5 Winter Weight Loss Tips for Women

Winter is the time of year we are most likely to let our fitness decline. When cold weather blows in, we want to hide beneath blankets and hibernate until the season passes. Motivation sneaks out the front door as holiday foods come knocking. All too often that means when warm weather returns we are dismayed to find a plumper, softer version of ourselves. Is it possible to fight frost-induced fat?

Here are five tricks to help you stay fit through the winter:

1. Wear leggings and yoga pants at home. No, this is not some kind of cruel joke or an invitation to stay comfortable while feasting. Part of the temptation of lackadaisical workouts in winter is the ability to hide your body under bulky layers. We get a several month vacation from swimsuits and shorts, and that correlates in our minds to a vacation from eating healthy and exercising. Don’t become a victim of contagious winter apathy. Wear form fitting, stretchy clothing inside your home to help keep you aware of your body. If you worked hard to tone those legs over the summer, seeing them rocking leggings throughout winter can motivate you to keep up the work to maintain them. If you find yoga pants to be a frightening sight on your buns and thighs, use the winter months to work hard so that you can surprise all your friends next spring when you strip off the layers and reveal shapely new gams.

2. Make soup your go-to comfort food. When the weather turns cold, we crave warmth and comfort, and that carries over into what we want to eat. Avoid high-calorie comfort food favorites like mac and cheese, cheesesteaks, and buttery mashed potatoes. Instead, make soup your new best friend. Many soup options are both low-calorie and filling, and you will find a steaming bowl can hit the spot. Watch out for calorie rich cheese and cream filled varieties and stick with healthier options instead. Split pea, lentil, tomato, and minestrone are some of my favorites (don’t knock them till you try them – you may be surprised). Soup is quite easy to make, and a large batch can be frozen to save you time later. If you would prefer not to cook at all, store bought brands can also be tasty.

3. Find workouts you can do from home. It may be warm inside the gym, but having to brave the bitter cold to get there can be a serious deterrent. If the chill outside your door consistently keeps you from hitting the gym, invest in some home fitness options. Try exercise DVDs or classes online to get your heart pumping. Hand weights and a mat can offer a surprising amount of workout variations. Keep yourself from getting bored by rotating workout routines (for example, interval training one day and Pilates the next). Having home options takes away the excuse when it’s icy outside and unsafe on the roads.

4. Enjoy holiday indulgences in moderation. Winter is the time of year for cookies, hot cocoa, and eggnog. From people bringing baked goods into work to food filled festivities with family, you are bound to find yourself surrounded with feasts and sweets. Depriving yourself of the treats of this season will leave you feeling left out and at risk for a binge. Food is one of the joys of life, right? And we all need to live a little. Rather than fully deny yourself edible pleasures, learn to partake in moderation. Decrease portion sizes so you can try just a tidbit of everything. Limit yourself to the things that look absolutely amazing (You don’t really want that half dry cheese slice, do you?). If you are gifted with cookie trays and gift baskets, keep yourself from eating everything at once by freezing what items you can, and bringing them back out slowly. Most importantly, quickly regain focus on eating right at home between festive occasions.

5. Embrace seasonal outdoor activities. Remember when snow days meant hurriedly bundling up in snowsuits and mittens to go out and play in the snow? Let your inner child come back out and find the fun in winter activities again. Ice skating, sledding, and tubing will give you a workout as well as a laugh. Join in a game of ice hockey at your local skate pond or start a snowball fight with your kids. If you are feeling brave, try skiing, snowboarding, or snowmobiling. Shovel your own sidewalks instead of paying the neighbor boy (shoveling fresh fallen snow can be wonderfully therapeutic), and top the day off making lighthearted snow angels. This is the only time of year you will get to enjoy the snow, so let your adventurous side out this season and keep your figure fit at the same time.