The FastDay Forum

I am having a heckuva time with my weight ever since it started to get cold here in the Northeast. We keep our house fairly cool, and let the temperature drop to 62F at night (16.7 C).

But what I'm experiencing, which is new, is an intense craving for fat. After rarely eating cheese all summer, all I want to eat now is cheese, more cheese, and hard sausages. And chocolate. It seems a lot tougher to regulate my eating on non-fast days than it has been for the many months previous.

I remember the exact same thing happening last year, though I wasn't dieting back then. All my extra cheese and sausage snacks packed on several pound last year, and I am seeing where the same thing could easily happen this year, too, unless I force myself not to eat which will mean DIETING on a daily basis.

It makes sense that our bodies would respond to seasonal clues and want to store fat knowing that winter is coming. So I'm curious whether others have observed changes in their appetite as it becomes colder in their homes. I'm also curious if living in a warmer home (which I used to do, before we bought this one) would make a difference. It isn't so much the weather outside as the temperatures we are exposed to inside. My home is 8-10 degrees F colder since October than it had been since late April.

Seems likely, I've had the same both years too. I think there was something about it on Marksdailyapple last year, proving it's a thing.
My weight is hovering around 73kgs this season as a result, so I'm trying to keep it in check a bit but not worrying about it unduly until next February when Spring (light rather than heat) begins.
Good luck @Peebles, we can push on through this

I've been suffering from carb cravings and increased appetite for a while now. I think it's called Autumn feed syndrome. Something to do with our genetics and the body wanting to prepare for the oncoming winter famine which obviously isn't an issue for most of us anymore but would have been way back. I've started logging my food (started yesterday) in order to be more mindful of what I'm eating. I think for me other factors have been in play also ie some stress at work and basically falling back into bad habits. I'm hoping I can re-set things soon, but we may have to accept weight loss will be slow at this time of year.

YES! I can only lose weight in summer! I think it's absolutely a thing and I don't know why it isn't written about more widely. And look around the world, people living in hot climates are thinner than people who live in cold climates. In Winter, I want cheese on toast, steamed puddings anything fat and carbie. In summer I can eat fresh salads, strawberries, lots of lettuce and watermelon. It's completely different. For me, what I had to do this winter, was just focus on maintaining. Every kilo I didn't put on was an achievement. Now that summer's here for me, I can hope to start losing again.

It does make sense that if you are feeling colder you want to eat more to help warm the body up.Similarly, putting on extra weight in preparation for winter does fit with how we evolved.
But of course there is individual variation. I lost my weight on 5:2 during winter and spring, and can't say that I notice a change in appetite at different times of the year. I eat the same food all year around - huge salad for lunch whatever the temperature (yes, I know I should eat what is in season locally, rather than food that has to be brought in from elsewhere but, oh well).
Chocolate is my main downfall with any overeating, and even on the hottest days I still fancy it - in fact, I prefer chocolate when it is starting to melt!!

@peebles: I didn't address your question about warm houses. I think we take our body cues from outside and I don't know if having a warm house would protect one from the seasonal urge to eat more in winter. I think Australians who have much less severe winters than you do in the US, probably have much cooler houses in winter than the typical American house. But this is an interesting question. @Sassy1, I just can't stomach lots of salads in winter. And yes, I do live out of the garden and eat seasonally, not so much out of being 'good' but more because my body wants to do that. Once you have lived out of your garden, you can't go back.

I crave soup in the winter. I crave cheese always.

I am so glad other people are experiencing increased appetites on their fasting days due to seasonal change as I thought I was the only one. I notice I am hungrier during the winter months and my weight loss has stalled. I dropped a dress size and people have been commenting on my weight loss. I just need to focus as I don't want to undo the good work I've done to date. I really enjoy these forums as they help to spur me on.

Very interesting!

The reason I'm wondering about house temperature, is that the home I lived in before we moved here was kept a couple degrees warmer than this house and I lost quite a bit of weight while living there, when I started dieting in October and stuck to my diet through the holidays.

I can't raise the thermostat in my newer house because we have radiators, and they dry the air so badly that my eyes dry out and become painful at what would otherwise be a comfortable temperature. Humidifiers don't begin to help. The other house had hot air heat.

