Summer Shift?

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MsCzar
MsCzar Posts: 1,042 Member
edited May 2021 in Food and Nutrition
For those of us in the northern hemisphere, summer is upon us. For me that means rising and retiring earlier. I am still figuring out how to shift my calorie budget around to accommodate the season - including the addition of all that yummy summer fresh produce.

Does anyone here change their meal schedule or calorie distribution during the summer months? I love having a big mid-day bowl of watermelon, frozen berry/banana sorbet or mixing-bowl sized garden salad, but that does chip away at my dinner calorie budget.

Do you have a summer food shift? Helpful summer suggestions?

Happy summer, everyone! 🌞

Replies

  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,217 Member
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    Observing my personal data, there aren't any seasonal fluctuations to my caloric needs. Thus, I do not adjust my diet requisite to seasonal changes. Qualitatively, I'm more active during the warmer months (golf, yard work, spending time outside with my son, etc.) but that perceived increase in activity is not reflected in my observed TDEE to any measurable degree.

    My biggest suggestion is to simply continue to accurately track your intake, regardless of components or timing. Especially for those coming from other platforms like WW where things like fruit are "free" the habit of overeating those items can be a difficult one to curtail. Now, I'm certainly not suggesting you avoid fruit; I enjoyed a nice bowl of blueberries and strawberries this morning and look forward to the banana and apple I've brought with my lunch today. However, these "good" foods still have calories and need to be accounted for appropriately.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    Not really. Schedule is pretty much what it always is. I'm at work from 8-5 (or longer) Monday - Friday so my schedule is what it is and doesn't change with the seasons. Regardless of season, I'm typically up around 5:30/6 and in bed by 10/10:30...may read or something until around 11.

    Summer fare tends to be lighter...more grilling of chicken, fish, burgers, steak, more fresh veggies and fruit vs winter where it's more casseroles, soups, stews, etc. I'm an outdoors kinda guy, so I also tend to be quite a bit more active in the warmer months vs winter when it's dark when I get up and dark when I get home from work and cold. I tend to basically hibernate in winter and I'm always out and about doing something in the winter months. I usually put on 10 or so pounds over the winter and drop all of that pretty naturally in the warmer months when I can get out and play again.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,218 Member
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    Yeah, kinda.

    In Winter I sleep late, sometimes eat 2 meals instead of 3 (or the middle one is light). In Summer, I row early-ish usually 4 days a week, eat a light breakfast before that, then have my bigger "breakfast" oatmeal as lunch.

    My Summer exercise is longer (rowing on water, cycling outdoors = more fun than indoor/machine), and Summer includes more incidental activity (steps, plus nature of indoor vs. outdoor chores/hobbies). This kind of just happens, it's not forced.

    I've been counting for almost 6 years, maintaining for 5+. I don't change my base calorie goal seasonally, just try to log the exercise in either season with reasonable care, then eat it back. I do calorie bank to eat over goal occasionally, so mostly adjust if needed by watching the scale trend and changing the frequency or extent of the over-goal cases.

    Food choices differ seasonally, but sort of play off each other in my eating pattern, such as hearty soup/stew in Winter playing of against lighter but ample Summer fruits or frozen treats. Plus the higher Summer exercise creates a little wiggle room, for me.

    I'm not saying any of the above would work for others, just describing what seems to work for me.

    The only advice I have is to keep logging, experiment creatively with choices (specific foods, calorie timing, etc.) to find your personalized sweet spot. 🤷‍♀️
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    I don't make any deliberate changes, but I tend to go produce crazy during the summer so I'm eating a lot more meals like gazpacho, melon salads, and lightly cooked greens and pea pods. Combined with higher activity in the summer, it usually makes it feel easier to hit my calorie goals.

    The winter is when I have to watch out because I'm more likely to want to do things like eat huge bowls of risotto while hiding inside from the snow.
  • VegjoyP
    VegjoyP Posts: 2,718 Member
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    I usually change with some seasonal fruit and vegetables based on time of year. Plus summer is more smoothies and fruit and fall is squash and pumpkin. Winter Cranberry and fig and spring lots of new greens in summer. Lots of stews and roots in winter and late spring. Also more hot tea in winter but really I drink it all year. Same with hot cocoa. That knows no season for me! Lol
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 9,124 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Not really. Schedule is pretty much what it always is. I'm at work from 8-5 (or longer) Monday - Friday so my schedule is what it is and doesn't change with the seasons. Regardless of season, I'm typically up around 5:30/6 and in bed by 10/10:30...may read or something until around 11.

    Summer fare tends to be lighter...more grilling of chicken, fish, burgers, steak, more fresh veggies and fruit vs winter where it's more casseroles, soups, stews, etc. I'm an outdoors kinda guy, so I also tend to be quite a bit more active in the warmer months vs winter when it's dark when I get up and dark when I get home from work and cold. I tend to basically hibernate in winter and I'm always out and about doing something in the winter months. I usually put on 10 or so pounds over the winter and drop all of that pretty naturally in the warmer months when I can get out and play again.

    This. Maybe more like 2-3 pounds for me instead of ten, but the principle remains.
  • MsCzar
    MsCzar Posts: 1,042 Member
    edited May 2021
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    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    In Winter I sleep late, sometimes eat 2 meals instead of 3 (or the middle one is light). In Summer, I row early-ish usually 4 days a week, eat a light breakfast before that, then have my bigger "breakfast" oatmeal as lunch.

    Same here. In winter, I sleep later and have two meals with brunch happening around 10-11AM and dinner being the larger of the two meals. In summer, I am up very early and like to have a substantial breakfast before taking on the day. Around 1-3PM, I'll have a light lunch. Today, it was a delicious dish of homemade banana & blackberry sorbet. Yesterday, it was a big chunk of watermelon. Depending on lunch, that usually leaves 300-500 calories for dinner... doable, but not the 700 calorie meals I was enjoying during the winter.

    Not complaining - and it isn't really any struggle; just wondering if and how folks here adjust for summertime goodies.


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