Bikini Bodies Are Made During Winter (here's how)

If you haven’t noticed, the days are getting shorter, and the nights are getting noticeably longer.

Unfortunately, this may be the NUMBER ONE time of the year when people experience weight gain.

However, you don’t have to let the wintertime blues ruin your best weight loss intentions.

In fact, controlling these THREE things may not only encourage weight loss, but may leave you happier, healthier, and more motivated throughout the rest of the year.

Three Factors that Boost Weight Gain

For people who love the sun, wintertime may be the worst season of all.

For one, the days are much shorter than you find in the summer time, and the nights can be cold, dark, and sometimes very lonely.

However, there are three key steps that you should include if you want to have a healthy and HAPPY wintertime.

1. Control Symptoms Associated with SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder)

Seasonal Affective Disorder – or SAD – can be a very severe and debilitating disorder that affects many people worldwide.

People with SAD may experience depression, feelings of loneliness and – in some severe cases – suicidal thoughts.

And, this could also promote - and even BOOST – weight gain in adults.

The reasons why SAD may be so detrimental to not only your weight loss, but your overall health, is very simple.

Less sun may cause your body to have a harder time producing both melatonin and serotonin – which are both powerful endorphins - which may increase your chances of developing depression.

Now, melatonin is a powerful mood enhancer and a powerful sleep agent, therefore it could help you to sleep better AND alter your mood.

Serotonin, which is similar to melatonin, is an endorphin released in your brain that affects mood.  When levels are low, this could very easily lead to depression.

Plus, if you already have depression – which most SAD sufferers do – then your chances of it getting worse significantly increases.

Tips:  If you suffer from SAD, then there are plenty of options for you. 

Light therapy, medication, and exercise have all been shown to be effective at improving symptoms associated with SAD.

Be sure to speak with your doctor to determine the best course of action if you have SAD.

These steps could alter your hormone levels – for the better – which could boost your mood, help you choose healthier food options, and decrease your chances of developing depression.

2. Set an Earlier Bedtime

Nothing says weight loss more than getting a good, solid 8 to 10 hours of sleep per night.

Countless studies have shown that sleep loss may contribute to weight gain, by making you crave nutrient-dense and high-calorie food options.

And this will spell disaster for your hips, butt, and thighs!

Plus, due to the shortened days and longer nights, your circadian rhythm may be thrown off, which could prevent you from getting a good night’s rest.

Circadian rhythm is your internal “clock” that helps determine when you should sleep, and other daily habits.

Tips:  Limit activities in your bed to just sleeping AND make sure there is very little light in the room in order to get the best night’s sleep possible.

Any extra light may disrupt your sleeping patterns, which could result in poor appetite control, sleepiness, lack of concentration, and WEIGHT GAIN!

3. Lack of Sun = Low Vitamin D

For many people, low vitamin D levels are a very BIG problem.

This could increase your risk for being overweight or obese, AND increases your risk for Type 2 Diabetes.

Getting enough exposure to the sun (increases vitamins D levels) may be especially hard in the wintertime, which may lower your vitamin D levels.

Tips:  Try to spend at least 10 minutes in the sun.  Although the sun’s rays are not as strong in the wintertime, a little sun exposure may be just what your body needs in order to boost your mood and vitamin D.

Also, think about including vitamin D rich foods into your diet in order to boost your levels.

Other Things to Consider…

One, if not the biggest obstacle in the wintertime, is the abundance of comfort foods.

These foods are designed to warm you up and fill up your belly!

However, they may do nothing for your weight loss and, in fact, they may only boost your WEIGHT GAIN, which is exactly what you are trying to avoid.

By eating foods that have plenty of healthy fats – like wild-caught fish, nuts, olive oil, flax seeds, and coconut oil/milk, for example – you may increase your intake of fat-busting foods.

Keeping in mind these three factors, you could BOOST your weight loss – especially during those long winter months – and may leave you rejuvenated, full of energy, and less depressed during the winter months!