Diary of an ExSloth

Tales of Food, Fitness & Healthy Living

5 Tips to help you stay healthy this winter

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Hey Friends! How’s it goin?

My first year in Canada, I developed the habit of staying indoors as much as possible when we hit sub-zero temperatures. I actually stayed hungry a couple times rather than brave the cold. And if I still had that mindset, yesterday would have been one of those ‘stay at home, don’t get out of bed’ days. 

Winter is coming but that doesn't mean you have to stay indoors and give up on your Health and Fitness Goals. Here are 5 Tips to hep you Avoid Derailing your health goals this winter @ExSloth | ExSloth.com

As you can see from my update on Insta, it was cold as eff in Waterloo yesterday. Surprisingly, I still managed to make it to class AND to the gym- two things I definitely wouldn’t have done in previous years. But this season, I decided to do as much as I could to avoid the winter blues and keeping up my health and fitness routines is a huge part of that. 

So today I wanted to share some of my tips and tricks for eating well and staying active during the winter, when everything inside you is just screaming for all the carbs, followed by a 5 hour nap.

5 Tips to Help you Stay on Track when it Snows

1. Have a plan

The worst thing you can do in the winter, is not plan out your days. And this advice is coming from the most Type B person you’ll ever meet. In the summer, I love to go with the flow. I get up, go outside and wonder around and just experience life. But in winter? No way. I’m not leaving my house until I know where I’m going, how long I’ll be gone, what time the buses are and all that jazz. There’s nothing fun about being stuck outside waiting on a bus for 15 minutes while you progressively lose feeling in your toes. Trust me. When that happens, the first thing you’re gonna want to do is go home and order pizza. Not head to the gym or the grocery.

2. Don’t go home first

 On that note, if I’m going to be out before I go to the gym or the grocery I never plan to come back home first. As soon as I step into my house, I know I’m not leaving again unless under threat of bodily harm. To avoid this, I walk around with a packed gym bag and reusable grocery bags, so I can just head to where I need to be. It may be a little extra luggage to carry around all day, but it’s worth it to not have to try (and fail) to convince myself to leave home a second time.

3. Stock up on essentials

I’ve written before about going to the grocery more than once a week, but I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t always follow this rule when it’s snowing. I don’t drive and trudging around in knee-high snow with heavy grocery bags hanging from my frozen fingers is not my idea of a good time. So in the winter I stock up on things like (low-sodium) canned beans, diced tomatoes, sweet potatoes and other foods that aren’t as likely to spoil so when I don’t feel like venturing into the outdoors for groceries I have healthy options at home.

4. Do it with friends

There’s nothing more annoying motivating than a friend nagging encouraging you to “get off your lazy a** and head to the gym now”. Not that I know from experience or anything…But seriously, having a gym buddy keeps you accountable will usually help you get out your warm bed and into the gym. And eventually, you’ll thank them for it.

5. Have a back up plan

There are always going to be those days when it’s so cold that you just head straight home, or don’t want to leave your house in the first place. So it’s a good idea to have a back up plan. Freeze some meals that you won’t touch except for a rainy snowy day when you’re out of everything and can’t be bothered to go to the grocery. I also like to save at home or no equipment workouts so when I can’t make it to the gym I can still get my sweat on.

What about you?

What tips to you have for eating well and staying active when it snows? Do you use any of these? 

Share in the comments below!
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Comments

  9. Molly Young says

    Really great tips! Especially the Don’t go home. That would get me every time when I used to work! Getting home after a long day, you just want to shower and change into PJs. I always had a big plan but as soon as I walk in, I felt tired! So true.
    Molly Young recently posted…22 Great Uses for Breastmilk

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  10. Amanda @ .running with spoons.com says

    Ehehe. Ohhh I know what you mean about not wanting to brave the elements to go out and buy food. Some of my best vegan and/or GF recipes are the result of not wanting to go out the cold. These are some great tips, though. I also find that it helps to have a winter activity that you love. Buuuut I know not everyone likes playing out in the snow 😛
    Amanda @ .running with spoons.com recently posted…. double chocolate chip oatmeal cookies .

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  15. Amber says

    Not going back home is a great tip! I know I am the time of person that does better leaving the house with gym bag packed and not coming home again until the end of the day as well!

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  21. cbd store says

    Hello! Thank you for such an inspiring article. I never get why people don’t eat or drink properly during the winter. Your body doesn’t need different fuel during the winter, just eat as healthy as you normally would. Also, I love it when people don’t go to the gym because it’s cold, it makes it so there are only around 10 people total in the gym at any time of the day, and those people are motivated to work out! No annoying people taking up space while doing nothing. Such a nice and calm time to work out
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