As the days get shorter in the winter months, spending more time at home and indoors
As the days get shorter in the winter months, spending more time at home and indoors and the body storing fat to keep warm as the weather gets colder are the biggest reasons for weight gain. Spending more time at home in the evenings leads to enjoyable eating schedules and excessive consumption of high-energy winter foods such as boza, salep and chestnuts, making weight gain inevitable during the winter months. Decreasing physical activity with cold weather also contributes to weight gain in winter.
What should we do to avoid gaining weight or even lose excess weight in winter? Since winter is a time when work and school hours are more regular than summer, it is easier to ensure regular nutrition. In addition to breakfast, lunch and dinner at certain times, 1-2 snacks as needed are sufficient. Breakfast should be filling, energizing and protein-based. For main meals, winter vegetables with meat, dried legumes, grilled fish, whole wheat pasta and bulgur rice are among the suitable foods. For snacks, dried fruit and nut mixtures, roasted chickpeas, hot drinks with milk, and fresh winter fruits are suitable foods.
Hot drink consumption increases significantly in winter compared to summer. When consumed without sugar, black tea, black Turkish coffee, filter coffee and herbal teas do not cause weight gain as they do not contain calories. A filling snack that can also be preferred with coffee with milk. However, coffees must be without cream and caramel. Among the herbal teas, ginger, green tea, white tea, rooibos tea, cinnamon and clove teas can be preferred without sugar. Hot chocolate, salep and boza consumed in winter months are drinks with high energy content. 1 teacup (200 ml) of salep or boza is 240 calories. Due to their sugar content, especially diabetic patients should stay away.
One should be careful about the increased carbohydrates they want to consume during the winter months. Instead of refined carbohydrates such as rice pilaf, noodles, pasta and pastry, low glycemic index foods such as bulgur pilaf and dried legumes (dry beans, green lentils, chickpeas) should be consumed.
During winter months, especially indoors We can benefit from herbal teas instead of using antibiotics to protect ourselves from flu infections, which increase as we spend more time, and to have a comfortable time during the illness. Cinnamon, ginger, echinacea, eucalyptus, linden, turmeric and sage are herbal teas that we can consume in winter months.
We can benefit from natural antibiotics in our kitchen to strengthen our immunity, which weakens during the winter months. Onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric, honey, … natural foods with antibacterial and antiviral properties. Probiotic yoghurts and kefir should also be included in the daily diet as they strengthen the immune system. Since zinc is a mineral that strengthens immunity, red meat should be consumed 2 days a week and minced meat should be added to vegetable dishes.
Winter months are more inactive than other seasons. In winter, due to decreased physical activity and increased fat content, metabolism may slow down and foods can easily turn into fat. To prevent this situation, a healthy snack after dinner is sufficient. Suitable snacks that can be consumed during this snack can be one of the following. 1 medium-sized fresh fruit, 1 glass of milk, 1 glass of kefir, 1 handful of roasted chickpeas, 15-20 almonds, 3-4 walnuts, 3 dried dates,... Even if the weather gets cold, you should drink at least 2 liters of water, 3-4 times a week. 30-40 minutes of exercise should be done every day.
and the body's fat storage to keep warm as the weather gets colder are the biggest reasons for weight gain.
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