Why People Gain Weight In Winter And How How To Get Rid Of It?

Worried about your weight going up this winter?

Or looking for answers to how to get rid of winter weight gain?

Well, there might be many questions in your mind when it comes to seasonal weight gain!

After all, winters come in with lots of comfort food and festive delicacies that contribute to your weight gain and draw up the lines of tension up your face.

But, have you ever wondered, if there were actual scientific reasons behind that winter weight gain?

Yes, you heard that right! It’s not just our ruined diet that has been messing things up for you, but there are many more reasons that you have not still explored.

But don’t you worry as we bring you a blog full of wonders bringing up some lesser-known facts and some curious answers right up your screen.

Our following blog focuses on 10 reasons that contribute to your winter weight gain along with some ways with which you can avoid the winter weight gain bar!

Without taking much of your time let us dig into the blog.

10 Reasons Why People Gain Weight In Winter

Weight gain during the winter season varies from person to person, but certain factors tend to accelerate this weight gain.

Moreover, surveys show that the average winter weight gain found in people is about 5 to 7 pounds which is quite a great deal!

But don’t you worry, as in the following sections you will see the reasons why this happens.

This will help you avoid unnecessary weight gain.

#1. Extra Sleepy Weather

Winters attract you to stay cozy under a blanket. You must have felt attracted towards your pillow by the time the sun starts setting at 4 p.m.

Ever wondered what could be the reason behind this? The reason is the extra secretion of sleep hormones because of lack of light.

Sunlight affects the secretion of sleep hormones and thus winters take a toll on your sleep pattern.

But the sleep hormones not just make you sleepy also brings in weakness and a high appetite.

Thus the more you sleep, the more hungry you are consequently putting up a lot of weight.

#2. Metabolism Increases

During, winters your metabolism increases to burn energy so as to keep your energy balanced and keep you warm, thus it requires you more food to meet up your body’s energy demands.

But this certainly doesn’t mean that you need to eat more!

You can instead stay in a warmer surrounding to keep your metabolism stable.

#3. Comfort foods

The major reason why we gain weight in winters is our uncontrolled eating habits. And what else could lead to more eating other than the cravings for warm comfort foods?

As you saw above, our body metabolizes food and generates heat, we crave for foods more than before.

Thus, it’s not the air or the weather which is making you gain weight, it is actually the behavioral changes that bring in the excess weight.

In winters we seek out foods which we might not have craved normally, like creamy pasta, roasts, hot puddings, and whatnot.

#4. Less exercise

Winters bring in laziness! We get more attracted to the comfort foods while being snuggled up in the blankets rather than some nice exercises.

Our tendency to go out or hit the gym drops to zero because of the shorter days and longer nights that bring in loads of lazy thoughts.

#5. Seasonal affective disorder

The lack of sunlight can have a serious toll on your health and mood. Many people develop Seasonal affective disorder which is a type of depression.

This leads to binge eating and can make you fat!

But you can dodge this clinical disorder by getting up with the sun and getting full exposure to the sun.

#6. Holiday Meals

Well Santa, brings in the most of his gifts in winters! And who can miss those savory festive delicacies?

The winters are termed as the holiday season bringing in pastries and gatherings are full of drinks.

So what can you do to avoid these festive meals?

Don’t go in with a full appetite!!!!

#7. Less fresh air

Well, fewer exercises are not the only reason behind your growing weight. Cold weather also inhibits your supply of fresh air as you keep lying under the blanket under the protection of warmth.

Fresh air is very important for the healthy functioning of your body and keeping your weight in check.

#8. You are all bundled up!

Winters signify cozy sweaters and mufflers. But all that covered up area of your body makes you lose track of how your body looks and whether it needs to go under maintenance.

Take a moment now and then, to stand in front of the mirror to see if you have gained a little weight!

#9. Missed meals

Most people fail to keep an eye on their diet plans and often end up skipping meals which is not a good sign for your body.

Skipping meals lead to overeating that leads to a constant weight gain!

Thus, what you need to is stick to your diet as much as possible and avoid skipping meals.

#10. Hormonal reasons

Most of the above reasons behind you gaining weight were associated with your eating habits or your lazy mood swings.

But here we need to talk about some serious physiological changes that cannot be reversed.

