Your winter depression is hindering your healthy lifestyle. You’re finally feeling the winter blues hitting you hard this year, and it’s making it really difficult to get out of bed in the morning or leave the house. You don’t even want to look at your workout clothes right now because winter is making you feel like resting and going into hibernation instead! However, before letting winter depression take complete control of your life, consider some ways that active people stay active during the winter. And remember, “No matter how long the winter, spring is always going to come…” – Cedric Hohnstadt.
Sometimes, winter is the worst time to be healthy and active. Dealing with winter depression can make exercise seem like a daunting task. However, winter is not an excuse to give up your healthy habits. Here are some ways to stay motivated when exercise feels like a hassle:
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Make Being Healthy Fun:
- Listen to podcasts or music while you work out;
- Start a blog to have a place to share your triumphs and struggles;
- Invest in trendy and comfortable workout attire;
- Invite friends for “Fit” competitions.
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Treat Yourself Well So You Feel Good About Being Active:
Keep it interesting by trying new classes or workout types during the winter, like Zumba.
If winter depression is the only thing between you and your workout routine, do some quick research on winter depression to remind yourself that winter doesn’t have power over you. Read some motivational winter quotes on how to stay healthy. If needed, find out how winter can affect your mental health. However, remember that winter isn’t always caused by depression – the cold can cause physical pain too! Research if the cold affects your body or mood so you know how to stay healthy.
Find a Workout Buddy! Having someone to exercise with makes a difference in terms of motivation! Plan outdoor meetups for winter runs or winter sports together.
Work Out at Home. If you can’t leave the house, it can be tough to motivate yourself to exercise. However, with the winter months comes winter weather and winter workouts! Most people think that winter activities like skiing or ice skating require a lot of money, but there are many winter workouts you can do at home for free! Here’s my favorite winter workout: it requires no equipment (except a yoga mat) and quickly raises your heart rate:
Gentle Physical Activity:
You know the type: everyone sits at the computer all day with their butts glued to plush chairs with high backs; they complain of feeling both tired and stiff; they sit at their desks when the boss goes out to lunch (and fall asleep); they relax when he panics over messed-up spreadsheets (and wake up with neck pain).
If you find yourself in an environment like this, or if your lifestyle doesn’t allow for many movement opportunities in general, but you want to stay healthy, try to do gentle physical activity wherever you can. If all this is possible in your office, fantastic! But if it’s not, don’t worry. It might be that you can’t break a sweat every day, but even light physical activity is exponentially better than nothing. However, dedicating 10-15 minutes of your day to gentle, healthy physical activity can really make a difference, all without sacrificing other things in your life.
Sitting at your desk all day? Take occasional walks around the office or simply stand up more often when talking on the phone. Do you have nearby stairs? Take them instead of an elevator whenever possible.
Adjust Your Diet:
You should also adjust your diet accordingly. Making a workout routine can be tiring, and after your workout is over and your muscles have repaired, they need to be refueled.
When you work out a lot, there’s room in the calorie budget for healthy and “fun” foods. But when you can’t work out much (or at all), the maneuvering room shrinks considerably. Normally, you’d work out and replenish your calories with “fun” foods or even junk food because of your workout, but what do you do when you can’t work out at all?
It’s easy to keep eating like you do when you work out or even more because you feel like you deserve it! So right now, I’m particularly mindful of what I eat and selective about “fun” things, because otherwise, I might end up gaining weight instead of losing it!
Nutrition during exercise is something that many people don’t think about when they work out, but it can be an important part of how well you recover after a workout and how much energy you have.
During this workout break, reduce carbs and increase healthy fats (see this article on how to do it). Of course, healthy, complex carbs like grains, starchy vegetables, and legumes are still important, but your body doesn’t need them when you’re sedentary because you have no workouts to refuel. Reducing carbs helps maintain metabolic flexibility during this period of inactivity. However, make sure to consume plenty of lean protein as it helps you feel full between meals. Never forget about vitamins!
Find Inspirational Stories:
It’s important to feel those feelings and not ignore them. Starting today, it’s time to start nurturing your mind with stories that empower you.
At the same time, it can be challenging to find the way back to a positive mindset on your own. Interviews are always with inspiring people, including authors, doctors, and scientists, many of whom have overcome incredible adversity.
If so, you should consider subscribing to the “Inspiring Stories” podcast; it will help you find inspiration when you’re feeling down. Follow successful women’s stories on Instagram, which can also help you feel more empowered and less insecure about your struggles. The stories will inspire you to make better choices in life, see beauty in every moment, and, most importantly, remind yourself that it’s okay if things aren’t exactly where you want them to be right now. The following stories are full of inspiration for anyone who needs a little relief during the day.
Do Unproductive Things You Enjoy:
Feel like you should be doing something productive? Just relax.
You don’t actually have to do anything. It’s okay to relax and take a break from the world of workout videos, high-intensity workouts, or weightlifting programs. In fact, not engaging is often helpful when it comes to recovering from injury or illness.
Your mental health needs downtime as much as your body needs it for optimal well-being. Without time spent in a totally relaxed state, burnout becomes inevitable, and I’ve been there myself!
So relax and make space for those unproductive things you enjoy. Try sitting down with a good book, watching Netflix, scrolling through countless TikTok videos.
Final Thoughts:
Has your motivation suddenly disappeared? First, find motivation. What’s one thing that motivates you? Remember: mindset + motivation = movement. It’s easy to get lost in our everyday lives, and workout plans can easily fall through. But don’t worry; there are still ways you can find happiness, hope, and healthy activities to enrich your workout routine!
