As the cycling season draws to an end, many cyclist find themselves at their goal weight or race weight. It feels great, doesn’t it?
There’s ease in choosing the right foods, maintaining portion sizes, and eating a few treats here and there doesn’t seem like a big deal. Yet, for many, the transition to the Fall and Winter season means exercise volume decreases not only in sport but in life as well. There are fewer long rides, no lawns to mow and less walking about outside.
Combined with that, daylight hours decrease and it gets colder which leaves most of us less motivated and reaching for more processed, lower nutrient foods, eating bigger portion sizes; and as a result, we gain wait. Ugh! The dreaded Winter weight gain! It warrants the question, Do Weather Changes Warrant Nutrition Changes? Do hormones play a role? Experts say that cold weather increases the appetite for foods that warm the body quickly, like sugars and carbohydrates. Cold salads are less appealing. Creamy clam chowder and buttered cornbread is a much more pleasing choice when it’s chilly out.
But managing your weight in the off season isn’t a lost cause! The post, 10 Ways to Manage Offseason Weight Control, offers suggestions to keep the pounds off. Suggestions include easy options, as in, writing your food down in a food journal; consider the timing of your meals and intake; and limiting calories on easier exercise days. As we’ve written previously, there are apps for cyclist to manage off-season gains. Which ones are our favorites? The Lose it app. Lose It! allows users get a customized weight loss plan and then use the app to track food, measure activity levels, and connect with peers for group support to reach their goals. The bonus is that it can sync up with most of the popular fitness tracking devices and wireless scales on the market. It also has a large food database for easy reference. Best part – it’s free!
And Winter riding can be equally as fun as Summer riding given you have the right cycling apparel, you know how to dress for winter riding, and you have the right bike parts in your winter toolkit. And while the trails may be covered in snow and the roads less scenic than the Summertime, have no fear of the trainer. Don’t be a hater! There are means to overcoming trainer woes to keep activity up.
Just as much as the Spring cycling season inspires us to get in shape, tackle new challenges, and reach new cycling heights, the Fall season can inspire us too. Discovering new ways to nurture our bodies, maintain the gains we’ve made during the season, and re-energize for the season ahead. With a little mindfulness, battling the Winter bulge doesn’t have to be such an effort.
Peak Cycles - BikeParts.com Blog 
[…] Battle of the Bulge: Weight Control in the Offseason […]