by Michelle Wilkinson

Created on: April 19, 2009

It is darker in the mornings and it gets darker earlier at night. The temperature outside has dropped and you have to force yourself to leave the warmth of your bed in order to get up. It is hardly surprising that so many people find themselves gaining weight over winter, as their activity levels seem to vary considerably depending on whether it is summer or winter. Summer seems to be a time when people spend most of their time outdoors, frolicking in the fields and running around wearing very few clothes, whilst winter is seen as a dark and gloomy time when people want to huddle together at home in front of the fire, and wrap up warmly for the very few times they venture outside the house. It doesn't have to be that way, though.

Physical activity provides you with the best opportunity to avoid weight gain, as it increases your metabolism and can help increase your muscle tone. Exercise helps your body to run more efficiently, and so it uses the calories that you put into your body, rather than simply hanging on to them. It is convenient to use winter as an excuse not to exercise, but usually it is laziness which stops people becoming more active.

For a start, you don't even have to leave your house to become more active. You could invest in a skipping rope and, if you've got enough room, skip in the house, or otherwise skip in your garden. You might want to buy a little trampoline or some other relatively inexpensive piece of gym equipment, or even get an exercise DVD so that you have a routine to follow. You could just run up and down the stairs for half an hour or so in order to get some exercise into your daily routine.

If you're not bothered by the thought of leaving your front door in order to face the cold you could go for a walk or a run, or perhaps cycle. Obviously it depends on the weather. It might not be a good idea to run when it's icy or cycle when it's snowing, but you shouldn't let the weather stop you trying. Once you get into a routine it becomes much easier to exercise, and you learn where the best places to go are. If that fails you could always join your local gym or look at what aerobic classes are available at your nearest leisure centre.

Exercise isn't the only way to help you prevent gaining weight over winter, as you need to keep an eye on your diet as well as your exercise regime. However, physical activity is often something that is much neglected over the winter months, as people go into hibernation mode, preferring to stay in their homes doing nothing, but then complaining when they find they have gained weight. It therefore makes sense for everybody to increase their activity levels whatever time of the year it may be, but especially during winter when people tend to eat more.

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