Weight Watchers want you to share your autumn and winter healthy living triumphs and/or pitfalls - £300 voucher to be won! NOW CLOSED

[EllieMumsnet]

For many, Autumn often symbolises a time to be with family, wrapping up, staying indoors with a good movie and indulging in our favourite comfort foods. The healthy living habits from summer can often take a backseat and, as a result, these cooler months can often put our health goals and weight loss journeys on pause. With that being said, Weight Watchers want you to share any funny autumn and winter healthy living pitfalls or triumphs you have gone through.

Zoe Griffiths, Head of Programme and Public Health at Weight Watchers, adds: “For many, the shift in season will bring with it a change in outlook. It’s a time when we start to notice that maintaining a healthy lifestyle is becoming be more difficult. In fact, working with psychologist Professor Geoff Beattie, we have identified that 18th September is the date when the seasonal shift begins to impact Brits’ lives. But just because the seasons have changed, doesn’t mean your outlook has to too. You are very much still in control of your own healthy lifestyle!”

"Weight Watchers has a plan to help avoid those pesky pitfalls all autumn long! Introducing… The Weight Watchers Guide to Owning Autumn. The Guide will be updated each week throughout the season to help counteract the seasonal shift and make it easier for people to take control of their weight loss journey and overcome the lifestyle challenges posed during the cooler season."

Zoe continues: “At Weight Watchers, we believe that you can say ‘yes’ to the things that you love and still enjoy a healthy lifestyle – any time of the year! That’s why with food, activity and wellbeing deeply engrained in our philosophy, we have designed the new Guide to Owning Autumn, which provides motivation, support and tips and tricks, so that you can enjoy the cooler seasons while showing autumn who is boss!”

Watch this video to find out more!

Have you ever convinced yourself that colder weather calls for an extra glass of wine? Perhaps you’ve managed to fool everyone that you went to the gym by wandering around all day in your gym clothes, when actually they’re just so comfy? Or maybe you successfully managed to dodge all the chocolate that your kids collected at Halloween?

Whatever your healthy living pitfall or triumph, post them on the thread below. All MNers who comment will be entered into a prize draw where one lucky person will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!
MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

It's always harder to lose weight in winter as when it's colder all you want to do is stay at home and snuggle up on the settee and munch on comfort food

Getting up and doing a 20-30 mins of strength or fat burning exercise every morning before school. Massive endorphin rush and clothes not tight. Though I think i should add in the school run on foot now.

As it gets colder we stock up on marshmallows for hot chocolate for an evening treat. Unfortuately they're a temptation for me to add to my cereal in the morning when I'm particularly tired (always).

Re healthy eating, lots of the neighbours are putting surplus apples and pears out for passersby to munch on which increases my fruit intake.

my pitfalls WERE suet puddings and suet puddings - my excuse - well we need those extra calories to keep warm WRONG. I have made healthy swaps, dumplings made from wholemeal flour, olive oil and a good pinch of herbs (thyme, paprika and black pepper) they make a lovely alternative, I will make (at weekends) healthy apple and blackberry crumbles from porridge oats, almonds, low calorie spread and sugar, with a teaspoon of cinnamon. My other saviour is a hearty soup, with all those winter veg being abundant in the shops you cannot beat roasting a butternut squash, carrot and peppers and blitzing to a thick soup, it is so filling does not need bread so is a great healthy (sinfree) meal.

When buying sweets for trick or treaters, I make sure I get ones I don't like then I won't be tempted to eat them myself!!

Been thinking about joining weightwatchers, think the program they offer could possibly help me though Autumn & Winter to achieve weight loss, Heard many good stories of their programs

With the colder weather I'm looking forward to soups, stews and baked potatoes to keep me fuller for longer. I also enjoy Autumnal stewed fruits with yoghurt and a sprinkle of muesli in lieu of a stodgy puddings. I've lost over 25kg so far.

Definitely less keen on salads in winter but veg soups are a win. Trying to just eat less and eat more fruit and veg.

I love porridge in winter, but make it healthy by adding berries. If they are on offer I will use fresh berries, but if not I will use frozen berries. They are just as good for anti-oxidants and provide fibre.

Autumn is great for running - the cooler weather is much more comfortable.

We do tend to eat more stodgy food though, so i just keep an eye on portion size. Reduced fat cheese world v well in cooking, like in lasagne. Pulses are very healthy and filling, so great for autumn meals. Porridge is a very healthy breakfast, and lovely on a cold day. Every season has its challenges, its just a case of thinking about what you eat.

For me, the difficulty with autumn is that meet ups tend to shift to inside and revolve more around food, whereas in the summer you can suggest going to the park/ for a walk etc. It can be difficult to think of things that don't involve having a meal and I'm not sure I've successfully got there, really.

My friend who knows I'm trying to keep to WW did dutifully cook a WW recipe for roasted chicken and veggies for me last winter, spent ages over it - only for her daughter to knock it over on the way to the table.... which was followed by curry all round!

It swings in roundabouts for me. It's the season of homemade soups and slow cooked meals which are generally all very healthy. But it is also the season of comfort eating and making food choices I might not in warmer months!

Triumphs: bulk cooking healthy soups and stews and freezing for later.
Pitfalls - the bread, mash, and "fruit" pudding (ie fruit with way too much sugary, fatty pastry, sponge, cream etc).

Every year in spring/summer I eat as healthy as possible to feel comfortable in my swimming costumes and summer dresses, but in the autumn/winter in my nice big cosy jumpers, I do not feel the need to choose the salad over the chips. I am however going to try this year to maintain my summer weight. Wish me luck! :)

It's the dumplings that get to me. :(

Thats strange for me, I find that I am MORE motivated come Autumn, as I much prefer the cooler weather for walks, walking is much nicer building up a sweat when the leaves are turning red and brown and you can see the frost on the grass in the mornings, plus you can go berry picking, while Summer and the horrible heat (well, when we get some lol) makes me feel like staying indoors and eating ice-cream. x :-)

The main pitfall is that exercise is so much harder

It is wet outside, and even if you go to the gym where it is dry, you have to walk or drive through the rain to get there, and get wet just making it!

Wet weather makes being at home so much more appealing...

I'm sure I must burn off more calories walking the dogs in autumn and winter as I swap my leisurely stroll for a brisk walk. I also swap salad for soup at lunchtime which is ok as long as I don't choose comforting creamy ones!

I can never get the weather right. If I put the washing out, it pours, if I dont, its a glorious day, If I take a jacket I will be hot, but if I dont it will be freezing

Triumph - managing to make lovely healthy comfort food such as casseroles with lean cuts of meat and lots of lovely veggies.

Pitfall - the cold weather makes me less motivated to go out and exercise.

We like to go for long no walks in the autumn. I also like to do healthy stews and curries in the slow cooker.

In Winter I can convince everyone that I am a great cook with one pot recipes and slow cooker stews and soups! Everything tastes better when it's hot out of the pot with a crusty roll and butter when you're coming out of the cold.

I always feel hungrier in the Autumn and crave carbs e.g. buttery toast, cake, crumpets.... To get round these cravings I drink proper coffee made by my trusty coffee machine which feels like a treat, and try to only eat at mealtimes.

Winter = hot drinks which = cake for me unfortunately.

My autumn triumph is making porridge for breakfast and wholesome vegetable or lentil soups for lunch.
But my autumn pitfall is all the hot chocolate, Baileys, and biscuits consumed in the evenings.

I love autumn when the weather is dry, and enjoy getting out for brisk autumn walks.