sunshine

Most people struggle to lose weight in winter. Unless we are strict with sticking to a weight loss program many people will gain up to 4kilos over the colder months – you can see our winter warmer weight loss plan here that will help you lose weight over winter and has 35 recipes in and a 7 day plan to follow.
That’s partly the cold weather decreasing the desire to be active, and partly because we want to get winter warming foods that are often calorie rich. These things all work against our goal to lose belly fat. But that’s nothing you haven’t already heard right?
The one thing that most people don’t consider is good old-fashioned sunshine. We might go on about slip, slop, slap but we still need the sun. And now, it seems, our waistlines need it too.
Research  suggests that increasing our vitamin D levels while on a weight loss diet will increase our weight loss by up to quarter kilo each week. That means there is a healthy way to lose weight fast without having to resort to overly harsh methods. Our healthy Lose Baby Weight loss plans, in addition to vitamin D supplements, can give you the push you need to get your pre-baby body back.
But wait, there’s more. The research took a group of overweight people over 11 weeks of a calorie controlled diet and it showed that people with a higher baseline vitamin D level had a bigger loss of abdominal fat. That’s the type of weight loss us mums are after!
It’s still not clear if vitamin D deficiency causes obesity or if it’s the other way around, but it’s clear that when there’s a gap in the clouds, we should go outside and soak in some healing rays. But not too much!
How much sun do we need?
The production of vitamin D in our bodies is influenced by the season and where you live. For example, Melbournians need more sun during winter than Queenslanders do to maintain the same level of vitamin D. On average you need six to eight minutes of sun exposure to the arms or legs mid-morning or mid-afternoon most summer days, and 20 to 40 minutes around noon in winter in colder regions.
What foods have vitamin D?
Although vitamin D is not found in high doses in foods, there are small amounts in meat, eggs and fish, particularly salmon and mackerel.
A healthy overall diet, plenty of dietary calcium (to help you absorb vitamin D) and regular exercise will help keep vitamin D levels at a good level… and hopefully it will help push forward your weight loss plan too.
To see our health and weight loss plans click here