Winter months

cathrynjtaylor
cathrynjtaylor Posts: 15 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Dreading the winter months as I think I will struggle with both diet and exercise. Anyone got any tips
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Replies

  • ALZ14
    ALZ14 Posts: 202 Member
    I hear you! Summer is easy because we can grill meat and it is delicious.... When it gets cold I want heavier meals.

    I’m currently walking outside for exercise. We have a cheap treadmill in the basement, but I’m so used to walking outside I really don’t like to use it. I’m considering joining a gym this winter to get some variety to my cardio and maybe do some weight machines.
  • savannahs21
    savannahs21 Posts: 364 Member
    For exercise you can do YouTube workout videos.
  • Courtscan2
    Courtscan2 Posts: 498 Member
    Currently looking at the end of winter here in Australia with great glee. I have just been carrying on with my regularly scheduled program. Eat to my goals, workout to my goals, look forward to beach season with relish. I lift weights in my home gym 3/4 times a week and try to go for 50 minute walks several nights a week, and while it's more mentally challenging in the winter (my garage/gym is COLD at 5am, and it's awfully dark on my evening strolls by the lake) I've made it routine, so just get it done.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
    Soups are great in winter. I avoid cream based soups because they’re calorie bombs. In the summer I do lots of outdoor exercise and in winter I do more weight training.
  • girlwithcurls2
    girlwithcurls2 Posts: 2,257 Member
    My waterrower ships 9/17. I'm so happy that I will have something at home. My gym/pool is still closed, so DH and I made a leap to something we can do anytime-no excuses. (Plus, I LOVE rowing...) :)
  • SuzySunshine99
    SuzySunshine99 Posts: 2,983 Member
    It's going to be 98 degrees here today, so winter seems VERY far away, but...

    I'm going to continue to exercise outside for as long as possible. I like winter walking/hiking as long as it's not TOO cold or the snow's not too deep. I have a rowing machine and some resistance bands and weights in my basement, so I can do that as well.

    In normal times, I actually weigh less in the winter. Summer is usually filled with backyard BBQs, parties, and vacations, so my weight tends to average a little higher. Winter is my busy season at work, with really long days and not a lot of free time for eating, snacking, socializing.

    But, that was in the before-times. I don't know when I'll be going back to work, so it will be interesting to see what happens to my weight this winter compared to other years.
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
    edited August 2020
    I'll second @lorrpb. Soup! You can make homemade soup easily and avoid some of the excess sodium. Soups are also a great way to incorporate beans & other legumes into your diet. Make one using the recipe builder to keep track of calories and then divide it into servings for the freezer. When you know how many servings you have, you can input that in your recipe maker and you will have a bunch of containers in the freezer with known quantities of calories.

    To have an easy method of measuring and storing cups of soup, I bought a sleeve of 1-cup deli containers online really cheaply. 50 of them is now about $12 on amazon. They stack neatly in the freezer and they go through the dishwasher. You can use a marker to put what they are and number of calories on them. A very easy and cheap go to meal or snack. Just haul one or two out of the freezer and microwave.

    To make a soup creamy without adding cream or a roux, just whir some of it in the blender or use an immersion blender. A soup with just a bit of skim or soy milk can taste really creamy if blended. Soups are also a great way to sneak green veg past yourself. Just whir the soup until you have a nice creamy bisque. I don't really like broccoli whole but I like broccoli soup.

    Also, if you are cooking for 1 or 2 and only have a small top-of-the-fridge freezer, remember you can make small amounts of soup. Use a smaller pot or dutch oven to limit yourself on size. One can get awfully tired of the same soup 10 or 12 times!



  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
    edited August 2020
    (Excuse the second post but it's a different topic.)

    Hot drinks can often sate your appetite and prevent mindless snacking. They are also especially good when its cold outside. Tea is great stuff and comes in a number of different varieties, different blends, flavored or unflavored, tea or herbal. Lately, you can find ground cacao beans online which, when brewed like coffee, make a chocolaty tasting low calorie hot drink. A spoonful of demi-glace paste in a cup of water makes a yummy lo-cal broth. (My favorite brand of demi-glace paste in More Than Gourmet, available online. Keeps "forever" in the fridge.)

    There's also, of course, homemade broth, which is easy to make. Start now saving chicken and turkey bones, skin, cartilage, etc., cooked or raw, in the freezer. Also, start saving veggie scraps in the freezer like parsley stems, onion skins, carrot ends, celery ends, etc. A bag of frozen chicken leavings plus a bag of veggie scraps boiled together in some water and bingo, you have "free" broth. Boil long enough (a few hours) to develop flavor. I do this in the oven so I don't have to worry about watching it on the top of the stove. An instant pot works great, too.
  • missysippy930
    missysippy930 Posts: 2,577 Member
    Minnesota has cold, long winters. Like @kshama2001 said, if you’re dressed properly, it’s fine. I remember a very cold snap a couple January’s ago (-34 F with windchill of -70 it doesn’t take much wind when it’s that cold) I was out walking in our woods. I much prefer that to what we’re having this week. 90F with tropical dew points in the 70’s. I think kshama2001 and I are kindred spirits.
  • zebasschick
    zebasschick Posts: 910 Member
    edited August 2020
    winter's fine with me. our exercise bike and all our fitness equipment including a cable machine that's basically a functional trainer in our condo, so the cold weather doesn't change anything.

    maybe you, OP, could get an exercise bike and use it daily. if you don't have much space or money, they make smaller ones that fold up and cost under $100.

    add a couple inexpensive adjustable dumbbells or kettle bells and you can do all sorts of workouts! or a set of decent quality resistance bands will come with a door anchor, and you can do tons of exercises with those, and they'll fit in a small backpack or drawer when not using. i'm a huge fan of bodylastics myself, but i'm sure most brands will work.



  • spr931
    spr931 Posts: 61 Member
    Im kinda looking forward to it... I'm tired of 90° and humid.
    I used to hate winter most my life but recently enjoy it as ive learned how to ski. And I ski like a teenage boy so its and amazing workout

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