Winter Is Coming

We tend to eat more and put on pounds during the cold months. There are biological and evolutionary reasons for this. It was difficult for our ancestors to find food in the Winter plus the added fat on our frames helps keep us warm. 

If you are interested in more information about Winter weight gain, this post has some good explanations and some links to research.

Thanksgiving and Christmas feasting is not a coincidence and you might find yourself getting hungrier than usual and sometimes binging into and during this time of year.

If this sounds familiar, there are some things you can do to prepare and counteract your body’s impulse and response to the cold seasons and now's the time to prepare.

The more we form habits now, the easier they will be to maintain over the November-March stretch. 

1. Eat lots of nutritious protein packed food early in the evening and then shut it down. See this post from a few weeks back called Chapter One for more details on the basics of eating windows. (I will send out Chapter Two next week so stay tuned 😉)

You want to fast as often as possible from 8 or 9 PM to 12 to 1 PM the next day.

2. Don’t bring pretzels, chips, and other garbage snacks into the house. This is an environmental strategy to decrease temptation. Your kids will survive. 

3. Plan for indoor exercise or get the clothing game you need to continue your outdoor regiment. This might mean a treadmill, Peloton, or rowing machine or it might mean getting with your local running store or getting the knowledge and clothing required to walk, run, or bike outdoors without freezing your butt off.

Here are a couple posts with tips of the trade to get you started.

Running During the Winter Sucks But It Doesn't Have To via Esquire

Everything You Need To Know About Running In The Cold via Runners World

Digital Intermittent Fasting

I tweeted this out the morning after the debate:

Now is the perfect time to get away from the relentless noise cycle on a regular basis. Here’s a post I wrote on my Eight Fat Swine Blog that outlines the plan for Digital Intermittent Fasting.

Sunday Meditation

I like to let mediations roll around in my head for a while, sometimes for days. I have been on this one this weekend and it has enhanced experiences with my wife kids.

The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence.”

- Thich Nhat Hanh