Cold Weather Tips for Staying Healthy and Active!

 

Winter Woe: 'Tis the season for big sweaters -- the better to hide your bulges with.

Fix-it trick: Opt for layers that leave a little bit of your silhouette intact. It's no surprise that your comfy cardigan may stealthily up the odds you'll skip your workout, since it keeps soft spots under wraps, says Jennifer Baumgartner, a psychologist in Potomac, Maryland, who makes the link between clothing and mind-set for her clients. "The first thing I tell people who are trying to lose weight is to avoid baggy clothing, since you won't be able to see the positive changes in your body," she says. "There's also a subconscious association between baggy clothes and lounging." To help break the lazy spell, pick sweaters in red, pink, or bright blue, Baumgartner advises. Mood research suggests that these colors jolt your senses and help energize you.
 

Winter Woe: You're too comfy on the couch to break a sweat.

Fix-it trick: Don't settle on your sofa until you've completed your workout for the day. "It's a motivation killer," Baumgartner says. Change from your work clothes directly into workout wear — skip the pj's! — when you get home. Still can't peel yourself off the cushions? Stash resistance bands under the seat to remind yourself to get moving during commercial breaks. Or try the at-home, no-equipment routine that follows, from Mike Donavanik, a celebrity trainer in Beverly Hills. Do these moves during commercials rather than fast-forwarding and repeat the circuit until your show starts up again.

— 15 squats

— 15 push-ups

— 15 crunches

— 15 seconds of high knees

 

Winter Woe: You can't get out of bed on dark mornings to do your a.m. workout.

Fix-it trick: Tuck in earlier to go from tired to inspired. "Darkness is a cue for your brain to crank out the sleep-inducing chemical melatonin," says Alfred Lewy, MD, a sleep and mood disorder researcher at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland. "In the winter, when you wake up before sunrise, it's like having jet lag — for four or five months," Lewy says. If it's not possible to wait for the sun to sneak in your workout when you're more energized, he suggests making your wake-up easier by going to bed 15 minutes earlier each week over the next four weeks: Set your cell phone alarm for when it's time to hit the sack at night and avoid computer and TV use for an hour before bedtime to shut out light and other brain stimulators. That extra hour of shut-eye could make a huge difference in your morning-after mood: Brazilian researchers randomly assessed 200 healthy people and found that night owls, who went to sleep at midnight, were almost three times more likely to experience severe symptoms of depression than those who turned in at 11 p.m.

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