Is anybody else reeeaaaalllly hungry these days? I mean reeeaaaallllly hungry? I am thinking about food more that ever this winter, and while we've had a few absolutely cracking sunny days in Sydney, we've also had some extremely cold days too.
So what's the reason behind all the extra eating we tend to do over winter? Everyone has their favourite 'comfort foods' but why do we love them so much? The obvious is we want hot food to help kep us warm. We also burn more calories trying to keep warm which may trigger the need for more food to stoke the fire - this makes most sense for me, I am one of those people that really feels the cold.
As well as this, we are less likely to have the obvious thirst to quench that we have in summer, which means we are probably drinking less water - and it is very common for the body to confuse thirst with hunger. And finallly there is some discussion of our decreased time outdoors leading to a lack of vitamin D, which in some people can increase the likelyhood of depression, or sadness which can fuel the need for comfort eating.
So a multitude of potential reasons for being extra hungry over the winter months requires a multitude of actions we can take to control it better.
1. Get out there and exercise! You will get warm (therefore requiring less hot food to warm you up), and feel better physically, emotionally and mentally = no brainer!
2. Keep up your water intake. And try drinking warm water - that way you're killing two birds with one stone, warming up your insides and keeping hydrated.
3. Be prepared. Have plenty of healthy food organised so that when you do feel hungry, you're not rushing out for snacks that are not so good for you. And you may also choose to eat smaller meals in higher frequency - this is working best for me!
4. Keep a food diary (yes, this includes weekends!), just to make sure you are really aware of how much you're eating and drinking, this will help you work out where to make adjustments when neccessary.
Enjoy your comfort foods but be good to your body at the same time, you still need to look after yourself in winter!
