Metabolism, Exercise and Weight Loss in Winter Months

Weight management requires ongoing effort every month of the year, but achieving your weight loss goals can be especially difficult during the winter months. Although it may be a little more complicated to keep to your plan during the coldest time of year, you can still succeed. Read on to learn how to exercise in winter weather and support your metabolism to support weight loss.

The Challenges of Weight Loss in Winter

Many people find it difficult to lose weight in the winter because:

• Holiday gatherings often include foods that are high in calories, sugar, and fat
• Classic cold-weather comfort foods tend to be highly caloric
• Exercising during the winter months may require changes to your routine due to the weather
• Short days with less light can negatively impact your mood leading to emotional eating

Why Winter Exercise Matters

Although you may feel stumped about how to continue exercising outdoors in winter, staying active throughout the winter months is of the utmost importance to weight management. To lose weight, you must burn more calories than you take in. Eating the right foods can help to create a calorie deficit to promote weight loss. Exercise supports these efforts by helping you metabolize more calories than you would if you remained sedentary. Plus, exercising in cold weather and warm conditions helps promote cardiovascular health, alleviate stress and improve your sleep.

How Weight Loss Supplements May Help

There's no magic pill that you can take to lose weight. However, weight loss supplements may work with all the other lifestyle changes that you've made to help you achieve your goal. Although there's no proof that any supplement promotes weight loss for everyone, some have shown promising results in research studies, such as chromium, green tea extract, and specific African spices. Body Kitchen has formulated Trimglo, a stimulant-free weight loss supplement that works by improving insulin sensitivity. This means that sugar in the body is utilized and burned as energy to prevent it being stored as fat-cells Trimglo contains a variety of nutrients designed to improve healthy weight-management. Before trying a weight loss supplement, make sure to check with your medical provider.

How to Exercise in Winter

To continue exercising throughout the winter, follow these tips:

• Head outdoors. Exercising in winter burns more calories due to the cold conditions, so take advantage of that by heading outside. Wear multiple layers, so you can shed the outer ones when your body temperature rises. Make sure to protect your face, ears, nose, and fingertips from the cold. Bundling up offers an extra benefit. The excess weight of your clothes can make your workouts more challenging, leading to a more significant calorie burn.
• Take a walk. Walking on snow is more difficult than cruising along on a paved surface or trail. By simply slipping on your boots and navigating the drifts on the sidewalks, you may burn more calories with a short walk than you would with a longer one in warm conditions.
• Try new indoor activities. Working out indoors doesn't have to mean hitting the gym. Try playing racquetball or handball with your friends or visit a climbing gym and scale the wall.
• Enjoy winter sports. Skiing and snowshoeing both burn calories while letting you enjoy the beauty of winter landscapes.

How to Increase Metabolism and Support Weight Loss in the Winter

Winter weight loss exercise is just one way to support your weight loss efforts. The following tips can complement your healthy diet and exercise plan:

• Snuggle up. Early research indicates that the feel-good chemical serotonin may play an essential role in metabolism support. One way to get a rush of feel-good chemicals is to snuggle up with someone you love on a cold winter's night.
• Sip on ice water. Does cold water boost your metabolism? Studies suggest that the answer is yes. When you drink something cold, your body has to counteract the temperature drop by burning more calories.
• Start things off with soup. A broth-based soup can help fill your stomach so that you'll eat less food in the rest of your meal than you would if you began with a salad. Plus, a bowl of a piping hot favorite can be very satisfying on cold days and may help you avoid reaching for other comfort foods that pack more calories.
• Opt for takeout rather than sit-down dining when you don't feel like cooking. When you order food ahead of time before hunger kicks in, you're less likely to overindulge and better able to choose options that fit your diet.
• Delight in winter vegetables. Many of the vegetables that are in season during the winter months are high in fiber. Not only are they healthy, but they're also filling.
• Get back on track quickly. If you go off the rails at a holiday meal or can't resist hot chocolate loaded with whipped cream on a cold day, put it behind you and get back on track. If you fixate on how you deviated from your dietary plan or beat yourself up over it, you may lose your motivation and give up entirely.