. Soups, roasted vegetables including pumpkin, squash, sweet potatoes etc. All are fairly low calorie and filling. And in my lunch box.1 -
I agree that fall has some tasty foods and some holidays that stress indulgence, Halloween, Thanksgiving. YOU have to have resolve and say no. There are plenty of delicious things out there without the excess calories and carbs, you just need to find them. Not logging is ridiculous, your body still knows you ate it, whether you log it or not.0
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I don't necessarily crave the food more (I always deal with cravings) but since it's getting colder I find myself way less willing to go take a walk or play outside with my kids so I'm sure I'm burning fewer calories. That means the extra handful of crackers or fun size candy bar from my kids' Halloween basket makes a bigger difference now!
3 lbs in a week isn't bad though. I recently gained 7 lbs just in a weekend of major overeating on a get away with my husband! I went back to eating in a deficit and was back in my maintenance range in 5 days. I just stay vigilant with the scale and when I start gaining, I hang out in that deficit for a while. I'm back to maintenance calories now. I never stop working out regularly though, no matter what my diet is like. I think that helps me get back on track with food easier.0 -
The thing that struck me most about the OP is that you were "so strict with myself for 9 months". And now that you've reached your goal you are pigging out. This is a very common scenario. Weight control doesn't have to be black and white. You can have apple pie and maintain your weight. Just do it sensibly.2
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Thats not a bad question really though - does the body need more food when it is cold? Does the cold affect how many calories the body needs or uses?
There are some things out there saying the body will burn somewhat more calories when hot or cold
https://weather.com/health/news/one-reason-love-winter-cold-air-burns-calories-20140123
http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/calories-burned-cold-weather-12046.html
However, it doesn't make any difference how cold or hot it is outside when most people spent time avoiding the outside in temperature controlled buildings or mean of transportation.
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Comfort food today, elastic waist bands tomorrow.7
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Eating way too much leftover Halloween candy and junk. But it's 65 in November in Chicago so I'm also walking 5 miles a day just for fun on top of time k spend on feet at work1
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I agree that the cooler fall weather makes ME want to eat bigger quantities of warm yummy foods. My current solution is to fill the crock pot with whole canned tomatoes, tons of cabbage, an onion, celery, and whatever left over veggies are in the fridge. It lasts all week, each day I add more of something else and I can eat big bowls for minimal calories. Spices make it yummy and comforting!3
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I have found a lot of great recipes on this site and am enjoying trying out new foods. I am also loving my crockpot. I made a yummy chicken taco chili and then divided it into serving portions and froze them. I also like spaghetti squash "lasagne" - which I will cut into serving size portions and freeze. Those two foods satisfy my cold weather cravings. I also will get out and walk - I try to get in my 10000 steps each day. That all helps. And I don't beat myself up when I do overindulge. That's okay. I log it and get on with it. My goal is to not gain any weight through the holidays and then go back into deficit mode in January to lose the last 10 lbs - but I am pretty happy at my current weight, so it will be a very slow process to see what's realistic for my age, metabolism, and happiness.
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Yes, I like comfort foods too as the temperature drops.
You can either try to find things that are comforting and make you feel like you're getting all of the fall/winter/holiday flavors without being crazy high in calories, or you can limit the comfort foods. Either way works.
I tend to start eating more soups, roast meats and veggies. I love turkey and cranberry mostarda (or just mustard and a schmear of cranberry sauce) in a sandwich or as an entree. I have a brand of chicken pot pie I really like and at < 400 cals, it's a staple for me this time of year. I like pumpkin, so I'll make pumpkin pie filling and bake that. I like apples, so I'll bake those with a bit of molasses and spice.0 -
cmriverside wrote: »kommodevaran wrote: »My guess is that this has nothing to do with season but a lot to do with overrestricting for 9 months.
She lost 16 pounds in nine months. Why do you assume she was overrestricting?
I lost 15 pounds in the last 10 months, I'm dead in the middle of my healthy BMI now.
Autumn has always been a time for me to want to eat more carbs/food in general - for all the reasons already stated. Less outdoor time, shorter days, a touch of Seasonal Depression maybe, all the yummy holidays, biology screaming to "put on some fat, it's getting cold."
I battled 5-10 pounds every winter for the last nine years since I reached my healthy BMI. I keep telling my body it's okay, I'll keep you warm. It still fights me.
For years, I have had a touch of SAD. My cravings haven't increased yet, but I can see a slight shift in my mood already. I really don't enjoy the winter months. I love the other seasons.
I can definitely believe that cravings increase this time of year because in some cases mood and food are so interrelated. They were for me for many years because I was an emotional eater. For the past 18 months, I have been able to keep the emotional eating at bay.2 -
Is it just me or has the onset of Autumn brought more hunger for stodgy comfort food?
Started posting about this again just last week. Exactly the same for me.
Honestly, I am a serial loser. That is, I always gain 6-10 pounds between August and January and then lose it again by February. Stopped trying to fight it completely, but work to minimalize it while still enjoying.
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Is it just me or has the onset of Autumn brought more hunger for stodgy comfort food?
Started posting about this again just last week. Exactly the same for me.
Honestly, I am a serial loser. That is, I always gain 6-10 pounds between August and January and then lose it again by February. Stopped trying to fight it completely, but work to minimalize it while still enjoying.
If you're losing a 6-10lbs in a month and it takes you 3 months to gain it, I would hazard a guess that this could be more water retention issues rather than fat gain?0 -
Really craving carbohydrates in the fall may be due in part to decreasing daylight and the resulting chemical changes in the brain. Some people are enormously sensitive to this. If you are one of them, you can try a couple of things. One is to get outside more at mid-day. Another is to get a light box of the kind used to treat seasonal affective disorder and use it 30 min each morning. Doing both has worked for me.
ditto this0 -
Really craving carbohydrates in the fall may be due in part to decreasing daylight and the resulting chemical changes in the brain. Some people are enormously sensitive to this. If you are one of them, you can try a couple of things. One is to get outside more at mid-day. Another is to get a light box of the kind used to treat seasonal affective disorder and use it 30 min each morning. Doing both has worked for me.
ditto this
Definitely not this.0
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