The Hibernation Health Series: A Guide for Winter Wellness

These days when I read most articles on nutrition and healthy living, my eyes come close to rolling out of my skull.

The stock images give the impression that to live a healthful lifestyle, you must be a trim, bronze woman doing yoga on a paddleboard, kale smoothie in a coconut shell in one hand. That certainly doesn’t apply to me and I can venture to say it doesn’t apply to most of you guys either.

Not to mention, where I live, the temperature is currently fluctuating between 0-45 degrees in any given week. Our bodies have become as confused as our local weathermen (and groundhogs).

As a nutrition and lifestyle coach for men, I always say to my clients: take the advice that appeals to you and resonates with you, try it out, and throw the rest away. We’re all different; there’s no one-size-fits all approach to health, especially in our world of bears, cubs, otters, and guys of all shapes and sizes. To make things even more complex, there’s also no one single approach for the full year. Each season should be treated differently.

Most people think that you can’t live as healthfully during the winter as other seasons, or they assume that what works for them in the summer (generic example: more salads, fresh fruit, and being more active) applies to winter, too. That’s just not going to jive. What does work is leaning into the season, instead of resisting it. It’s about understanding that with each season, our body expects us to eat differently and to act differently.

The natural tendency in the winter is to hunker down and brace for the cold. Due to the temperature and shorter days, it feels good to stay in and eat foods that make you feel warm and fuzzy. And you should. Truly embracing the colder seasons in a healthful way means hibernating, which lucky for us bears and cubs, is something we’re good at.

To help you do that, for the last month of winter I’m going to provide you with tips and takeaways for surviving even the coldest temps. These tips entail a lot of what I already love:

• Sleeping more
• Napping and lounging
• Hearty meals – like soups, stews and roasts
• Soaking in hot tubs and bubble baths
• Drinking wine and hot beverages
• Having burly Russian guys scrub me down at the spa

You know, the good things in life – most of which conveniently fit into the Blue Zone’s recipe for longevity (A long life filled with pleasure? Yes please!).

In the meantime, take a few minutes now to reflect on the differences you experiences during the summer verse the winter in terms of your energy, sleep patters, mood, cravings, and anything else you come up with. No need to judge yourself – just take stock of what you notice.

A lot comes up, right?

Well then, stay tuned for my series of tips, suggestions, and tools to help you embrace these seasonal differences.  (FOR TIP ONE CLICK HERE) 

Want to know more about Jon: bkhealthcoach.com