When fall and winter comes, I know I usually eat more. I make chillis, soups, stews, then I cook for Thanksgiving and for New years. I am so afraid that I will mess up for the winter, and then it gets cold, and there are days the weather is too nasty to go outside. Last Fall/winter I spent baking carrot cakes, sweet potato pie, Chocolate-peanut butter bars. I am so afraid. Anyone have any advice? Or thoughts.
tia Cheryl

I just spent an hour figuring out what I wanted to wear for Christmas. Sounds a little stupid but looking at that outfit hanging on the back of my closet door for the next three months is going to help keep me on track. I've got a secret hope that it'll be too big by then but that's fine, too.

I think all the good cooks/bakers around here have a real disadvantage. Nothing I make ever tastes good so I don't really have to worry about any of those comfort foods that taste so good when the weather cools down. Can you find ways to make enough substitutions that the comfort food still tastes good and won't be your diet downfall?

My eating is usually better in the winter because it's cold out so there are less of my friends are calling me and saying, "let's go eat!!"

Maybe you can make it your mission to find healthy crock-pot recipes - warm, good-smelling food that is also healthy (chili, for example).

I hope to find LOTS of healthy crockpot recipes and good meals to make over the winter. I started this healthier lifestyle this past February and did really well cooking then. I also hope to get outside and exercise this winter as well. Last winter..no way...this winter I *will* be doing that!

I worry most about energy levels dropping with the shorter, cold days. This is a huge hindrance to consistent exercise for me.

Robin, your comment about choosing the outfit to wear on Christmas reminded me that I own a cute Christmas skirt a little bit too small, and that could be my mini-goal.

I third this. When the wind chill was ten below there was nothing better than being at home with a cup of low calorie chilli. I need to find that recipe though.

Mmm, vegetable minestroni with whole wheat pasta, also good.

Low calorie hot chocolate with one marshmallow...

Wow, I canīt WAIT for winter!

it doesn't get cold here maybe might drop down to -1 or -2C on a few nights but what gets you here is the rain! and there is alot of it everything is damp all of the time get lots of colds and flu and alsorts just from being wet through. i've found low cal cup a soup is awesome! also has anyone ever tried that cabbage soup diet stuff. a load of crap to be honest but the soup is actually rather nice if you spice it up a bit and you can eat a fair bit of it without really affecting your diet to badly.

Winter for me is WAAAY easier than summer! The kids are in school and so we are more on a schedule which really helps. Having teenagers & their pals in and out of the house all summer is murder for dieting - plus, it's not too hot to exercise!

I'm hoping to get back into walk/running now that it's cooled down at least in the a.m. - in the summer it's too hot to do anything but swim or do videos in the house!

PHO. Seriously, this thread has reawakened my love of Pho (soup), especially in the winter.

1. It´s healthy, expecially if you get it as a vegetable broth.
2. You add in all of the vegetables you like
3. Protein comes in egg or chicken form
4. And the frosting is the hot sauce. Lots and lots of hot sauce.

We need some more Vietnamese in Peru.

Oh yes, pho. Pho is the perfect comfort food, and I might need to get some for dinner tonight to help me cure my cold!

hellokitty81668, I just wanted to chime in - there are lots of healthy crockpot, soup, and stew recipes. Search around in the recipes forums here. If you use lots of veggies, lean meats, low sodium broths, and skimp on the 'heavier' creams and sauces, you can make delicious, filling meals. I eat hot soup more slowly than many other foods, which fills me up as I eat. If I'm not really hungry, I'll make some decaf hot tea, which again fills me up as I sip it slowly.

As for the baking, I admit I do a lot less of it than I used to, b/c I cannot stop at just one cookie, muffin, brownie, etc. when I have them in my house. But I have started making new foods - whole wheat breads, high protein muffins, low cal dips and sauces - that I never used to. You can certainly eat healthily and still enjoy your food. I also try to do other things when I'm at home instead of baking or eating. e.g. I needlepoint, and believe me I needlepoint like a fiend when I'm trying to ignore the kitchen. How about any crafts you may do, join a book club, play with your kids/the neighbor's kids/pets, clean (cleaning is a great distraction!), go to the gym, catch up on organizing your bills, shoveling the walkway...(fill in your hobbies here - or start a new hobby!). I usually find that if I'm not truly hungry, snacking urges can go away if I distract myself for 15-30 minutes. I think the key is to eat intuitively and listen to your body to tell you when you are full.

Kitty, truth be known, I worry about staying on plan winter, spring, summer and fall. I certainly HAVE been on plan, but it still is worrisome to me. I guess I need to go few a few more successful cycles/years of this stuff in order to feel really confident.

But, I actually find the summer waaay more difficult. We spend most weekends away with friends at various vacations spots. It's an extemely social time and my friends are all eaters. A lot of the activities revolves around food.

During the winter, the days are shorter, this is also helpful to me.

I used to bake too. Home baked goods are simply too irresistable to me, so I no longer bake. How about a different hobby? Knitting, journaling, reading?

Although I no longer bake, I do cook. Maybe you can experiment with some healthy, low cal recipes. There's plenty out there. Have fun with it. And just think how far you can come sticking to your plan throughout the winter time......... Chances are you're summer will be spent with you being fit and fabulous!!!!

I am a baker (I also teach cake decorating) so I am around the sweet stuff ALL the time. It has absolutely NO appeal to me now though, in fact, the rare times that I do "taste" what I am baking, I spit it out! The winter is more structured here too, which is very helpful.

Now, my downfall is BREAD. I CANNOT bake or have that in the house at all. And I do miss making it in the cold months. BUT, trading my want of bread for the new body I have, that reminds me everyday - I would much rather have the fit, smaller body than homemade goodies ANYDAY!