We’ve had pretty nice weather in Michigan for the past few weeks, and it’s supposed to get up to 75 degrees next weekend. Most people are pretty excited about this, and I must say, I am too. I love that the sun is out when I get up and that I can run in the fresh air again. But last week, as I was out enjoying the sunshine, I realized something: warm weather makes me gain weight.
Now this is sort of baffling, because for most people, the opposite is true. During the winter, we are SAD. We want to eat carbs. There’s not as much good fresh produce. We can’t exercise outside and we don’t want to drive to the gym in the dark. But in the summer, there are fruits and veggies in abundance and we all want to go outside and play!
Um, except for me, going outside to play means “Going outside for ice cream and beer gardens.” I don’t want to go to the gym; I want to hang out with my friends or hang out with guys. But during the winter, it’s so cold and dark, I really don’t leave the house to do anything but work out. I don’t even bother to drink and I actually have no trouble controlling what I eat. (Maybe my winter blues come in the form of a loss of appetite?)
I knew spring had sprung the other evening when I was cruising through town with my sunglasses on for the first time in weeks and I thought, “Hmm…I wonder if anyone wants to go get ice cream!” (This thought occurred while I was cruising in my mom’s minivan wearing gigantic Balenciaga sunglasses and rocking out because I had just discovered my old fave jam, Chingy’s “Right Thurr,” was on my ipod. I do not belong in Grand Blanc. Or in a minivan.) But I realized…my inclination is to get lazy when I am happy. When I think of April, I think of driving to get ice cream with my friends every night after dinner because it’s still light out and skipping the gym to day drink.
Don’t get me wrong; I know summer has tons of benefits. First, I do well with early morning workouts, so I’m good at getting them out of the way most days since it’s warm and sunny at 7 AM. Second, I take advantage of summer outdoor activities and do things like go for a walk after dinner. Last summer I took tennis lessons and this summer I want to play softball. And I definitely eat a lot of fresh foods and I love to grill. I just to love that fresh food down with a fresh Bud Light!
So how do I deal with those days when all I want to do is sit by the pool and get all sun-sleepy, skip the gym to take a nap, and then go out drinking with my friends? One day last summer, my friend Kaitlin and I sat on her porch for an entire day drinking a box of wine and eating chips and salsa and talking about love and happiness. A whole day! And it was a great day. But I can’t do that every day or I will be very unhappy about my love handles. And generally once August hits, I go on a birthday bender and gain another five pounds in bagel and tequila weight.
This year, I want to have a totally healthy summer, and given what a great fall and winter I’ve had, I know it’s possible. But I need advice! Does anyone else tend to lose weight in the winter and gain in the summer? How can I fight my warm-weather induced sloth and subsequent spare tire? What will make the ice cream cravings go away?? I know a lot of you live in beautiful places year-round, so how do you deal?
This morning I realized that Core Fusion is paying off and I want to order a bikini for this summer…but I also want to trust myself enough to know that I’ll be able to wear it!
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{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Oooh, I’m the same (hence a ballooning effect went down when I moved here to T and T). Nowadays, bikini fear and the very selfish need to impress family when I go back home keep me on my toes and I negotiate with myself: if I get a run/swim/whatever in, I can have X, Y or Z reward. By the time I get to snarf said reward, I’m too aware of the effort that went into earning it to actually “cash it in.”
Oh, and building a virtual calorie deficit (eating fruits and veggies like crazy) on days when I need to make a beer allowance!
.-= Laura Georgina´s last blog ..Weekend Update: Party, Eat, Repeat =-.
That’s really interesting, because it just goes to show that everybody’s different. I find that properly hot weather (the kind we don’t get in the UK that much) really kills my appetite. Sad thing is it kills my desire to exercise, too – a gym with decent airconditioning is a must!
Totally get what you’re saying about beer though. Obviously on a normal hot day I can’t be drinking beer constantly (work wouldn’t love it) but when I’m on holiday somewhere warm I crave it almost non-stop. We went on an all-in holiday last year, so there wasn’t even any financial constraints, and the amount of the free-flowing, delicious, ice-cold lager I drank was slightly terrifying.
I can absolutely sympathize. For me, happy = food (though, so does SAD, hmmm). I’m hoping to find friends who want to hang out while doing active things this summer. We can go for a jog, or take a bootcamp class in Central Park. Then, if we go out for ice cream after, it’s no big deal.
I’m also planning to load up big time on fruits and veggies. The more fiber and natural greens I can get into my body, the better I’ll feel and the healthier I’ll want to eat.
Last, I’m going to look at this summer as I did the winter. It’s around 4 months long. One day of total food indulgence isn’t the worst thing in the world. If I’ve stepped up my nutrition game for 6 weeks, it won’t all be lost if I spend one day drinking a box of wine and eating chips. And btw, that sounds like an AWESOME summer day
.-= katherine´s last blog ..Unusual Omelet =-.
I have no advice, but I can empathize! Drinking cold beer on a hot afternoon is pretty much my favorite activity on the planet.
.-= shelby @ eatdrinkrun´s last blog ..That’s how I roll =-.
Typically heat actually makes me less hungry. I would say take advantage of all the great light water-filled produce. Big salads with juicy fruits for extra sweetness, grapefruit avocado and cucumber. I also like to keep a pitcher of water with slices of lemon or orange in the fridge which seems to keep my hunger in check, but is less boring than plain h2o.
.-= melissa´s last blog ..In da Club! =-.
i have the same issue as well – ice cream, bbq’s and more meeting up with friends for dinners and brunch has me eating more unhealthy foods during the warmer months. not that i didn’t have my share of the same this past winter, but i’m hoping to come to more of a balance this summer….and to also get back into my morning running routine
.-= katie´s last blog ..my favorite part of savoy bakery up in east harlem may be the… =-.
