Eat probiotics to avoid the winter bulge

Winter is cold, dark and wet, so it’s no wonder we seek comfort and warmth anywhere we can find it. Unfortunately that anywhere often happens to be in the kitchen, where the scents make you feel all cozy and the flavors, especially your favorite, bring back the memories of childhood. The problem is, while you’re getting all happy eating a still hot, soft chocolate chip cookie, your hips are getting even softer, which you’ll notice when the snow starts melting and your lawn greens up. To avoid the unpleasant surprise of a few extra pounds, start on some healthy habits now, so by the time spring comes you’ll already be in sunny weather shape.

The most difficult thing is going to be leaving all your comfort food behind and moving to a healthy menu, but one, it’s imperative to your waist line and two, you are allowed a little cheat every now and then, provided that you make it up to your line and that it really is little. If your weakness is chocolate, you can have a piece of dark one even every day; if you can’t live without pie a la mode, once a week you can have a small serving of fruit baked with whole wheat crumble and some plain yogurt with probiotics on the side; and if pizza is your comfort food, make your own occasionally on French pastry dough, using healthy toppings.

With comfort food off your mind, you need to take care of your daily menu. Try including products that support healthy metabolism like niacin rich grilled chicken breast, salmon and mackerel loaded with fish oil, Vitamin C sources including but not limited to citrus fruit. A balanced diet with a big dose of fruit and vegetables, limited starches, good amount of whole grains and lots of liquids will help you lose weight and maintain your desired size. 

What you eat is just as important as how you eat, and the number one rule to eating healthy is to never starve yourself. If you skip meals, your body will go into collector mode the next time you eat, storing food instead of metabolizing because of uncertainty when the next meal will be. Small meals eaten often give your metabolism something to do at all times, never stretching your stomach with overeating and not forcing your body to turn you into storage.

Lifting a fresh cookie from the counter to your mouth is hardly exercise, and neither is lying on your couch and surfing the channels, but it’s comfortable and nice, so you’d rather do that than exercise. But the calories won’t burn on their own, you need to give them a hand, so start moving. You don’t have to jog in the snow or become a winter sport fanatic all of a sudden. Winter is the perfect time to join a class at the gym to get warm during exercise, try yoga if your energy is lower, go to the pool followed by sauna. Or you can move around the house, finally finding the time to redecorate the guest bedroom, to paint the bathroom or to organize the garage. It’s not too important what you do, as long as you just get away from the comfort food and the cozy couch and move.