Why is it easier to gain weight in winter? Psychologists reveal "three real reasons": changes in body shape are beyond normal
In winter when the temperature is lower, is the body shape really more susceptible to effects? Psychologist Su Congqi, director of the Four Seasons Heart Psychological Counseling Center, said in a social post that the real cause of obesity is related to an individual’s original eating habits and lifestyle, and is not entirely caused by the seasons. Furthermore, weight gain in winter is “normal”; statistics have shown that adults gain an average of about 0.5% of their weight during winter festivals such as Christmas and Lunar New Year.
Why is it easier to gain weight in winter? Psychologists reveal “3 real reasons”
Psychologist Su Congqi emphasized that the reason why winter has become the most likely season of the year to gain weight is mainly due to the following three reasons:
Increased desire to eat. As a normal physiological phenomenon, the body needs more calories in winter to maintain normal physiological operations, and eating in the cold winter can also give you a greater sense of inner satisfaction.
Food intake increases during festivals. Beginning of winter tonic, winter solstice glutinous rice dumplings, Christmas dinner followed by New Year’s Eve carnival, and the Lunar New Year’s Eve and spring wine. Every few weeks in winter, there is a festival where you can eat and drink well. Therefore, the cold weather coupled with the festival factor makes people almost in a state of “must eat”.
Decreased body awareness. Affected by the way you wear it, you tend to wear looser clothes in winter, and it is easy to wear clothes that cover your body, which will reduce your awareness of changes in your posture. Therefore, ignoring the impact of overeating on body posture may cause people to suffer from obesity unknowingly.
“Eating and drinking a lot for a few meals or even a few days is really not that big of an impact!” Psychologist Su Congqi pointed out that weight gain after festival carnivals is more likely due to the intake of more “refined sugars” and “salt” , leading to water retention in the body rather than fat accumulation. “The key lies in how you eat, move and sleep before and after the festival. If you eat and drink randomly every day, it will be strange that your physical and mental health is not affected!”
How to stay in shape during the winter holidays? 3 things to help you consciously take control of your body shape
In addition, psychologist Su Congqi appealed to the public that food should be eaten well, enjoyed and happily. How to help oneself maintain a better relationship with food and body posture in winter is a topic that everyone should learn. If you are worried about your body shape and accidentally “let yourself go”, you can grasp the following principles to help you control your body shape more consciously.
One is to “make a good diet plan”. If your eating habits are “guerrilla warfare”, that is, “eating what you see”, it is indeed easy to lead to obesity during the festival. It is normal to occasionally overeat on certain holidays or occasions, and there is no need to blame yourself too much. It is recommended that if you already know the situations where overeating may occur, you can reduce the amount of food you eat before and after the meal so that the total amount of food can be dynamically adjusted.
The second is to “dress with a plan.” During certain festivals, it is easy to be influenced by situational or interpersonal factors and unknowingly overeat. If there are no clues to remind you, it is easy for you to “think you have eaten very little”, causing a repeated regret cycle. It is recommended that you try wearing tight jeans or a belt first to help you feel your belly expand when you eat too much food, helping you to feel your body’s sense of fullness and choose to stop eating.
Finally, it is recommended to “drink a cup of hot water” before a big meal. The human body sometimes feels hungry, which may be because the body consumes a large amount of calories in order to maintain a constant body temperature. At this time, you can try drinking hot water or hot tea to make your body feel warm and your hunger will decrease. Similarly, when eating in cold weather, you may want to eat some warm foods, such as baked sweet potatoes, baked potatoes, boiled eggs, poached eggs, miso soup, tofu soup, etc., which can also effectively relieve hunger.
In general, psychologist Su Congqi said that food should be a source of happiness, not the “starting point of regret.”
It is perfectly normal to experience slight weight gain due to heavy eating and drinking in winter. The key lies in how to eat, move and sleep before and after the festival. If you eat and drink indiscriminately every day, the impact on your physical and mental health should not be attributed to the big meals and the weather. “As long as you can be aware of the dynamic relationship between body, food and mentality, fat or thin is just a temporary physical state!”
Further reading:
