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absolutely, I eat worse when I sleep less and the effect is doubled in winter. I really lay on the calorie rich "soul food" in winter as much as I try really ha

absolutely, I eat worse when I sleep less and the effect is doubled in winter. I really lay on the calorie rich "soul food" in winter as much as I try really hard not to.

steve_adams_86 5y ago
This is anecdotal but I find a couple things get me off of soul food kicks. One, exercise seems to keep me on the straight and narrow. I almost never drink, but when I did, running reduced it a ton. Today I find it increases my appetite for all varieties of foods. I still want the biscuits and gravy, but a carrot is super appealing to. As a result I’ll end up filling dietary space with a wider variety of food. I also find my eyes become more aligned with my stomach. As in my desire for a lot of food reduces and I’ll start eating more sensible amounts. Otherwise really prioritizing sleep makes a huge difference. In winter I tend to get bored because so little is going on, or so it seems. I can fall into habits of staying up too late trying to find something engaging to do. Of course, I rarely do. The hours fly by and suddenly I’m primed to get a terrible sleep. I try to make sure I go to bed earlier than I would in summer, then wake up early and experience first light and stuff. Like walk to work as the sun rises, walk to get a coffee outside if I’m already at work. Get fresh air and light nice and early. Anyway, just sharing in case you hadn’t tried these things and you’re curious about other experiences. I really struggle with eating way too much in winter.
- senectus1 5y ago
  yeah exercise drops off for me in winter. this next winter i'm going to do something about that... I gained almost all that I'd lost in the last winter :-/
  - steve_adams_86 5y ago
    Ha, yeah… I’ve had my share of winters like that. I had a big string of them. Winter seems to be mostly a mental battle of getting past lethargy. Once you break through, the exercise is so easy. It’s like any other time. Your body switches on, your brain accepts what’s going on, you stop wanting to take it easy. Cold rain and air stops feeling so awful. Your body warms up, movement becomes less difficult. And you can really build momentum with that energy too. I think the key is taking small steps. When I finally succeeded in breaking the cycle it was because I finally set aside my ego and ran a 2km run and left it at that. Then a 3km run. And so on. It was so manageable, wore me down so little that I could run a couple day later, and as I broke the rust off and got myself into the habit I could actually handle it. This was after years and years of regularly running 10-30km effortlessly all year round. I guess I got pneumonia one summer and it threw me off terribly, I got lethargic, then inactive, then gained about 50lb over several years. Getting back to it was physically and mentally so hard. But yeah, letting myself take baby steps and not being ashamed of my loss of fitness seems like it was key. For anyone I imagine the mindset of “I’ll go run around the block and see how I feel” would probably yield a lot more runs than the mindset I had that I felt bad about not running, losing my fitness, didn’t want to subject myself to an hour of cold and suffering, didn’t have enough time, etc. None of that mattered. I suppose even getting up and going for a walk beats the hell out of sitting inside barely moving. Even if it isn’t way better, any amount is worth it. Good luck next year!

absolutely, I eat worse when I sleep less and the effect is doubled in winter. I really lay on the calorie rich "soul food" in winter as much as I try really hard not to.

steve_adams_86 5y ago

This is anecdotal but I find a couple things get me off of soul food kicks. One, exercise seems to keep me on the straight and narrow. I almost never drink, but when I did, running reduced it a ton. Today I find it increases my appetite for all varieties of foods. I still want the biscuits and gravy, but a carrot is super appealing to. As a result I’ll end up filling dietary space with a wider variety of food. I also find my eyes become more aligned with my stomach. As in my desire for a lot of food reduces and I’ll start eating more sensible amounts. Otherwise really prioritizing sleep makes a huge difference. In winter I tend to get bored because so little is going on, or so it seems. I can fall into habits of staying up too late trying to find something engaging to do. Of course, I rarely do. The hours fly by and suddenly I’m primed to get a terrible sleep. I try to make sure I go to bed earlier than I would in summer, then wake up early and experience first light and stuff. Like walk to work as the sun rises, walk to get a coffee outside if I’m already at work. Get fresh air and light nice and early. Anyway, just sharing in case you hadn’t tried these things and you’re curious about other experiences. I really struggle with eating way too much in winter.

senectus1 5y ago
yeah exercise drops off for me in winter. this next winter i'm going to do something about that... I gained almost all that I'd lost in the last winter :-/
- steve_adams_86 5y ago
  Ha, yeah… I’ve had my share of winters like that. I had a big string of them. Winter seems to be mostly a mental battle of getting past lethargy. Once you break through, the exercise is so easy. It’s like any other time. Your body switches on, your brain accepts what’s going on, you stop wanting to take it easy. Cold rain and air stops feeling so awful. Your body warms up, movement becomes less difficult. And you can really build momentum with that energy too. I think the key is taking small steps. When I finally succeeded in breaking the cycle it was because I finally set aside my ego and ran a 2km run and left it at that. Then a 3km run. And so on. It was so manageable, wore me down so little that I could run a couple day later, and as I broke the rust off and got myself into the habit I could actually handle it. This was after years and years of regularly running 10-30km effortlessly all year round. I guess I got pneumonia one summer and it threw me off terribly, I got lethargic, then inactive, then gained about 50lb over several years. Getting back to it was physically and mentally so hard. But yeah, letting myself take baby steps and not being ashamed of my loss of fitness seems like it was key. For anyone I imagine the mindset of “I’ll go run around the block and see how I feel” would probably yield a lot more runs than the mindset I had that I felt bad about not running, losing my fitness, didn’t want to subject myself to an hour of cold and suffering, didn’t have enough time, etc. None of that mattered. I suppose even getting up and going for a walk beats the hell out of sitting inside barely moving. Even if it isn’t way better, any amount is worth it. Good luck next year!