|
Winter is close! Tips and tricks.
This is the best time of year...in my opinion.
Right, time to step up and provide some bountiful nuggets of thoughts, tips, tricks, and delicious treats.
First off, when you wake up it's going to be cold. That sucks...unless you're me. When out snowboarding, some Austrian coffee shops provide an amazing version is Himalayan tea! Himy-Tea is tea made with butter instead of milk. So, guess what I'm going to recommend? No, not that. It sounds minging, but trust me, if you can get your head over the thought of what you're doing, you'll be so much happier, warmer, and more energetic.
Make up a coffee, pour it into a blender. Add to this between 35g and 55g of unsalted butter. Add the lid, and blend for about 10-15 seconds. You end up with a very delicious cup of coffee, richer, smoother, and with that sexy creamy butter style after taste. This drink is one of the best ways to start your day, and is ideal for rounding off a morning run and protein shake. I'm not joking, it's amazing!!!
One word of advice, you will feel like you've just eaten a meal after this coffee, so prepare to feel full and make a smaller portion. If you're on the CKD, this is a brilliant thing to add in.
Trick and tip 2.
Start taking cold showers....WTF?!?! But we're cold already S13!!! Are you an idiot? Well, no, I'm not. Cold showers increase your cold resistance. The result of this is that you increase your bodies ability to not go into shock once you hit cold water.
SO WHAT?!?!?
Well, when it gets to winter, people have a habit of walking on ice, and many don't even realise they're doing it. When people fall through ice, they are suddenly struck by cold water, and suffer a natural 'gasp reaction'. This causes you to inhale sharply. Not usually a problem. However, if you've just plunged into water, a gasp reaction is a REALLY SERIOUS problem. It's a major factor why people drown in cold water faster than in warmer water. That sucks hu?
The moral of the story, cold showers reduce the odds of you drowning.
Number 3.
Don't sleep in a tshirt too soon.
This might not sound too much effort, or fun, like the cold showers. But your body will appreciate it.
During the night your body's activity reduces quite dramatically. This causes your body to respond by burning more calories to keep you warm. This is not a slimming trick, but a warmth one. If your body is used to burning more calories, caused by greater temperature fluctuations, then you are much better equipped to cope with the transition from warm indoors to cold outdoors. If you're not sure about this, give this a go. Sleep in a thermal top and bottoms. Then the next day check out your hands. They'll be much colder all day long. Reason being because you're body is holding back calories that would otherwise have been used to produce energy.
Tip 4.
Don't drink loads of water.
But wait, you go on about fitness and everyone knows you need to drink 8 glasses of water a day......BLAH!!! No evidence for that, so don't quote that stupidity.
Ever wondered why we eat more in the winter and drink more in the summer? Yet we wee more in the winter and wee less in the summer! How weird we are as creatures! There are many reasons for this. But check this reason out; you sweat to reduce your body temperature. A store of water is a store of temperature. So, by removing that water, you're removing the heat, thus why you sweat so much in the summer. However, in the winter, the reason you sweat more is because you are removing the excess water before it is able to pick up too much more heat. Thus you lose less heat through sweat. If you have very little water in your body, it's difficult to sweat. So, your body reject water much faster in the winter than in the summer, via urinating. That's one of the reasons you eat more in winter too. Not just because of the increase in bodyfat, but also because you store more water, which acts as another insulating layer. It stops your body sweating as much, by moving the water to subcutaneous storage and to the digestive system.
Tip 5.
Ignore stupid advice.
People always used to tell me that we lost 50% of our bodyheat through our heads. What a load of [inset expletive] that is. So you're saying that if I have a hat on my head, but am completely naked, I'll be as warm as I would be in my full snowboarding gear, but without a hat? What idiot made this data common 'knowledge'? The truth is that once you are fully wrapped up, with your head exposed, that is when you lose 50% of your body heat through the top of your head.
Wrap your body up first, but add a hat. Just don't think adding a hat makes you instantly 50% warmer. That way of thinking is dangerous!
Tip 6.
Along with your car's winter kit (you do have one, right?) remember to add a towel or 2. No, these are not blankets, although they can be used as them.
The towel is because, if at any point you leave your vehicle, odds are that you'll get wet feet and hands. It's like magic. Who would have thought that snow is actually water in disguise!?!? So, as a result of this, you will become wet. A wet body in the cold not only poses a hypothermia risk, but also frostbite and morale.
The towel is to help you stay dry. Stay dry and you're 25% of the way to surviving.
Tip 7.
Batteries in your pockets.
Cold batteries are rubbish at providing any kind of electricity for any period of time. Cold batteries have been known to last less than 50% of the time of warm batteries, with the same usage.
Keep the batteries warm and they'll last much much longer in the device.
Tip 8.
Romantic house warming trick.
We currently do this with our dogs in the night.
Light some nice big candles and use them to heat the house. You'd be amazed by how few candles you actually need to increase the temperature of a well insulated room. The dogs have 2 pretty big candles burning away, and in the morning, when I go down there, their room will probably be the warmest in the house.
Tip 9.
Christmas bargains.
This is the time of year when your summer gear comes on special offer. Hell yeah! Get yourself some of that! I've seen places with up to 90% off on their summer collection!!! Well worth going for.
Tip 10.
Lemon is ideal!!!
This is the weirdest one going. Add a drop of lemon juice to your water, if you have a water bladder.
Ever wondered why dirty puddle water doesn't freeze very well or very often? The thing is, pure water freezes at 0degrees. If you have slightly impure water, it will freeze at a sub zero temperature. Granted it's not a huge guarantee, because it might freeze at minus 3 degrees, so not a huge difference. That little difference could be the difference between life and death. A small adage can create a full life changer out come.
Dissent is the highest form of Patriotism - Thomas Jefferson
Those who sacrifice freedom for security deserve neither - Benjamin Franklin
|
Search
Calendar
Help
