Yep, It's True - We Do Eat More in the Winter

Hands up if you've ever noticed that your appetite spikes when the thermostat drops. Why is that? Maybe it's biology at work. Maybe it's boredom. Maybe it's because we're all opportunists at heart, and cold weather means holidays means eating more. Let's break it down.

Shorter Days, Bigger Appetites?

Ira Ockene, a cardiologist from the University of Massachusetts Medical School, has researched this concept, and it's his conclusion that calories do indeed climb when the weather gets colder. Why? Well, Ira chalks it up to our natural sensitivity to light - the less of it we have, the greater the impulse to find and eat food, faster. Other researchers suspect an evolutionary instinct to fatten up for harsher conditions. And still another theory blames hormones (can't you blame pretty much everything on hormones?), speculating that the change of season has an effect on some of the hormones that control appetite and hunger. Weird, right?

Okay, But Explain the Comfort Food Thing

Ah yes, the notion that we don't just eat more in the winter, but that we crave specific foods - comfort foods. We don't need any researchers to explain this one for us - when it's cold, something hot and delicious to fill your belly and warm you up from the inside out is far more appealing than, say, even the most delicious vichyssoise.Well, good news. As this is being written, the snow is falling. The calendar says winter. The forecast is brrrr. And at Full Belly Deli in Reno and Truckee, we've got a whole menu of hot pressed sandwiches and wraps ready to do their winter-weather thing. And don't forget the award-winning chili - just the ticket for days like today.Even better? The food at Full Belly Deli travels exceptionally well, so when all you want to do is hunker down on the couch or at your desk, you can grab hot, delicious sandwiches, wraps, burritos, chili and our soup of the day, to go.Spring isn't too terribly far away, so stay warm out there, mind those hormones, and remember to fill your belly at Full Belly Deli in Reno and Truckee. After all, it's what your ancestors would do.