THE TRI-CHRONICLES: Winter Weight Gain

Posted by SamG on November 3, 2011 in Sports & Fitness | No Comments »

Bears hibernate. Some sharks and a certain species of birds also hibernate.

They pack on the poundage while food is plentiful then shut down all systems and sleep through the winter.

I must have that bear, shark, or bird gene in me.

How else would you explain why this time of year, I start to crave and give-in to comfort foods and sweets?

It starts around Halloween and continues through the holidays up until the end of the year.

To make things worse, it coincides with the end of the triathlon season. Mine ended last week after I did my last cycling century.

So, now I’m taking a much needed break.

To be fair, the off season is exactly when one should step away from rigid training schedules and relax.

Why not? It’s well deserved.  I know I need that mental break.  In fact, many coaches suggest doing things completely unrelated to swimming, cycling, and running.

As counter intuitive as it sounds, some even suggest doing nothing at all.

The problem is my diet goes with my training schedule: out the window!

I keep eating as if it was still in-season. Not only do I eat more calories than I burn but my food choices aren’t healthy.

Case in point, it’s a Tuesday night and I just got back from pigging-out at the Boiling Crab. After dinner, we ordered shaved ice to-go from Class 302.

Why is that odd?

If it were during the season, I would get off work, go a to a spin class, have a protein shake, and head off to yoga. I would end the day with a hardboiled egg and some Greek yogurt.

I’d make sure I had a decent amount of sleep for the next day’s work day which would be followed by a swim and a run.

When the weekend rolls around, I would have my system primed and gotten my gear ready for the long training days on Saturday and Sunday. Weekend distances and intensity increase steadily as events drew near.

Then, the cycle begins anew. I was essentially living the life of a monk.

In the off season, I live the life of Kung Fu Panda. No schedule. No discipline. No diet.

Yesterday, I was in Albertson’s trying to decide whether I should get the Lindt Dark Chocolate with a Touch of Sea Salt or the large bag of Lay’s Vinegar and Salt.

I got both.

The problem is winter weight is actually weight that’s gained in the fall season. Over time it gets harder and harder to drop. It also means that if I’m not careful, the weight I’m gaining right now may carry-over to next year and then there’s the risk of gaining more the year after that.

It’s a vicious cycle.

Some experts say shorter days and the lack of sunlight cause depression. They call it Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD. And that’s the reason why we tend to make the poor healthy choices. That’s why there’s a marked tendency to eat foods that are heavier and sweeter.

It makes sense except we live in California. No shortage of sunlight here.

Some claim we don’t have as many opportunities to exercise when it starts getting colder and our winter lifestyle kicks-in. I might agree if we were in the northeast which by the way is already experiencing snow.

But we’re in California. People are still surfing. Even in the dead of winter when we break out our Uggs and goose down comforters, it really isn’t that cold, relatively speaking.

So, why is there such a propensity for gluttony this time of year?

The experts with the most compelling argument are the ones who claim we belong to the animal kingdom. Consequently, we are predisposed to loading-up because of the age-old evolutionary method for preservation.

Essentially, we behave like animals because we have that bear gene, fish gene, or that bird gene.

That must be it. I must have the Kung Fu Panda gene and haven’t evolved enough to exercise self-control.

Whatever the case, when January rolls around, I resolve to get leaner, faster, stronger, and healthier.

But, I’ll worry about that tomorrow. I’m too busy eating right now.

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