Winter Weight Gain

[Midya]

what is the best way to overcome winter weight gain? any idea to lessen the appetite and move more in this cold lazy wheather?

[A_Lurker · Accepted solution]

That's a good question.  I'm sure some people will have some good ideas.  I work out at home on my own equipment, so weather doesn't matter.  I enjoy being outside in the garden, but that weather is over.  I'm going to grow my own annuals from seed this winter (will keep me busy) and working on some decluttering process.

From the food side, how about a big pot of vegetable soup?  Start with browning the usual onion, carrot, celery until wilted, then add garlic, pepper, stock (leave the salt for the table, especially if you used purchased stock).  At this point you can add so many things (potatoes, lentils, rice, pasta, tomatoes, seasonings, etc.).  If you keep it low-calorie overall, just take a cup in the afternoon if hungry, or just before dinner which should help you to eat less.  This was the main thought behind the cabbage soup diet, however, they took it to extreme (ie. eat mainly the soup).  Finding a good low-calorie add on through the day should keep you feeling more full.  With fall (okay winter) just around the corner, soup sounds like a good idea.

I tend to make meal soups, with higher calories as I'm planning to eat them instead of a meal.

[WendyB]

I also make a lot of soups this time of year. Its warm and tends to fill me up faster. Just tastes good when its cold.

I make sure to work out daily as well. If its to cold outside there are a ton of DVD's that you can do. Just depends on what you like

[Midya]

the soup recipes sounds great! i always need warmth and it may help me, 

i have dried fruits and raw peanuts as well to control my hunger, yet i think the soup idea got lower calories and more suffeciency... i'll try to do it soon,

thanks! 🙂

[Midya]

i can not go out so often because in my city we donot have much parks, the only activity that i can do at home is walking, since i got a big hall, i read books and walk! or sometimes watch something on Youtube while walking, 

that may not seem convience but i try to push myself.

[A_Lurker]

I'm going to check my freezer first, but then I think I'm going to take my own advice and make a soup to replace the salads I've been taking with my meals.  Although our grocery stores have a lot of fresh items they are fairly expensive at this time of year and the soup would require less daily planning.  I'm going to try a variation on this (I need to pick up some of the ingredients on my way home today).

Turkey/Beef Minestrone

2 lbs ground turkey and/or beef
2 medium onions, chopped
1 cups celery, chopped
1 cups carrots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1x28oz cans chopped tomatoes
1x19oz cans kidney beans
1x14oz cans baked beans
8-12oz beef stock and/or broth
3-4 cups shredded cabbage
3oz mixed small pasta

Brown beef and turkey in large stock pot, adding a little stock if needed. Add onions, celery and carrots and cook until softened. Add in garlic, tomatoes, kidney beans and at least half of the stock. Bring to a boil and reduce heat, simmering for 60 minutes.

Turn heat up. Bring back to a boil and add baked beans, cabbage, pasta, and more stock. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for another 30 minutes, until pasta is cooked.

per 12oz serving: <200 calories (I usually work out the actual by weighing what I use)

[WendyB]

@Midyahave you checked out Leslie Sansone? In door walking. Check YouTube. She has several DVD you can do there.

@A_Lurkersoup looks good will try it.

[A_Lurker]

So, I should start by saying that my soup recipes are usually just a starting point.  Also, I should never shop without a list.  I wasn't feeling 100% yesterday, but picked up most of the ingredients on the way home.  I had planned on using ground chicken and/or turkey for the meat and was going to use chicken broth.  However, the ground chicken was reduced (and didn't look good even for soup) and they didn't have turkey.  So I picked up just shy of 2lbs of lean ground beef instead.  I wasn't up to making it last night, and I actually didn't go to work today.  It took a lot of effort to make the soup (just because I was somewhat nauseous and didn't really want to get out of bed this morning).

Ingredients:

It ended up making 13lb 12oz (roughly), so 220oz by weight.  I didn't measure out the fl oz but I believe it's in 3 x 7 cups, 1 x 2 cups, and I took probably 1.5 cups earlier.  Anyways, I'll likely freeze it in portions of 12oz (that's what I took today).  So, because this one was all beef it was a little higher in calories.

A couple of changes from the original recipe:  all beef, two different beef stocks (just because that's what I had), romano beans instead of kidney beans, soy beans (just because I had a can of them), no carrots (not my favourite), mushrooms (just because I had them).  Probably way more celery and onion that the original recipe called for - celery just because that used it up, onion - just worked out to 3 onions.  Also, I forgot to purchase any cabbage. 

This ended up making a very thick soup (more dinner / filling).  A cup would be ~171 calories and if I were taking it before a meal I would thin it out with some beef broth, or even water.  It turned out very tasty, although today my stomach is a little queasy still and soup probably wasn't a good idea.

ETA: I know the macros don't add up to 100.  Although it's great for building recipes, the software (Fitday) has a nasty habit of reducing carbs based on fiber content.  When I'm in my strict calorie counting phase I'll log the serving into fitbit.com with the fat and the protein as stated and increase the carbs.

[Mukluk4]

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@Midya wrote:

i can not go out so often because in my city we donot have much parks, the only activity that i can do at home is walking, since i got a big hall, i read books and walk! or sometimes watch something on Youtube while walking, 

that may not seem convience but i try to push myself.

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Why not join a sports league?  Basketball and Volleyball are good winter sports and I'm sure there are leagues for every fitness level (even in my small town of 5K)

[Majka]

Hi!  You can work out at the gym if it is cold outside.  Also, in terms of appetite, what you can do is decide times to eat and how much rather than responding to hunger.

[Midya]

yeah i'' go this week, thanks ❤️

[short-n-sassy]

I 

[short-n-sassy]

I don't know about evryone else, but it helps me to stay busy.  I have a few projects to do this Winter.  My storage room in the basement needs painting and a good cleaning.  I like to scrapbook, read, walk outdoors unless its icy, decorate for all the holidays and cook.  The soup ideas are interesting. I enjoy going outside even if its for only a few minutes.  I am inside all day at work. If my hands are busy, I can usually stay out of the fridge.