Bloody winter

Does anybody else get the winter eats? I don't know what it is about this season but it just makes me want to eat and eat and eat! Maybe something deep in my brain is unleashing primal instincts to fatten up for the winter months ahead, but its getting really bad!

I have lost 100ish lbs with 60 more to go so I have the will power / gym knowhow to make it work. Before, I would just eat all the time so I didn't think anything of it. During the non-winter months I could hit my cals and not get cravings. Now winter has hit I feel like I wanna eat bread and cheese until my belly pops. The evidence is also clear in my graph it flatlines during December.

Does anybody else get effected during this time?

Absolutely! I haven't been dieting that long so I can't show you a graph, but winter just hit hard and I'm feeling it. It's absolutely freezing where I live and all I want is creamy soups, mashed potatoes with tons of butter and melted cheese! And it doesn't help that I don't get out as much either.

I try to find similar but healthy comfort foods that are warm and filling. So I have oatmeal with cinnamon every morning. And we make this lovely homemade carrot and potato soup that is fat free and low-cal - I put extra hot sauce in it instead of melted cheese like I used to.

You know, there is something to this - I saw a news show with a nutrition expert who says our bodies want us to add 100-200 cals per day in the winter. So it's probably true that we are hard-wired for this to a certain degree!

I also live in a very cold climate and when the snow hits all I want to do is curl up by the fire and snack. I'm trying to focus on foods that feel comforting (creamy/warm/melty) without actually adding the fatty ingredients I'm craving. It's been a challenge because I'm not fond of what I consider "fake" foods such as butter/sugar substitutes or low-fat cheese, but I'm working on it! 

Vegetable soups are wonderful - I make a minestrone with rice that is rich and filling and under 200 cals per cup - and squash soup is also excellent (leaving out the cream, of course - it's still lovely, sweet, and velvety). Air-popped popcorn with a cup of hot cocoa (or better yet, naturally sweet tea such as Constant Comment) is a satisfying, warm snack. A reasonably-sized grilled cheese sandwich with a nice big salad isn't a bad lunch or dinner, and will satisfy that melted cheese craving.

I'll be curious to see if anyone else has some good tips, as I could use some new ones!

As for getting out - it helps me to remember that my body has to burn even more calories than normal to stay warm when I exercise outside. :)

Good luck!

Really good tips from both of you. I like the idea of reintroducing grilled cheese sandwiches. I've found that spraying that spray butter on the outside of the bread gives it the nice grilled brown effect without making it too greasy and calorific (depends on how you like your grilled cheese I spose!). The problem is that after a grilled cheese I want to cut off another hunk of extra sharp cheddar and stuff it in my noggin. Its a matter of will power I guess, I just notice it getting tougher.

I have started always eating oatmeal in the morning. 1 cup of quakers (with water) is 300 calories and feels like it could feed an army. Great thing is you can throw in some honey or chopped fruits / cinnamon and its tasty tasty. I think I'm just going to have to be smart and plan for some evening snacking and reduce total calories throughout the day, maybe grab some popcorn / baby carrots or something who knows.

Thanks for the replies, good help.

I hear ya, whenever it gets cold here I gain weight like crazy but I finally figured out how to beat it.

Low Cal soups like the progressive ones are amazing when you have those crazy craving for warm fatty soups. For the whole can its 120 calories compared to the 800 my MIL makes.