Don’t develop cold feet

Ruchi Goyal 

Winter can be a bleak time of the year and the cold weather plays havoc with our exercise and eating schedules. The cold, shorter days make it harder to go outside, and easier to stay glued to TV. One is likely to reach for comfort foods that are sweet and fried. And, we tend to pile on those extra pounds.

Eat right

Despite the challenges, we can manage our weight in winter by just being a little careful and conscious about what we eat and how we eat. As a thumb rule, always focus on foods that give long term satiety rather than an instant sugar or energy spike.

• Traditionally in India we have been eating pinnis, gajjak, laddoos, nuts, seeds during winter, to give us energy and keep us warm. They are nutritionally rich and help in boosting body temperature and metabolism. The trick is to manage the calories from the rest of the servings. Reduce the amount of carbohydrates in the accompanying meals. Simultaneously, cut down on sugar in your milk, tea and coffees.
• With winter come colourful vegetables and fruits. Add a minimum of three colours from vegetables and two from fruits, everyday. Eat fruits and vegetable in the season that are sourced locally.
• Add some foods that help increase the sluggish metabolism like gooseberries, mustard greens, beetroots, sweet potatoes, cabbage salads and herbal teas.

Work it out

It is not just the physical aspect of burning calories during exercise that helps keep the weight in check but there is also a metabolic aspect to it.

When we exercise, the hunger hormone (ghrelin) decreases, while levels of the hunger-suppressing hormone (peptide YY) spike.

(Goyal is a Chandigarh-based dietician)