10.5.2020 – The Importance of Eating Healthy During Cooler Months
by Traveling Trainers Nutrition coach Alex Andujar
OCTOBER 5, 2020 – Ahhhhh the fall has finally and officially arrived. There’s a cool, crisp breeze in the air – hoodie season as it’s known. Football fills our weekends. We’ve got exciting playoff baseball. The scent of delicious pumpkin and apple products fill the air. Go ahead – go grab your Pumpkin Spice Latte, I won’t judge. Spooky decorations adorn houses. It’s also an important time to focus a little more closely on our eating habits.
A Warm, Cozy Bed Is Better Than the Gym
If you’re anything like me, you enjoy being outside in a hoodie but only for so long. As those temperatures begin to plummet, wintry mixes fall upon us, and wind chills seemingly pierce our souls, we start to stay inside a bit more.
That 5am pre-work run just doesn’t sound as nice as staying in your warm, cozy bed. Yeah, you could hit the gym after work, but when those roads get kind of slick you play it safe and go straight home.
It’s no surprise that one of the reasons it’s important to eat healthy during cooler months is because we generally become more sedentary. The days of going on morning or evening walks are erased by dark skies and bone-chilling temperatures.
We all know the *very* generalized statement to lose weight is “move more, eat less.” While the statement in and of itself isn’t helpful because it doesn’t give you a roadmap of how to do those things, that “move more” part starts to fade away in colder months.
How nice would it be to get through the winter and not feel like you need to drop several pounds? If you’re going to exercise less, healthy eating is your saving grace for minimizing the dreaded winter weight gain.
This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to count calories or macros or do any of the various diets out there. You certainly can if that’s what you prefer and know you can adhere to (the number one most important part of a diet by the way – finding something sustainable you can stick with).
Me personally? I like to keep it simple. Minimize ultra-processed foods and stick to as many single ingredient whole foods as you can. What do I mean by single ingredient whole foods? The only ingredient in chicken is chicken. The only ingredient in a broccoli is broccoli.
Since you’ll be staying indoors a little more often, take advantage of the time to experiment with new ways of cooking or different kinds of spices and sauces. Get creative! The cooler months are also the perfect time to make large batches of hearty soups, stews, and chili all of which can be incredibly healthy.