Creating a fit and healthy body is an all-year-round project. However, the lure of comfort foods and plain old laziness in winter can derail even the most well-meaning of fitness aspirants.
Fitness enthusiast and nutritionist, Isilda Da Costa, says there are ways of winter-proofing your waistline this season. Here are her five tips to avoid letting yourself go over the next few months:
- Drink water
In the winter months particularly, we tend to struggle to keep up with our water intake. Yet water is vital for keeping your metabolism ticking over and regulates weight and appetite. So, drink up.
- Get creative in the kitchen
There are some wonderful and varied nutrient-filled recipes available online that will keep you feeling satisfied and full. Don't deprive yourself; rather eat everything in moderation. You CAN have pizza and cake -- just preferably not both at the same time or too often.
- Keep active
This is probably the hardest one to maintain in winter. When we feel cold, all we want to do is snuggle up with a cup of hot chocolate and a comfortable blanket. There are so many indoor workout programmes, so get moving. You will feel so much better for it; plus keeping active keeps you warm.
- Sleep in your training gear
This may seem odd, but for those that train early in the morning the last thing you want to do is change what you are wearing. Brrrr, am I right? Sleep in at least some of your workout gear so you don't talk yourself out of that morning workout.
- Take Vitamin C
We all know that Vitamin C can help keep the flu away but this becomes more vital during the winter months when our immune systems are more prone to picking up illnesses. The gym is also now more likely to hold bacteria so be sure to stock up. You don't want to be out sick for weeks when you could be training, so take your Vitamin C.