Four ways to fight winter weight gain

Picking up a few extra pounds in cold weather--the dreaded "winter weight gain"--is maddening. Even though your metabolism speeds up a bit to keep you warm, you can't eat much more than you do in summer without gaining weight. Yet you want to: Chilly temperatures make steamy comfort foods and creamy hot drinks more tempting than ever. Here's how to satisfy your natural warming instincts and stay slim.
1. Know what really keeps you full and warm. In a word: protein. Your body creates more heat digesting protein than it does fats or carbohydrates. Chow down on lean chicken and turkey breast, canned tuna, fish, and shellfish. Not a meat eater? Include black beans, kidney beans, chickpeas, or lentils in your meals.
2. Say no to foods that make you go "brrr." Follow your instincts; they're right. Swap cold cereal for hot oatmeal at breakfast. Have a hearty soup instead of a sandwich at lunch. Even cook your salad ingredients: At the last minute stir "winter greens"--spinach, kale, Swiss chard, collards--into stews, soups, casseroles, and scrambled eggs. Why heat before you eat? Warm foods keep the shivers away because your body doesn't waste energy heating them up for digestion.
3. Don't count on hot spices--or hot toddies, either. Ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, pepper, and cayenne pepper are all considered "warming spices" because they tend to draw body heat to the surface of your skin. But when that warmth hits the surface, it quickly dissipates. Alcohol dilates blood vessels, and as warm blood flows to the skin's surface, its heat quickly escapes.
4. Switch to decaf after your first morning cup. Coffee may feel warm going down but swilling cup after cup may just make you colder. That's because caffeine has a dehydrating effect, which makes symptoms of a drop in body temperature even worse. Craving something comforting at the coffee shop? Instead of a gingerbread latte topped with whipped cream, order a non-fat chai tea latte. It'll warm you down to your toes, and you'll save 130 calories and some goosebumps. At home, make hot chocolate with non-fat milk, add a drop of vanilla for extra richness, and top it with fat-free Cool Whip. You'll feel like a kid again. A warm one. Whose jeans fit.
PS: Staying warm while avoiding winter weight gain won't just make you feel better when swimsuit season rolls around. Maintaining your weight at a desirable level can make your real age as much as 6 years younger.