Oh, Fall, how I love you. Halloween, Thanksgiving, campfires, that crisp air, pumpkin-flavored EVERYTHING! For many, Autumn is a pleasant change of season. Here in Los Angeles, the change is mildly noticeable, but quite different than the splendor of the changing seasons in, say, Pennsylvania or Ohio. In fact, the thing I miss most about the Midwest are the gorgeous colors that nature’s natural cycle puts on display. The following season? Not an ounce of my soul misses winters in the Midwest.
Fall offers up the most delicious harvests of the year; artichokes, persimmons, apples, winter squash, pomegranates, potatoes, cranberries. If you’re wondering what the best harvests in your region are, check out this Regional Produce Seasonality Guide for the United States.
Not only is it important to know which foods are in season around you, it’s incredibly important for you to actually eat those foods!
Foods change with the seasons for a reason and have a specific macronutrient ratio of fat, protein, and carbohydrates. You will notice that fall offers many starchy carbs and fruits high in sugar. This is not an accident; these types of carbohydrates can fatten you up and give you energy. It’s all in nature’s plan, see: the beautiful colors draw you to the fruits and vegetables. The days are shorter, thus restricting energy expenditure. This results in more rest and weight gain designed for the coming winter months. Cool, huh?
Typically, people gain the most weight between Halloween and January 1. Hopefully the preceding information helped to explain why. It is completely natural to gain weight during these months. EDIT: it is completely natural to gain *healthy* weight during these months. Keep in mind that this is also the time of year when many people turn away from nature’s offerings and ingest more sugar, white flour, and all-around heavy foods. Sorry, but pumpkin pie doesn’t come out of the ground and those tasty pumpkin-spiced “everythings” are usually LOADED with sugar. Gyms absolutely love this time of year, because when January 1 rolls around, people are ready to lose the weight that they’ve gained. Again.
So, let’s all try something new this year: truly eating seasonally. Let’s also realize that a little weight gain is nature’s plan and that restricting your diet, and over exercising, can actually do more damage through injury, stress, nutritional deficiencies, and failure. Let’s also realize the difference between what the earth offers and what a restaurant, coffee shop or your grandma’s kitchen offers in the way of proper nutrition.
If you want support in this most important time of year, stay tuned, as I will be offering special programs and workshops to to empower you to change, sustainably.
DO NOT DIE YOUNG - THE BLOG 
Although I live in UK I completely agree with the sentiment of this post. We are meant to line ourselves with a little more fat for winter, and all nature’s resources are attuned to that need. It is too easy to break the rules these days.