Are summer salads and sunshine already starting to feel like a distant memory?
Do you suddenly find your body is whispering (or shouting) for bread, pasta, and anything smothered in cheese?
These cravings often pop up unexpectedly in September and early October. Even if you find the ‘back-to-school’ season more stressful, what is happening to you is not an issue of insufficient willpower or a need for “comfort food”.
Seasonal shifts in light, serotonin, and even blood sugar regulation changes your body’s food cravings. The good news? You can work with these cravings, instead of fighting them, and keep your energy, metabolism, and weight well-managed this season.
The transition from long, sunny days to darker, cooler ones affects your brain chemistry and metabolism in powerful ways:
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Less sunlight causes a drop in serotonin. Shortened daylight hours and cooler temperatures create very real physiological changes in our bodies. Sunlight directly influences the brain’s production of serotonin, and in lieu of that source, the infinite wisdom of our body guides us to the next most reliable source – carbohydrates, often in the form of sugar or refined ‘white’ carbs.
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Cortisol creeps up. Seasonal stress and busy schedules can elevate cortisol, your stress hormone. Chronically high cortisol not only drives cravings, it also disrupts blood sugar balance which can keep you ‘on the hook’ as you ride the highs and lows that are spurned on by all the easily accessible seasonal goodies.
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Lower activity = bigger glucose swings. If you’re less active in the cooler months, your body won’t use glucose as efficiently. The same portion of carbs that felt fine in summer can hit harder now, spiking blood sugar and contributing to that dreaded crash-craving cycle.
Essentially, the combination of shorter days, more stress and movement can set you up for cravings that feel impossible to ignore!
How to Work With Seasonal Changes
Instead of panicking about weight gain or trying to cut all carbs (which usually backfires), try aligning your choices with what your body truly needs right now:
1. Choose Smarter Carbs — And Pair Them Wisely
Root vegetables, winter squash, and oats are nutrient-dense carbs that come into season just when your body craves them most. Pair them with protein (like salmon, chicken, or eggs) and healthy fats to steady blood sugar and prevent crashes.
Pro Tips:
- If you are less active, consider reducing the portion of carbs at your meals.
- If those sweet cravings are really rearing their ugly heads, favor sweeter smart carbs like yams, roasted carrots, or beets.
Example Meal: Roasted carrots and parsnips with grilled chicken and tahini drizzle.
2. Anchor Your Day with Protein + Produce
Start breakfast and lunch with protein and non-starchy vegetables to stabilize blood sugar. This creates a solid foundation so that when you do enjoy starchier carbs later in the day, they’re less likely to send you on a rollercoaster.
Example Meal: Pumpkin pie protein smoothie: canned pumpkin + protein powder + nut milk + frozen zucchini OR eggs scrambled with spinach, mushrooms and cheese.
3. Leverage Light and Movement
A short midday walk outdoors gives you a double win: light exposure to boost serotonin and movement to improve glucose metabolism. Even 10 minutes after lunch can dramatically reduce post-meal blood sugar spikes! If you can’t get out at lunch, aim to fit just 10 extra minutes of walking in a day whenever, and wherever, you can manage it.
4. Respect Seasonal Rhythms
Winter isn’t meant to be lived at “summer speed.” Our ancestors had to adapt themselves to the seasons. Before Edison changed everything with the lightbulb, we took a seasonal break when the fields were fallow. Allowing yourself more rest, slower weekends, and cozy downtime isn’t laziness, it’s actually a brilliant way to align with your body’s biology and prevent stress-eating, post-holiday exhaustion and illness! The key is making those choices intentional, not reactive (Netflix + chips every night isn’t the same as an early bedtime and a good book).
Why This Matters More in Midlife
For women over 40, the combination of hormonal changes, more sedentary hours, and seasonal shifts can make weight management and blood sugar regulation feel even harder. But when you understand why cravings show up, you can stop blaming yourself and start making choices that work with your body.
Balanced seasonal eating built around protein, produce-based carbs, and smart lifestyle tweaks supports:
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More stable energy
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Fewer mood swings
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Better weight management
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Resilience through the darker winter months
Let’s Make It Practical
You don’t need to banish potatoes or swear off pumpkin spice everything to stay on track this season. But you can shift how you approach your cravings:
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Add roasted root veggies alongside protein instead of pasta or skipping carbs altogether. Roasted root vegetables are a fantastic seasonal food that can quell the desire to dive into a kiddie pool of fettuccine alfredo.
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Take a short walk after meals, especially those which are more carb-heavy. Before the 90’s, we had cigarette breaks. We should have replaced them with walk breaks, not “no breaks”! While it would have been best to do it then, the second best time is right now!
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Try a daylight-simulating lamp if you’re in northern latitudes (N. America, N. Europe) or far south in the southern Hemisphere. Many of my clients reports boosts in energy and reduction in cravings from just this change alone.
When I came to understand that my homo sapiens body required a period of semi-dormancy, I stopped demanding a full-throttle work and life schedule during the winter months. What does this look like?
- Reducing my exercise training load if I’ve had a high mileage summer
- Limiting extracurricular activities to ones which are most nourishing (more time with loved ones, less time at networking events)
- I now say ‘no’ to a fair amount of holiday celebrations that could potentially consume every weekend until January.
- I give myself more opportunities to sleep in and go to bed early.
Now those nightmares of being an unstoppable force at the all-you-can-eat sushi buffet are a thing of the past!
Because my overall lifestyle is far more balanced by taking the natural cycles of Earth and my own body into consideration, I step into the new year with as much energy and motivation as I have at the end of summer.
My clients who take living seasonally to heart are the ones who more easily avoid winter weight gain, don’t succumb to holiday colds and flus, and have the bandwidth to enjoy the holiday season rather than endure it. Their small, intentional changes make the difference between feeling sluggish and out of control versus feeling steady, satisfied, and resilient.
If cravings tend to run the show no matter what time of year it is, my 30 Days to Conquer Cravings Program will help you get to the root cause so you can finally feel in control.
And if it’s the veggie-to-carb ratio that trips you up most often, grab my free guide: 5 Ways to 5 a Day — it’s full of quick, practical tips you can use at your very next meal.
