Winter is the toughest time of year to counter that belly button getting closer and closer to concealing your belt. Not only does it mean “the holidays” are here, with all of the good cheer and bounty of sugar-encrusted parties to attend, “oh, you must try the fruit cake, it’s not at all like your mother used to make!”…but it’s also fall turning to winter. That means we hide from the bitter cold and scary darkness outside, and have a natural tendency to crave more sweet and fatty comfort foods to keep us warm and cozy while we huddle in front of our television screens or sweet smelling ovens. To some degree, this is normal and not worthy of too much concern, so long as it is balanced each spring and summer with the opposite habits. When it becomes an ever-enlarging cycle though, it’s time to take some control.

A few healthy guidelines will help you navigate and prevent this problem from becoming exaggerated. Eat regular meals, three per day, to avoid getting excessively hungry and diving into the closest thing that resembles food in your cabinet that you can find (I am, unfortunately, very familiar with this feeding technique). It does not serve your body well. Not only do you tend to take whatever you can find and shove it down your throat (a bag of chips, ice cream, cheese and crackers, cereal), but you’ve also created a major hormonal stressor that leads you to this point of reckless hedonism. When our blood sugar starts dipping, our adrenals need to kick in to stimulate the release of sugar to keep things balanced so we don’t pass out or worse. Over time, the adrenals become tired of being kicked around so much, and they don’t do such a good job anymore, and we become hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) which leads to irritability, shakiness, light-headedness and generally feeling yucky. Hypoglycemic prone people are also at greater risk of becoming diabetics later in life, poor blood sugar control in the other direction.

Secondly, make each of your meals balanced in carbohydrates, fat and protein. We need each of these macronutrients on a regular basis for the most even-keeled living. Carbohydrates are your sugars and starches…fruits and vegetables and some whole grains are the healthy options, sweets and breads and pasta and other refined grain based foods are your less healthy options. Proteins make up a good portion of all animal-based foods as well as beans, quinoa, nuts, seeds, and wild, red or brown rice. Fats are also part of animal sourced foods and fish, as well as dairy, nuts and seeds and the oil from these (olive, coconut, almond, etc.). We metabolize carbohydrates pretty quickly, proteins moderately and fats the slowest. By having all three in one meal ensures you meet all of your needs for energy, short-term to long-term so you can make it to the next meal without needing snacks or pick-me-ups. If you’re going to eat dessert, eat it right after your meal…one, so you won’t want to eat so much of it, two, so the impact on your blood sugar is mollified with the slower digesting components of the meal, and three, so you’ll dump some of those carbohydrates with the fiber in the meal instead of storing so much of it…and watching that belly button expand out and down ever farther.

Karla Koch, ND, DOM, RN     Nov. 17, 2009

“Feeling A Little Bit Heavier” by Karla Koch is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.