Fighting The "Fatten Up for Winter" Instinct
 

The days are getting shorter and cooler. Animals everywhere are increasing their food intake, trying to put on that layer of fat that will make the difference between living and dying this winter.

We had the first chill in the air this weekend, and I was hungrier than I've been all summer. I ate at least 500 calories more than my allowance for each day the whole 3 day weekend.

I'm going to fight this instinct this year. I know it's there. I know it's prompting me to stock up now, while I can! Well, I don't need to! I've already stocked up, plenty! I've got at least 20 extra lbs of fat on me still that I don't need, and I'm NOT going to add to it.

No matter how strong the instinctual urge is.

Just sayin'!
:)

Good for you! Keep that thought in mind. We don't have to hibernate, so we don't need to stock up. Hey, winter is a good time to spend more time at the gym avoiding the cold--so think of it that way.

Keep on with those good thoughts!

Jay

Never thought about it that way. I have been starving for 3 days and eating to prove it. Now if I can rationalize it by winter stocking up maybe I can avoid the eating.

I ate more than I meant to again yesterday. This is hard to combat.

Knowing this is going on ought to allow me to resist it.

I love autumn, though. :) The crisp air, the sounds, the smells. Summer depresses me because it's always too hot and muggy. Spring and fall are my favorite times of year.

I just need to keep on track with weight loss thing. I've been doing good this year, and I don't need to reverse now.

This is really something. Can it be true? I have been starving for 2 days. When I saw this I couldn't believe it!!!!

Originally Posted by MariaOfColumbia:
The days are getting shorter and cooler. Animals everywhere are increasing their food intake, trying to put on that layer of fat that will make the difference between living and dying this winter.

We had the first chill in the air this weekend, and I was hungrier than I've been all summer.
:)

Maria -

:hot: :rofl: Move here to Houston! It will be summer until the end of October and start warming up (never gets very cold, anyway!) in March!

Hmmm... Time to stock up on good vegetables soups again, so that I can trick my body into thinking that I'm giving it warm, comfort foods for winter!

No kidding, it's starting to happen as well (we had a crappy summer on top of it, somehow it's like we never had any...), and even though the conscious mind knows it's stupid to stock up, well, the body and deep brain don't agree. Silly them.

Reading this thread alerted me to what I've been doing. At first, I thought I was eating more because my body's just fed up with "the world's longest plateau ever," but I think I can blame the weather this time.

Yesterday, I started in on a feeding frenzy, but I just turned on the space heater and curled up next to it and I stayed within my calorie limit for the day.

I'm going to be stocking up on soup as well. I wish everyone else luck in staving off the winter pounds.

Originally Posted by carolr3639:
This is really something. Can it be true? I have been starving for 2 days. When I saw this I couldn't believe it!!!!

Hey, I live on a farm, and from what I see it's very obvious. Our chickens have doubled their food intake, and so have our dogs. Our youngest cat is putting on weight for the first time. This is just one of those instincts that haven't had time to be eliminated in people yet. It's like I've also noticed that I shed more hair in the spring and fall as well. I have to clean out my hairbrush a lot more during that time of the year. Why? That's something can't have been necessary for millenia. But once something is programmed into our genetic makeup, there really isn't any incentive to ever drop it, I think.

It's not a hibernation thing. It's a "survive the winter" thing. We hunt deer here, and when we butcher one shot in November, there are huge slabs of fat in the gut area- if it's been a good year. Sometimes they have a second season in January, and the fat stores of the deer in January are much smaller. Some of the old deer don't put on enough fat for the winter, and they die if they can't find enough to eat day to day- or if a big snow comes along and covers all their normal sources of food.

It's a useful instinct, if you don't have a dependable year round food supply.

We do.

edit: I wouldn't do well in Houston, Breaking Free. I don't sweat hardly at all, and find hot weather quite hard to deal with. That's why I love autumn and spring so well. Summer depresses me cause it's so hot. I just don't need to eat more in fall, that's all.

Winter is my least favorite season, although I do love the Holidays. It's almost like you have an excuse to hide behind huge bulky clothes and coats and say to "heck" with it. We spend more time indoors to avoid the cold and as a result become bored with cabin fever and turn to food. I agree with the person who said spend more time at the gym! It's always warm and toasty in there and the calories burned remain the same despite the weather. There are also some really delicious recipes for soups, stews, and chili's that are satisfying and low in calories/fat. We don't have to succumb to the "fatten up for winter" stigma. It's a temporary mental roadblock.. and hey! It only lasts three months.. lol

Originally Posted by Alora199:
It's always warm and toasty in there and the calories burned remain the same despite the weather.

Actually I read somewhere that you burn more calories in the winter because your body has to work harder at keeping your core temperature up! Good to know, but I doubt it's a HUGE calorie expenditure, especially when we all work in heated places and wear 7 jumpers! :lol:

It's a good excuse to work out outside in the cold weather though - that WILL burn more calories than in the summer. Only good if you don't live somewhere like Alaska! ;)

What if you live way out in the country and can't get to the gym? It gets mighty cold in WI in winter, too. Personally, I like dvd's you can use at home.

Yeah, this happens to me all the time- I just get hungrier during the fall and then the winter I eat like no tomorrow. I think it's more of a survival thing...

I managed to eat less than my calorie allowance yesterday! Yay!