I so know where you are coming from, but on the completely opposite end of the calender! I loooove summers for workouts and like you eating and maintaining a healthy lifestyle comes easy for me.
This year I managed to master the same thing during the fall and winter months! And I’m happy also… so my tips are these.
In the summer water is my best friend, besides the fact that its super necessary when it heats up I have noticed it helps curb cravings for junk. ( I think they say that at times when you are ‘hungry/or craving’ you’re really just thirsty.)
For the ice cream craving I keep a couple of options open, either make your own frozen yogurt at home (just freeze your own yogurt with or without fruits). Or if you want to go out for “ice cream” you can always go for the yogurt type, or even sorbets witch are water based but so good!
On the drinking end that’s a little bit harder, the only thing I can advise is moderation is KEY. I try these days to be more mindful of how drinking affects my overall goals and try to limit myself and indulge on days that are special. Then just follow with your healthy hangover advice….
I lived in Michigan for the first 22 years of my life and it was also the same thing-10lb gain in the summer! My last summer there (I was in Ann Arbor) I found the following things helpful:
1) Being an active commuter. I chose to bike everywhere in the summer. I’d throw a backpack on and go the farmers market. Id bike to meet my friends for a beer. I’d bike to Trader Joes. I didnt count this as my exercise for the day, but it definitely added up.
2) I coached high school kids. I became the color guard coach of two different high schools. It was something very active (you should have seen my back muscles!) and it was something I actually enjoyed doing. It could be volunteering at summer camps or anything, but being around kids makes you active!
3) I signed up for different road races. In June theres a half and a 10k in Ann arbor, theres one around the fourth of July, etc. I knew that if I was “training” it was alot harder to blow off that if I was just working out.
4) I made active friend-dates instead of eating and drinking friend-dates. In the summer there are always free concerts or outdoor movies (even just walking on trails or going to the farmers market together!) and I didn’t have to try and have self control if there wasnt beer involved (or that Sangria/Constant Buzz at Dominicks in Ann Arbor….that stuff is addicting).
5) Wear jean shorts. Or anything that isnt elastic waist. Summer is alot easier to just throw on some workout shorts and call it a day. But it’s alot easier to eat a little extra something when you have room to expand.
These are a few of the things I still use now that I’m living in perceptually-hot-Texas.
WOW — Bridget that is awesome advice! I’m having a “Why didn’t I think of that!?!” moment on all of these! While my ‘burb doesn’t lend itself to commuting by bike, I can definitely do the others. But I can’t promise to give up Dominick’s in Ann Arbor!! And I need to stop with the loose dresses and running skirts and spend all summer in a bikini top and button-fly shorts.
Giving up Dominick’s would be like giving up summer.
I remember riding my bike when I was at my parents house (macomb twp) and people looking at me like “Why is that person on a bike and not in a car?!” Definitely not conducive to commuting.
Ive used so much of your advice (ive taken up spinning and eating oats) it’s nice to contribute!
.-= Bridget@PlantsandPavement´s last blog ..Weekly Update 3/28 =-.
… live on fruit and vegetables. there’s so much yummy stuff in the summer that I barely eat anything else those months.
hit the beach a lot.. SWIM when you do (don’t paddle, get a good front crawl going)
walk everywhere (with purpose, not strolling). its gorgeous out, why not?
I don’t tend to skip my workouts in the summer, but those tiny changes definitely help with the other over-indulgences like patio evenings with too much wine!
xo
.-= Girlwithnoname (Jackie)´s last blog ..Kettlebells ‘n Other Stuff =-.
I’ve been the same way for years; ice cream, bbq’s, sitting on the front porch reading & relaxing. Even in the north you get some pretty hot days during the summer when you don’t want to do anything but sit around and wish you had the energy to do something. This year I’m planning on being much more active though, even if it means going to the gym to get out of the southern heat!
.-= Melissa (It’s a Veggieful Life)´s last blog ..Bugging My Body! =-.
My ONLY summer time weight issue is DAY DRINKING, so i can definitely relate there! Well pretty much just drinking in general, but at least if I drink after dark, I’m not skipping my work outs. Though last summer I went through a horrible break-up which meant i lost like 10lbs, I also began suffering from ridiculous hangovers, so basically I disciplined myself into NEVER having more then 3 or 4 drinks, when i did I was immobile the next day, which was my punishment. So I guess my advice is try the moderation thing, if you’re going for longevity, alternate between alcohol and water, OH and this is key, dont drink and eat! One or the other at a time!
I’m right there with you, Rachel! In the winter, it’s comfort foods, but I love winter veggies so much, that it’s not a HUGE problem. In the summer, ice cream and beer…in comparison with veggies, it’s no surprise when my weight gain is most likely!
This summer (as we’re just wrapping it up in this hemisphere), I tried to make one meal a day a “salad”…meaning 80% veggies. They’re filling, and low-cal. I’m not big on mayo, but obviously dressing choices need to be considered. I’ve also been making a huge effort to wait 20 minutes after eating, before eating more, so I don’t overeat.
Finally, you just have to suck it up! No beer/ice cream before working out, end of story. I actually remind myself of you a lot, and your xmas post about how, yeah, it’s okay to take a day off from the gym, but that means you can’t indulge either. Doing both (at least regularly) is just crazy.
.-= PaganAngel´s last blog ..Ultimate Peanut Butter Cup Cake =-.
@PaganAngel — Thanks for the long reply and the reminder to suck it up!! I am totally going to take this to heart.