Hack your Brain to fight Winter Fat!
In the Northern Hemisphere - USA and Europe - we are coming to the end of the warm summer season. Judging by Instagram, there has been a plethora of additions to the health movement. With so many new and exciting exercise modalities, and brilliant healthy food movements, people seem to be more health and body conscious than ever before. It has been a great summer to make significant health improvements.
We are aware though that the mornings are now darker, and there is a hint of the winter chill. Our bodies start responding as if to some primal winter warning. Exercise, which was spontaneous becomes a chore. The summer salads are replaced by starchy, fatty foods as our brains get us ready to gain some winter pounds. Do we resign ourselves to reversing our hard earned weight loss, or is it possible to “hack” our brains’ hibernation instinct?
The secret to a successful brain hack is to work with your body, not against it! Give it summer messages to keep it in summer mode.
Hack 1 – Do not get cold. Cold is a sure hibernation signal to the brain. Lose the slinky outfit to keep the slinky bod!
Hack2 – Keep the cardio activity high. It may be good to explore indoor exercise options.
Hack 3 – Do not get hungry. Especially have an afternoon snack. Going home hungry on a cold, dark evening is the perfect storm for fattening comfort food.
Hack 4 – Switch to hot, generously flavored foods which give your body a feeling of warm fullness, but without the calories. An easy choice is soup.
Hack 5 – be calorie conscious. Even on “low carb” diets calories always count. Interestingly, we are not the only ones geared to storing more energy in winter, and many of the foods we eat year round will have a higher winter Calorie levels. Again, soups and stews bring calorie levels down by increasing the food’s water content.
Hot Hint: Roast Pumpkin Soup.
Pumpkin is high in carotenoid anti oxidants, and cholesterol fighting fibers. It has just more than half the calories of butternut – so switch your favorite butternut soup recipe to pumpkin to save calories. Add curry and warm spices to lock in the flavor.
How to:
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees.
Brush 500g peeled pumpkin cubes with olive oil. Roast in oven with a crushed garlic clove, and sprig of Basil for 20 minutes or until soft.
Place 2 tablespoons olive oil in a pot and add 1 teaspoon crushed garlic, ? teaspoon allspice, 1 small onion diced, and 1 teaspoon curry powder. Simmer on low heat until the onion is cooked.
Add the pumpkin to the pot, and gently pour in 500 ml vegetable stock. Leave to simmer for 10-20 minutes, add a pinch of black pepper and salt to taste.
Blend the soup for a smooth consistency. Serve with a dash of light coconut milk.