We can’t go outside apparently but we can’t spend the whole day watching Netflix with sleepy eyes either. Besides, if the movie you are watching is boring, snacks will start calling you and you know what’s next. If we spend too much time at home without seeing the sun, we feel depressed, unhappy but unfortunately, this affects your appetite otherwise.
1. Keep Yourself Busy (Or Productive If Possible)
During spring, the number of people swarming the gym increases while these numbers drop during winter. Why? Because why would you push yourself in winter when you can burn all those calories in spring, right?
Delaying your responsibilities is a bad news all by itself but let’s just say you can lose all those weights you’ve gained in winter, can you do the same thing for your psychology? As long as you stay home and do nothing, you can’t get away from the frustrating effect of that bad weather. The only thing you can do to fix that is to keep yourself busy or take up a new hobby.
I won’t be listing those hobbies one by one but you can do anything that can keep you busy and away from your thoughts.
2. Eating Soup Is Such A Good Idea
It’s cold and you want something to drink to refresh and warm you up. No wonder why you want to drink hot chocolate – it’s hot and gives energy. What else can we expect from food & drink when it’s winter?
The thing is, your body temperature drops when you are hungry and it is a good idea to drink something to help you warm up BUT that doesn’t mean you should consume all those calories. Your body normally warns you and gives a signal quite a while before you actually need to eat. As soon as you get this signal, don’t just order a pizza or Happy Meal from McDonald’s. You can always make a soup but If you are really desperate, you can go with instant soup – either way, soups are low in calorie.
3. Oat Fights Winter Blues And Makes You Happy
Studies say the number of people seeks treatment for depression increases in winter by 14 percent. But we all know that doesn’t reflect the true amount since a great number of people either can’t afford to seek treatment for depression or they just let it go and hope that it would go.
They say “Chocolate makes you happy” but they never say “it also makes you fat”. Moreover, since we can’t get enough sunlight during winter, our body might need extra serotonin, which can be ensured by eating carbs. To be more specific, let me tell you a simple dessert with around 200 calories and it won’t take even 15 minutes to make.
Mix these ingredients and cook until set:
- 3 tablespoon oats
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 apple (grated)
- 1/2 banana (mashed)
- 6-8 walnut halves
- 1 cup milk
4. Keeping Your Immune System Strong
Increase your fruit & vegetable consumption for a starter, if you ask for something specific: apple, pear, pomegranate, orange, kiwi and grapefruit. Oat is also good at boosting the immune system so be sure to try that dessert above, you’ll love it.
Most of the time we can’t afford to buy all of those fruits and even if we can afford to buy them, only one of them is the best fit for winter: pomegranate.
It contains:
• Antioxidants to prevent cell damage,
• Potassium to regulate circulation,
• Fibers to prevent constipation,
• Vitamin A to boost immune system,
• Vitamin C to prevent cold,
• Niacin to prevent diarrhea.
5. What Does Your Skin Need In The Winter?
When the temperature goes down, your skin can’t hold moisture and it gets much worse if you don’t support it with your diet. The only way to do it NATURALLY is adding healthy oils to your diet. Especially salmon and tuna fishes are rich in Omage-3 and eating either of them twice a week would be enough.
Vitamin E plays an important role to stop free radicals and slow aging process. Almond and pumpkin are great sources of vitamin E. Instead of eating them individually, making a dessert by using both of them once a week would be enough to protect your skin during winter.
6. No Sun? What About Vitamin D?
Since we can’t see sunlight most of the time during winter, why on earth would we want to go outside? If you can stay home without being depressed, that’s fine. Just be sure to drink milk or eat cheese to maintain bone density. Astronauts also exercise in space to maintain their bone density but that’s up to you, who am I to judge?
