5 Tips That Will Keep You Fit For Your Winter Wardrobe

It’s no fun to admit, but holiday weight gain is a real thing. While the common assertion that people gain an average of five pounds during the season has essentially been disproven, research on holiday weight gain has found that a pound is the norm.

This may not sound like much to worry about, but for the fact that the same research indicates that the extra pound “lingers,” such that each winter, we face the risk of getting just a little bit heavier in the long term. On top of this, there are also plenty who gain more weight during the holidays –– who may put on several pounds due to shifting habits and shed only some of them thereafter.

One issue for those who do experience holiday weight gain is that it can negatively affect fashion and style. We commonly write about the most up-to-date styles and fashion collections here, including looking at seasonal trends and ideas.

But in some cases, those same trends and ideas won’t work out for the fashion-conscious due to weight gain. In other words, some of those favorite winter wardrobe looks may not fit right after a month of peppermint mocha lattes!

Of course, we want you to enjoy your holiday season and plenty of the treats and indulgences that come with it. But if you want to fit in your winter wardrobe and look your best with your winter styling efforts, it’s a good idea to consider your diet throughout the season as well. Below, we’ll provide five tips that may just help you out.

1. Find a Diet that Works for You

First, we’d suggest finding a diet or nutrition plan that works for you. It doesn’t have to be trendy; it doesn’t need to be flooding your podcasts and streaming shows with advertisements. Rather, it just has to be something you feel you can realistically adhere to throughout the winter season (and longer, if you like it!).

Our advice is to read up on widely used diets, see if one fits, and if not, draw certain benefits from each of them to form your own plan.

For instance, perhaps you’ll like the keto diet’s focus on non-starchy vegetables, nuts, and fruits as healthy lunch or snack foods; maybe you’ll find the paleo diet’s heavy focus on lean meats and dairy to be a natural fit with holiday meals.

Whatever the specifics, the point is to study, assess, and formulate a plan that appeals to you. A diet that feels wholly like a sacrifice will seldom work.

2. Find a Community to Diet with

All too often, trendy and seasonal diets are viewed as solo projects. You get the idea that you can simply read about what to eat and what to avoid and then take matters into your own hands.

This can work for some people, but there’s a reason that weight loss programs designed by experts often emphasize community as well.

When you can tap into a network of fellow dieters (or at the very least chat with a few friends making a similar effort), you gain the advantages of accountability, shared tips, encouragement, and even a sense of fun. Particularly during the holidays, you might just enjoy joining with others to stay fit.

3. Control Your Cravings

When you look into the reasons behind holiday weight gain, one of the chief culprits tends to be an indulgence. To some extent, this is a biological instinct; like animals, we naturally reach for fattier and more caloric foods when cold weather is coming on.

For some, a little extra indulgence is also a product of seasonal affective disorder –– stress eating due to a bit of winter gloom, in other words. And then, of course, there’s the fact that there just tend to be more treats around this time of year.

Now, the holidays wouldn’t be the holidays without a little indulgence, and as we said before, a diet based exclusively on restriction or sacrifice is liable to fail. So go ahead and enjoy some treats! Just try to keep those ‘round-the-clock cookie and latte cravings in check.

4. Keep Exercising

Beyond the issue of indulgence, a lack of exercise has also come up in studies on winter weight gain. In fact, just recently, a comprehensive review of 37 individual studies concluded that people are “more physically active in spring and summer” and least in winter.

This is largely chalked up to the cold weather, which tends to lead to more time indoors and more stagnation. So the tip here is simple: Find a way to keep exercising! If it doesn’t get particularly cold where you live, try to get in the habit of long walks or occasional jogs throughout the holidays.

If it is too cold out, consider a home workout routine like yoga or even a regimen of push-ups and sit-ups. Keep yourself active one way or another, and those winter pounds might just keep their distance.

5. Weigh Yourself Daily

The final tip is to weigh yourself on a daily basis. It’s a simple concept but one that many of us neglect, and it can make all the difference. If you are making a specific effort to stay fit during the winter season, that daily weigh-in will help to keep you on track.

You’ll notice if an extra pound or two creeps onto the scale, and you can immediately adjust your habits to address the issue. Without the daily weigh-in, however –– and with just a few inactive days and mugs of hot chocolate –– your fitness may take a hit before you truly realize it.

Follow these tips, and we’re confident you can stay fit and healthy throughout the holidays and rock your winter wardrobe and style ideas all the while!

Also Read: The Style Box UK: 12 Fashion Lifestyle Bloggers You Should Follow

Also Read: 12 Popular Make-Up Artist Beauty Travel Bloggers Dubai