winter blues

[bruceH]

This winter has sucked. I feel like I probably have cabin fever and have lost my motivation for exercise. Any tips?

[Beth]

I know what you mean!

THere was something in the newspaper that I read today that might help you. You're really not alone in this. Everybody seems to be feeling down, cranky, and unmotivated because we just can't get out to do things!

Any sunny day there is (or sunny moment!), get outside even if it's just for a five minute walk. If you can get 10 minutes of direct sunlight in a day, it will help you. No matter what it's doing out there, sit so that you're facing a window. Any natural light will help.

Push yourself to get active. It might be hard to get started, but once your'e moving, you'll start feeling better.

Resist the urge to eat only comfort foods. Put some really healthy stuff back into your diet to boost your energy, nutrition, and mood.

Hang in there!

[Gina]

Sticking to your diet is one of the best possible ways for you to beat the winter blues! It may not seem like the most appealing way to do it but once you get going then you'll start feeling a lot better and your motivation will only build from there.

This is because a good diet will have you exercise every single day. That will boost your level of endorphins which will make you feel happier overall and more energized.

A good and healthy diet will also make sure that you eat a reasonable amount and cut back on the foods that are actually usually the cause of feeling down and tired. Instead you'll fill up on energy and nutrition!

[1000kw]

Those are all really important suggestions and they do help a lot. WHat I've found has helped me the most is just giving myself a good kick in the behind. Why should I allow the weather to dictate whether I'm happy and motivated?

No way! every time I feel myself staring out the window and sighing because it's now March and the snow just keeps on falling, I tell myself to stop being such a baby and get over it. If I plan to be healthy and alive for a long time then I'm going to see a heck of a lot more snowfalls than just this! In fact, I hope to! If the snow stops falling, the world's going to be in far rougher shape!

So I'll just say "oh well", bundle up, smile at people more (to spread the good mood) and decide that all the extra challenge in walking places is just burning more calories!

[tara]

Instead of fighting it, embrace it! Get out into it! Put on lots of layers of clothing and make sure that you head out whenever you can. Instead of thinking about the snow and ice filled sidewalks as a problem, think of them as an opportunity to burn off a huge number of calories without having to travel a very far distance from home.

As long as you bundle up enough you can protect yourself in just about any temperature. Just remind yourself that the more you get your heart pumping, the warmer you will be. I often find that even when it's well below freezing, I can actually get overheated enough that I have to start undoing some layers of clothing to cool down!!!

[tammybear]

Instead of fighting it, embrace it! Get out into it! Put on lots of layers of clothing and make sure that you head out whenever you can. Instead of thinking about the snow and ice filled sidewalks as a problem, think of them as an opportunity to burn off a huge number of calories without having to travel a very far distance from home.

As long as you bundle up enough you can protect yourself in just about any temperature. Just remind yourself that the more you get your heart pumping, the warmer you will be. I often find that even when it's well below freezing, I can actually get overheated enough that I have to start undoing some layers of clothing to cool down!!!

That's a great attitude. I wish I could keep it up but I know that I can only keep up that sort of thing for a couple of days a week, at most, when it's really cold and snowy out. All I hope is that this winter goes away really soon so that I can start having a better attitude like you seem to have all year long!

[Penny]

As soon as there is any sunny day - even if its' really cold - get out there and spend as much time in it as you can manage!