Winter Wellbeing

 

Winter is a time to start thinking about how you can ensure you can carry your current routine into the cold evenings and even colder early mornings. When the temperature starts to drop, often our morale does too. We tend to stay in our warm beds and comfy couches with a hot chocolate and some comfort food, letting go of the work ethic we’ve upheld throughout the warmer months when it was easier to get out of bed at 6am for a run! However, in addition to it being the perfect time to get started on your summer body, there are a number of reasons why it’s so important to keep up your training and nutrition throughout winter.

Winter

IMMUNITY

Research has shown time and time again that regular exercise strengthens your immune system so it can fight off bacterial and viral infections. This becomes particularly important in winter when colds and flu rear their ugly heads, and the importance here for keeping your nutrition clean is fairly obvious.

EMOTIONAL WELLBEING

Most people believe that the weather outside has a direct reflection on their mood and motivation, it’s not unlikely for the winter blues to have an effect on your productivity and zest for life. As a result of exercise the brain releases the “feel-good” chemicals serotonin and dopamine, which can help to boost your wellbeing and beat the blues.

NUTRITION

In the colder months we often turn to comfort food to help us feel better, studies show that the winter season is the most dangerous period for putting on weight because of this. In addition to making sure you keep up your training routine, ensure you are still eating the right foods – don’t give in!

So what ways can you keep yourself motivated?

  • Write a training plan and stick to it, get to Sunday class and be accountable to the entire team
  • Treat yourself to some winter training gear – studies have proven a clear correlation between getting an outfit for an event and the excitement leading up to it – a new pair of good quality leggings might be the thing you need to get yourself out of bed!
  • Eat warm healthy delicious meals
  • Getting your body moving is the best way to warm yourself up!
  • Have a chat to your coach about some other ways you can keep yourself motivated in the colder months

Here are the top 4 supplements that we recommend to boost your immune system.

VITAMIN C

Vitamin C is not produced by the body and as such must be taken in through the foods we eat. Unfortunately, the food we eat and the soil it’s grown in is very often nutrient depleted, making it difficult to get the amount of Vitamin C we need. Vitamin C supplementation can support:

  • Immune system functioning
  • Adrenal system functioning
  • Collagen formation for healthy skin
  • Cardiovascular health

VITAMIN D

Vitamins D and K go hand in hand, with higher levels of vitamin D increasing the need for vitamin K. Our bodies are only able to absorb Vitamin D from 15 minutes of sunlight each day, which is can be difficult to get in winter! Supplementing your diet with vitamin D and K can:

  • Support immune system balance
  • Help maintain bone health
  • Support a healthy heart and blood vessels

ZINC

Zinc is an essential trace element for maintaining health and well-being. It plays an important role in the metabolism of proteins, carbohydrates, lipids and nucleic acids, is crucial for maintaining the structure and integrity of cell membranes which is important for wound healing, and plays a role in immune function.

  • May assist in general well being
  • May assist in healthy hair skin and nails
  • May assist in healing on minor wounds

 

MULTI-VITAMIN

Multi-vitamins provide a variety of vitamins and minerals to avoid deficiencies across the board. Some of the benefits of this are:

  • Improved immunity
  • Enhanced stress resistance
  • Improved general health and well-being
  • Slowing of the aging process