The past few weeks have been pretty rough for me and my cat. We both seem to have an insatiable appetite, wanting another snack or bite to eat just minutes after the last. What's going on? Is it the cold winter? Is it the gray skies? Or is it an expanded stomach that has got too accustomed to gingerbread and fudge? I had to find out.
"Meow." That's my cat again, begging for another treat when usually her normal eating routine will do. "Why are you so hungry all the time, now?" I ask as she politely waits by the door of the closet that contains all her food. Then my stomach rumbles just minutes after having a snack myself. "What the heck? Why am I hungry all the time, now?" Maybe this cat is onto something.
Looking for the answer I found several mentions of a study by Ira Ockene, a cardiologist at The University of Massachusetts Medical School. Turns out wanting more food during the winter is perfectly normal. It's perhaps even instinctive, as shorter days puts our biology into a "hurry up and eat everything while you can!" type of overdrive, where it signals us to eat and store food while there's available light. Eating more in the winter could also be because the act of metabolizing food generates heat and keeps us warm. Eating may be our bodies' solution to keeping balanced and comfortable. I'm going with that answer because I know my cat is all about the comfort (and pets don't know how to lie).
So what can we do about it, especially during the months we're most focused on shedding pounds? Turn to high protein meals over carbs as they will keep your body satisfied longer. Perhaps a bowl of warm white chicken chili, or some whole wheat fig bars (which are one of the fruits high in protein). Mmmmm, now I'm hungry again. I bet my cat is, too.
Related: 10 Ways to Eat More Vegetables Every Day
(Images: Chris Perez)
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How interesting that you mention your cat. Our dog has aways been the "Feed me feed me!" type, and esp. in the last 6 months as we've cut back a bit to get her to lose some weight. But the last month or so she's been particularly persistent and almost desperate, and it never occurred to me that it might be tied to the change of season... Thanks for the insight!
I have been STARVING all week, despite eating plenty of nourishing food. And TIRED, despite getting enough sleep. Yup: it's January. I wish I was a cat, just for now, and didn't care about my clothes fitting.
Ugh. I can't stop eating. Granted, some of it is stress related, but it's crazy! I hate it!
That is the most adorable looking cat! I love the fluffy fur and those blue eyes!
Your cat is PRECIOUS. And yes, I've noticed eating more (or wanting to eat more even if I'm content)... I allow it in December, but it's hard come January to get myself back to a general routine when the weather is the same as the previous month!
Haha. Love your cat. I just want to go snuggle my dogs now.
Your cat is so fluffy and cute! Very interesting article, and a topic my friends and I have occasionally discussed. Maybe we should buy our winter clothes a size larger...
Purrfect timing! I was wondering why my cats holler at me while sitting by their bowls lately. I feed them when I get up and when I go to bed, but they're begging in the middle of the day (or night, if I'm up and about)
I guess I should've known that if I feel like I have a cookie loving tapeworm in the winter, they would too.
My apt is on the northeast corner, and the wind pretty much comes right through all the windows, so when they're not begging, they burrow under the comforter. With or without me .
For a while, I was up to two home baked cookies a day. I had to squash that quickly, but I too can't get enough to eat or sleep or drink (dehydration). I hate stairs, walking to the store, basically leaving my bed and I was running 12 miles a week.
Thanks for this post. I'm going to crawl back into bed for a while.
That is one adorable and beautiful cat!
Oh, that cat! I just wanna snuggle up next to him! (If I wasn't allergic that is...)
And yes, I've been so hungry lately! Maybe it also has to do with the fact that I'm a nursing mama! :)
I have resigned myself to putting on some chub in the winters and then working it off in the summers. I think our dog will, too. She's only a year old and self-regulates on food, but because of the weather and early darkness we haven't gone on the long daily walks we normally do in the summer (as in, several miles at a time). She still gets a short morning walk and sometimes nighttime walks, but it's hard to work up a sweat when you are tiptoeing along on ice! So neither of us are getting tons of exercise (although I exercise indoors, too).
The one upside is that wintertime is the perfect time for vegetable-rich stews, which I love. Got a pot of beef vegetable soup (with tomatoes) on the stove right now. 80% Vegetables, 20% beef. Yum. The other downside of wintertime? Bread and butter tastes SO GOOD with soup.
What a cute cat!