With summer very much still with us, people will be reluctant to think too much about the autumn and winter, especially after all the recent hot, sunny weather and with the unhappy prospect of soaring energy bills just as it gets dark and cold.
Nonetheless, those days will be coming and just over a month from now the days and nights will be of equal length.
If all this sounds gloomy, the truth is that many people see autumn and winter as a time for staying indoors, putting on warm jumpers and enjoying some comfort food. Suffice to say, the last of these could be a problem if you have been spending the last few months working on getting lean and healthy.
The autumn will bring plenty of these. You may be a bit old to go bobbing for apples on Halloween, but toffee apples, pumpkin tarts and the follow-up Bonfire Night treats of Parkin and bonfire toffee are just part of the onslaught of sugar that could be coming our way.
Winter will be even worse as all the excess of Christmas brings stodgy pudding, chocolate, alcohol and sugary sauces. And if all that wasn’t bad enough, everyone knows those New Year resolutions won’t survive the dark days of January.
If you spend a lot of time working in an office, the autumn and winter comfort food will keep coming, as the various festivals are marked there too with more tasty stuff. Before you know it you could be piling on the pounds.
That is where meal plan delivery can help. If you know you need some support to stay disciplined when it is no longer warm enough to eat lots of salads and the smell of melted chocolate or toffee sauces seems irresistible, having something specially prepared not only means you have something a lot healthier placed before you at lunchtime, but it acts as a reminder to stay on top of things.
A key fact to remember is that hot food itself is not unhealthy; it is often the things that go with it.
For example, it isn’t the Christmas turkey, the sprouts, potatoes or other vegetables like carrots or parsnips that adds on the weight, but the extra fat of pigs in blankets, plus the Christmas pudding covered in ice cream, clotted cream or rum sauce, all on top of the other alcohol and the evening’s cheeseboard.
Similarly, it may be more tempting to consume less healthy drinks in autumn and winter, with a cup of steaming hot chocolate topped with marshmallows often providing irresistible.
Unless you are a gym bunny or have a particular penchant for outdoor sports and activities in autumn and winter, it is likely you will spend less time outdoors expending energy than you will in the warmer months.
That is why it matters that you don’t overdo it too much over the winter, a task that can be made much easier by using a meal prep service to help you stay on the straight and narrow – and keep your waistline narrow too.