Winter months

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.

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.

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!

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.

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

Why do you think you will struggle with diet and exercise come winter? Be concrete, then work on creating a strategy for each point.

I live in Sweden. Avg daytime temperature will be around -5C or so for at least 3 months probably diving down below -10C on more than one occasion. We don’t get heaps of snow but the roads will be packed down ice/sludge and walking/running done more carefully.

I actually like winter. I see this has been mentioned upthread but SOUP is brilliant. I usually eat vegetable soup at least once per day in winter. Wonderful low calorie option, great range of variation (I get a weekly veg box of seasonal produce) and while I limit sides adding a boiled egg or some Crispbread with cheese on the side is still a modest meal.

I also enjoy blueberry tea to finish off my evenings in the colder seasons and it curbs a lot of sweet cravings, allowing me to reduce snacking further.

In terms of exercise depending on what you enjoy and what the weather is like in your location there are options. I’ll get winter tyres for my bike so I can keep travelling to yoga and padel at different locations. I’ll probably reduce my weekly running mileage and drop one run per week in favour of swimming. My at-home morning yoga stays the same, potentially with the addition of candles.

missysippy930 wrote: »

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.

I don't currently have gear that would support -34 F with windchill of -70, but was issued it when I was stationed in Plattsburg, NY, and would get it again if I lived in that sort of climate.

Like you, I'd prefer that over 90F with tropical dew points in the 70’s - YUCK.

This is some of what we were issued:

https://www.armynavysales.com/g-i-n3b-extreme-cold-weather-parka-mj118-353.html



https://www.armynavysales.com/g-i-muk-luks-mf119-270.html



Don't forget the liners!

(I'd only recommend mukluks for when trudging through snow - I'm sure there are less clunky cold weather hiking boots that are better for walking on dry ground. In Massachusetts, I'm fine with insulated hiking boots, cotton socks, and wool socks.)

kshama2001 wrote: »

For the last 5 years or so, all winter long I've bundled up and walked in the woods every day during the week at lunch time, unless it was raining, in which case I would do yoga or strength train inside, or snowing, when I would shovel or go snow shoeing.

I am far more likely to feel trapped indoors by summer heat than winter cold.

There's no such thing as "too cold" - just insufficient gear

I live in Arizona and it's so *kitten* hot most of the year that getting outdoors is a struggle. And it love to be outside. We are planning a move for better weather and outdoor activities.

Athijade wrote: »

I HATE summer. I hate being too hot. In winter you can just add layers and blankets. In summer you can only take so much off! I sleep better in winter as well as I like the weight of the blankets and it's colder. Plus my cats are little heaters so it's much nicer to cuddle with them when it is cold.

This is so funny because I'm the exact opposite! I like summer because you can just take layers off, wear shorts and t-shirts and sandals, sit outside in the breeze... But in Winter there are only so many layers you can put on! No one ever lost a toe to frost bite in summer! My face doesn't hurt when I go outside in the summer. My fingers don't crack open in the summer.

I know winter is coming so I'm outside as much as I can get right now trying to suck up the heat like a lizard sitting on a rock! Only 8 more months until summer...

1poundatax wrote: »

I am already dreading our New England winter especially because I anticipate we will still be limiting our socializing and other activities. I am getting ideas of things that I can look forward to. Right now I am looking for healthy recipes that will be good over the winter- ( I like to cook and try new recipes.) I have been working out at home so I will just continue that. My favorite videos are Leslie Sansone but I do others as well. I also do strength training. I am thinking ahead to some changes I want to make in my garden. And I remind myself that by Feb. the days will be getting longer again and spring/summer will come again.

I'm in Massachusetts. One thing I like about the snow is footprints - I can see who, man or beast, uses the same trails as I do. Behind my house, it's mostly deer, rabbits, and coyotes.

On the other hand, it is gratifying to see how much our state and town parks get used by humans in the winter. I've never had to break trail on the main trails - a few years back when we had feet and feet of snow, at one place volunteers who lived nearby would use snowblowers to clear a mile of trail and hikers and skiers would pack down more trails. At another place, someone would plow a good section of trail, and again, other hikers would pack down sections inaccessible to plow trucks.

A friend gave me a pair of snow shoes he found at a yard sale for $5 - what a great calorie burn!

The above all presumes it is snow that keeps you inside. If it's just the cold, see above and bundle up I wear layers and like to start off a little cold, otherwise I will be way too hot at walk's end.