Woman’s Passions

On the threshold of winter season The Mirror published a list of useful advices on how to avoid winter weight gain and look and feel excellent by the end of winter.

 

A plate of soup for dinner will help you to remain slender. Researchers found that women, who eat soup for dinner, devour 100 calories less during a meal, and don’t compensate this, eating more during a day.

It is considered that water, contained in food, unlike water we just drink, contributes to slower stomach emptying, thus, sense of satiety is kept longer, and you receive less calories at the same time. Prefer low-calorie soups - vegetable, tomato or carrot - to maximize positive effect.

 

Every time you want to treat yourself with something harmful, fancy for 5 minutes about the way you want to look and feel by the end of winter. Make yourself comfortable, close your eyes and imagine you are watching video, where you look great in a warm spring day after you have been eating the right way during whole winter. Look how slender and pretty you are in a T-shirt and shorts, how self-confident and full of energy you are. Fix this image and return to it every time, when a huge chocolate bar starts tempting you invincibly.

 

During cold months we turn to food to warm ourselves or because we are tired, or it seems to us we deserved something delicious, struggling with bad weather more often. So, keep a diary, write down what and why you ate there. As soon as you start recognizing cases, when you eat to feel comfort, you will be able to find some food substitutes. May be, your partner’s hugs, favorite song, nice bath or phone conversation with a friend will help you.

 

We feel dejection not only due to cold weather - lack of light also can spoil mood. Day light contributes to formation of serotonin in blood, causing tiredness and stimulating appetite, due to which we suffer from fits of gluttony. 15-minute walk will help you to receive a dose of day light, to increase level of serotonin, besides, during this time you’re training calf muscles and burning 70 calories.

 

Compose a list of products you wish most of all during period of winter sleep. Then try to include them in your usual allowance instead of eating them besides general meals. Don’t be surprised if you have different favorite dishes with your partner. Researchers found that men prefer potato mash, macaroni and soups, and women - candies and chocolate.

 

It’s no surprise, that people, sticking to Atkins diet, are depressed. Carbohydrates help producing serotonin, contributing to feeling of happiness, causing emission of insulin. This, in its turn, helps amino acid triptophane to penetrate into brain, where serotonin is produced. You should replace “sugar” carbohydrates, such as cake and white bread, by coarse bread and whole grain products.

 

Have you ever thought why you find more food delivery advertisements in your letter-box in winter, than usually? People from local pizzeria know that you will most likely order food free to the door, when it’s wet, dark and cold outside, and you do not want to go to super market. Throw away these leaflets, as soon as they come into your letter-box, and you will have fewer chances to use them.

 

Try to resist the temptation of warming yourself with a cup of coffee with milk, cappuccino or hot chocolate. A big portion of coffee latte with whole milk contains 265 calories. Cappuccino is little better - 153 calories. And snowshoe is on the first place with its 448 calories. But you gain weight not due to these calories. Researches show that excess of caffeine makes organism accumulating fat. You should better warm yourself with herbs, fruit or green tea - they contain neither calories, nor caffeine.

 

Find a new hobby for winter evenings in front of TV. Knitting, canvas-work, solution of crosswords and puzzles - all this helps to occupy your hands and prevent them from reaching for a vase of pastry.

 

You do not want to go outside in dark nights, so do exercising inside. Due to dancing lessons you will be able to stay fit, receive pleasure and burn calories - one hour of salsa burns 380 calories, and ball dances - 350.

 

Eating food, rich in triptophane - building material for protein, - will help you to cope with fits of hunger, caused by psychological reasons. The more products with triptophane content we eat, the more serotonin is produced and the better we feel. Red lean meat, chicken, turkey, fish, eggs, cheese, nuts and cereals are rich in triptophane.

 

Probably, you want to spend winter evenings and weekends, cuddling in an arm-chair and arraying yourself in loose trousers and baggy sweater, but this way you won’t notice you’re gaining weight. Keep on wearing slinky cloth, and it will make you understand quickly, if you gain excess centimeters.

 

Use winter evenings for culinary experiments with usage of healthier ingredients. Besides other things, cutting products and running about kitchen, which a cooking process is associated with, help to burn approximately 120 calories for 30 minutes.

 

Learn cooking your favorite dishes in a new way, to reduce their fat and calorie content. Use products with low fat content, coarse bread.

 

According to color therapy experts, orange color raises our spirits and gives us energy. If you have something orange on a plate, you will have more chances to feel a fit of energy and you won’t wish to overeat to feel better. Fortunately, most orange products are low-calorie. Remember oranges, mandarins, carrot, turnip, baked beans, cayenne, mango, apricots.

 

Instead of giving way to winter dejection, indulge into reflection over future summer plans. Take a lot of booklets, surf through Internet, fix your photo taken during your last vacation to your fridge. As soon as you make a choice, engage into something that will help you receiving even more pleasure from chosen vacation. For example, if you decided to go to France, start taking French lessons, want to go to Caribbean Islands - indulge into diving in a local swimming-pool, if you are going to Spain - learn dancing flamenco.

 

Don’t switch on central heating - try to warm yourself with other ways. Take DVD with exercises and do them. Or play with children - this way you will warm yourself, have fun and burn some calories, instead of grumbling at cold weather.

 

If you prefer spicy food, such as Mexican and Indian dishes, you warm yourself and burn fat. Researches showed that chili pepper increases heart rhythm and metabolism on 50% during three hours after meal. What is even better - you won’t eat a lot of such food, and your taste sensors will be satisfied quicker.

 

 

Don’t postpone sex for weekend. Passionate hugs free hormones of happiness - endorphins, and the happier we are, the fewer reasons we have to turn to food for comfort. Besides, if you both are trying, 140 calories are burnt during 20-minute sex.