Whether we like it or not, winter will soon be upon us. The leaves are beginning to change color, the temperatures are dropping and the nights are drawing in. It can be tempting to want to hibernate through the winter months, eating lots of delicious carby foods, drink all the rich hot cocoa and wear cozy sweatpants and socks while binge-watching Netflix under a duvet.
While that sounds great - and it is great - it can have a bit of a negative impact on your health. However, if you spend some time making sure that you are as healthy as possible as we head into winter, you have more room for relaxing and enjoying yourself.
So, how can you make sure you are in tip-top condition for winter? Let’s take a look.
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Don’t pile on the pounds
As it gets cooler, we crave warming comfort foods and as delicious as these are, they are also usually very high in calories and saturated fats. Over the winter, many of us are less likely to be physically active too, which can make weight gain even more likely. On top of that, there are multiple celebrations that have a huge food focus, namely Thanksgiving and Christmas. Putt all those together and a weight gain is almost inevitable for many.
It is a wise idea to try and be as close to as a healthy weight as possible as you head into the season so that if you do gain weight, it’s not a big problem. Ensuring you eat a diet that is packed with all the nutrients that your body needs while being low in things like refined sugar is a great way to keep a healthy weight. However, don’t be tempted to go on crash diets or meal replacement diets - these often leave your body weak and susceptible to illness, and as soon as you begin to eat properly, you will put the weight back on.
Make sure you are up to date with all routine health checks
Dental checks, sight tests, hearing tests and other routine health checks are important. These can help you to manage any existing health conditions and pick up on anything that doesn’t seem quite right. If you haven’t already got a decent healthcare center, visit this website to find out more about one. When it is cold and raining or snowing, it can be really hard to get motivated to go to any checkups that aren’t urgent, so if you can arrange an appointment before the bad weather kicks in, do it. You are much more likely to go!
Make sure you have a support network
Winter can be hard. Dark nights and bad weather can leave many of us feeling isolated. Chuck in a global pandemic and potential isolation periods and well, it can be a very lonely time. Making sure you have a good support network around you, whether it is your friends and family, neighbors and the local community or even people online is important to maintain good mental health.