So I'm curious about @Sallyo's remark that homes are kept cooler in the winter in Australia. What would be a typical indoor temperature there?

I have noticed that I always feel coldest early in the winter when the temperature is in the mid 40s F outside. I think this is because at that temperature there is still a lot of moisture in the air which goes away later when it gets cooler and the heat runs more often. So when it is in the 40s outside, the house is both cool and a damp, so the cold carries. Later it gets so dry that the beams in the house creak and shift and cracks open in the walls. But it doesn't feel as cold.

We fired up the hot water bottles last night and for the first time I didn't wake up at 5 AM freezing my tail off! I also didn't eat anywhere near as much today, so that's interesting too. Perhaps sleeping too cold makes us eat more?

We heat our house to 20C in winter, but I do try to put off turning on the heater for as long as possible. If I am busy then indoor temp of 15C is bearable but once I stop, then the heater probably goes on!
I had been wondering if the fact that I can avoid the cold means that the outside temperature has less impact on my appetite? We don't get it as cold as US and UK either.
And Sallyo, I have brown thumbs, can't grow anything. I have tried... We don't get a lot of sun which doesn't help.

I wonder if I am affected by the longer hours of dark? I would not say that it has,been particularly cold yet in Cumbria, not down to freezing anyway. We have no central heating, so most of the house is cool and dampish (stone cottages!), but in the evening with the wood burner going I am roasting, much hotter than in summer.
I eat the same type of food, and exercise outdoors but for shorter periods, therefore more time with bum on seat. Fasting regimen the same but I am 3 lbs up on my July/August glory days. I am beginning to think that I have a "winter weight", even if nobody else does!

I have moved to the lower warmer bedroom for winter as the big top bedroom is cold and the double glazed window running with water. I have a weak chest from very bad whooping cough when age 3 so need a warm dry environment to survive. OH has remained upstairs for now and, as we both fidget about through the night, it's rather peaceful down here! I will put the dehumidifier on tonight for him, got to keep the old boy well :0)
I'm doing 16:8 fasting Monday and Thursday to encourage autophagy and mindfulness, and recording food input too. Down to 72.6 kgs today :0)

[carieoates]

Obviously we don't get it as cold as some here in the uk.
Out heating is set to 22 until 10.30 pm and 17 at all other times. as the house is well insulated it rarely clicks on at other times.
As Im a cold person anyway the fasting days are even worse for me.
Hot chocolate and blankets.

I haven't particularly noticed putting on weight in the winter, although I know many people say that they eat more "fattening" foods in winter and don't get outdoors to be active and thus gain weight.

I find it sort of funny that when I feel cold at home in winter, my reaction is to pile on the layers of sweaters, the ankle warmers, the fingerless gloves, the turtlenecks for sure, while huddling under an afghan reading "my book" (must always have a book going). All this, while knowing full well that if just got up and did something, I'd warm up right away--there's always a room needing dusting, a carpet needing vacuuming, an exercise video needing doing--too tired is not a good excuse (maybe too boring is closer to the mark).

What is it they say in Yorkshire--"there's nowt so queer as folk" ?

@peebles I'm not craving fat or carbs but it's not cold here, yet. Did your increased appetite for cheese and sausage continue throughout last winter? The reason I ask is straight after Xmas I normally experience a change in what I want to eat as though I have passed through the 'window' when the body wants to store. I don't put this down to over eating at Xmas as I tend to eat as normal over the period. @Barbarita I'm with you in missing the light. I began 52 end of December so this is my first time fasting through autumn/beginning of winter. I have never felt like this before and I wonder if it is because we enjoyed a long summer, right through to end of Sept and beyond? This year when the clocks changed end of October, it felt like someone had turned off the lights! I can't remember the last time we had a sunny day. I was thinking about this at the weekend as I'm also confused by what I want to eat, I'm no longer enjoying my food. Can you believe it!! I think I have lost the plot. Anyhow, thanks to rawkaren saying 'eat your greens' I proceeded to fill the fridge with winter greens and have eaten daily and really enjoyed but I'm far from working out what else I would like eat. Very strange. I plan to buy Vit D supplement to see if that can lift the fog.