There is no reason to take your body for granted – not even chilling and cold weather! Your serves a purpose bigger than what meets our eyes. It heals, fights diseases, helps you find your way out of injuries, and is your most reliable asset. Then what better way to honor it and take care of it than outdoor workouts?
When the weather gets cold, the mood changes and we only want to snuggle in our beds all day. Although the season takes a toll on your mood and energy level, it is still no excuse to skip your outdoor workouts. You are capable of working out hard, and there is no better time to kick-start your much-awaited body transformation journey than winters.
Winter Weight Gain – a myth or reality?
We often see people complaining about ‘gaining weight in winters’ – but is this backed by any statistics? Well, yes. It actually is.
Evidence proves that winter weight gain is a reality. However, it is not as drastic as they want you to believe. Average weight gain during this time of the year is only 0.48 kg, however, these extra pounds can stick around even in summer months and often time leads to obesity.
The biology of winter weight gain
Although there is no proper evidence of what exactly causes the winter weight gain, but it likely has two origins: biology and routine. As mentioned above, the extremity of the weather keeps pushes us back in our blankets, eventually leading to a decline in physical activity.
Speaking about the biological reasons, the studies suggest that we humans possess an innate drive to gain weight because it historically remained our survival mechanism to fight food scarcity. However, now our priorities are changed!
Rather than fearing food scarcity, now our choices flip between whether we want to have a slice of cheese cake or a big fat croissant with hot hazelnut coffee.
The question here arises: how do we balance it out? The answer is simple – outdoor workouts!
Do you know cold weather actually maximizes your calorie burn?
Contrary to the popular beliefs, cold weather actually maximizes your calorie burn!
The recent researches suggest for significant weight loss, “more than four hours of physical activity per week is recommended”. Hence outdoor workouts are the most reliable, healthy and beneficial way of managing your weight in winters.
Wondering how? Well, here’s how:
- Activating your Brown Adipose Tissue
Our body fat is stored in the form of inactive White Adipose Tissue (WAT). WAT offers insulation but is incapable of generating heat. When the weather gets colder, the shivering response can actually increase the calorie burn by up to five times compared to the resting level. Shivering, however, is very uncomfortable and not a very healthy route to take for weight loss.
This is where the Brown Adipose Tissue comes into play!
Brown Adipose Tissue (BAT) is activated during cold weather, generating the heat we need to function normally. Apart from shivering, the heat generation in colder temperature range can increase your calories burnt to more than 11.8% compared to the state of rest.
As we are mostly indoor during winters, the temperature around is controlled. The winter weight gain is most likely to be caused by constant warm surroundings. BAT, on the other hand, is adaptable to outdoor temperature and burns more calories as the temperature decreases.
Wait, there is also a BONUS!
BAT activation also increase insulin sensitivity, regulates blood sugar and lowers the risk of weight gain as well.
Fight the Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) Like a Champion!
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) affects nearly 6-14% of the population. With making you feel sad and terrible, it can also contribute to excessive weight gain.
Studies show a very interesting trend! Data collected over the years shows that people of Japan and Iceland have a low rate of SAD, despite the fact that winters are extreme there.
The reason is believe to be the fish-rich diet in bother countries, as it boosts Vitamin D and combats the symptoms of SAD.
So here, you have it! Outdoor workouts in winters promote healthy and sustainable weight loss, regulates blood sugar and insulin levels and helps with managing SAD. What more can we ask for? Get up now and go for the run!
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