Something I have been thinking about here why do we gain weight in the winter is it evolutionary to deal with the extra calories needed in the cold or is it because we eat too much at christmas and thanksgiving or is it because we are just don't do as much exercise? I have been over eating lately and I think its because of the very cold temps we are experiencing even in the house it seems chillier. My hubby and I both have been heading for the snacks which are carbs more. How about you ?
From an evolutionary stand point I would think your metabolism would be slower so eating more in winter is bad unless your countering it with excercise.
I think from an evolutionary viewpoint we tend to eat more(store some fat) when times get hard, evolution doesn't react to the things we know(well, it does, by having us understand things and govern ourselves, but aside from that) ;some urges are just always present.(they held little consequence when they're not needed, but are very important when times are realy hard ) If you feel you eat too much, i suggest to convince yourself there is plenty of food to go around, though not by trying to convince yourself but just looking for yourself; are there supermarkets ? do you have money to buy groceries ? are there any expected shortages ? etc. any such urge should grow weaker.
I would agree with you on your view. If its -30C its cold and you burn more calories just being outside doing anything. I think you tend to eat more to get back up to set point. In the winter in the northern countries is also darker longer and you spend more time sitting around than being active.
Our ancestors (like many other animals) ate as much as they could during the fall, when food was abundant, in order to store fat for winter, when they needed insulation from the cold and might have to go longer between meals and work harder to catch a meal. Those same conditions applied for millions of years and affected our hormones. Our bodies have not figured out that we now have ample food supply all through the winter, even though we work less, rather than more. It's up to our minds to set limits on the food consumption and contrive activities to keep the body fit.