These biological factors are blood sugar and thyroid hormones that trigger weight gain.

This imbalance is caused by the lack of proper minerals and vitamins which can be taken care of by following balanced meals.

With the reasons being quite clear, it is also important to have a few tricks right on your fingertips to avoid this weight gain.

Thus, we have our next section that brings you some tips to avoid winter weight gain.

How to avoid winter weight gain?

Sticking to your usual diet is pretty much difficult in the fall!

But what if we tell you that you can actually follow just simple 7 steps and stay loyal to your wellness goals?

You read that right!

Gaining weight in winter can now be an old thing for when you follow the given tips and advice:

#1.  Giving attention to whole foods

Candies and cookies might be your first love, but that would juts be a one-sided love as they would definitely leave you bloated with some excess weight too!

What we suggest you follow this winters is a diet rich with whole foods.

Whole foods offer you more energy and keep you focused on the wellness goals.

#2. Plenty of sleep and sunshine of course!

Research shows that sleep might be a reason behind your weight gain!

But that’s certainly about the bad sleep quality that you get in winters because of the shorter days and longer nights.

Thus, what you need to do is improve your sleep quality by limiting blue lights, sleeping in a dark room, and avoiding caffeine.

#3. Maintaining Exercise Routine

The last thing that you don’t want to do in winter is exercise! The mere thought of going out haunts you.

But the fact is, exercise is very important for your health and body weight. Moreover, in winters you need to stay loyal to your exercise routine to keep out all the bad effects.

What you can do is just stay active and stay healthy in winters.

#4. Moving throughout the day

Exercising a few times a week is definitely a good move. But what’s better is when you stay active throughout the day.

According to research, your daily activities have a great impact on your overall energy levels.

Thus you can simply walk around or do a little groceries shopping daily to curb down your weight and keep it normal.

#5. Cook your own meals

Invited to the neighbor’s Christmas party? But unsure if the food matches your health goals?

Cook your own meal, have it before leaving your house.

This will keep you full and prevent you from eating food that not matches your health goals.

#6. Cut back alcohol

Alcohol is one of the major drinks in the winter season. But let us highlight you a fact, just a beer, contains 145 calories. Thus, enjoying just 4 beers will add up around 600 calories to your daily diet.

Moreover, alcohol also spikes up your insulin, thus when your blood sugar drops down, you will end up having more cravings for sugary food.

So limit your alcohol intake and follow three simple steps:

• Work out the day you plan to drink
• Eat balanced meals
• Stick to lower calorie spirits like vodka

#7. Don’t stress much

Holidays mostly bring in a lot of stress with all those plannings and preparations. But as you saw above that stress is one of the most famous promoters of weight gain.

Stress boosts up the cortisol levels leading to more body mass index.

You can manage stress by building a personal toolkit that focuses on things that help you relax and calm.

Now on the off chance if you saw our blog late and have already ended up gaining weight this winters, let us help you with some tips to reverse this gain.

#8. Drink more water

Winters usually interfere with our normal thirst levels and thus we tend to drink less water as compared to other seasons.

However, drinking water can actually be a good way to lose weight.

Wondering how? Here are a few ways in which it helps:

1. Helps you eat less – drinking a glass of water before your meals make you feel full and thus you eat less. According to a study dated 2014, overweight women who drank two cups of water before every meal not only showed a decrease in weight but also lost body fat.
2. Helps avoid snacking – water is a natural appetite suppressant. Thus whenever you feel hungry just go for a glass of water rather than a snack.
3. Boosts metabolism – according to scientists, drinking cold water at room temperature increases your energy expenditure helping burn calories
4. Improves digestion – water flushes out the extra waste in your body thus enhancing digestion and reducing the risk of bloating.

Conclusion

Seasonal changes bring in lots of new things to one’s life ranging from diseases to body changes.

One of the most trending topics that arise during seasonal changes in the winter weight gain.

During winters, our cravings for unusual calories go beyond the level of normal leading to excess weight gain.

Some people believe that it is all about the chilly air that makes you go plump, but is that true?

A big NO!

Many reasons contribute to your growing weight, one of them being your uncontrolled food cravings.

The above blog brings out a detailed outline of what these reasons are and how you can avoid them!

So have a thorough read and find out why you gain weight in winters!