Keeping warm and happy can be near impossible tasks come winter time. Photo / Getty Images
I'm wearing my first woolly jumper of the year today. Just weeks ago, I was still swimming in the ocean.
Now it's come to this. Winter beckons. Cold days, colder nights. No social life. Weight gain. Seasonal Affective Disorder.
Yet I have a plan to survive winter.
I don't buy into the typical Kiwi mentality of only heating the room you're in. That's no way to live. Life is too short to have to run down a freezing hallway onto bone-cold bathroom tiles.
In my household, we budgeted over the summer for twice the usual energy costs for the winter months, and are prepared to pay to stay warm.
We're heating the whole house, like the Europeans do. This won't just involve electricity but also using the sun strategically to get heat inside, then curtains to trap it, and neat little tricks like taking baths at night then leaving the hot water in the tub for a few hours (it keeps the temperature up for that whole side of the house).
The kilos don't pile themselves on during the colder months. You are an active participant in any weight gain, so now's the time to set yourself up to stay the same size all season.
We are lucky that the Southern Hemisphere winter does not coincide with Christmas or any other glutinous holidays, so we Kiwis really have no excuse – saying "it's too cold outside to exercise" or "I crave comfort food" doesn't cut it.
I'm scheduling my gym workouts and sticking to them, which keeps me feeling better overall and thus more likely to make healthy food choices. I'll also be weighing myself daily. Any change in weight will, therefore, be minuscule easily rectified, rather than getting a shock when springtime comes around.
This month is also when you should be getting your influenza vaccination. The 2018 shot is the first time a four-strain vaccine, known as quadrivalent vaccine, will be funded in New Zealand.
This means we can all be more protected against more flu strains that ever before. I'm getting mine at the pharmacy over the road for $45, but anybody over 65, pregnant, or with a chronic condition like asthma or diabetes can get it free.
Because many people aren't so diligent, I'll also be frequent in my hand sanitiser application when I'm outside the house. Shaking hands? Hand-san. Touching the rail on the train? Hand-san. About to eat at a cafe? Hand-san. It's my best weapon and I credit it with keeping me snot-free all winter long.
I'm vowing not to let the single-digit temperatures keep me inside – getting out amongst the greenery and the brisk air makes you feel amazing. So I'll live by this winter motto: there is no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing.
Success of any outdoor pursuits, whether it be walks in the park or skiing on a mountain, requires the right kit. I'm going to embrace the mud with proper gumboots; I've got a seam-sealed, completely waterproof jacket at the ready; and I have so many options of hats, gloves, and scarves you'd think my mother still dressed me.
When financially viable, I like to take a week or two off in late July. This can't happen every year for my household, but 2018 is the one. The New Zealand winter seems wholly doable if there's a little break in the middle, when it's the darkest and coldest.
I like July because it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel – it's been so long since you've felt the sun on your face, yet things still show no signs of warming up.
Go somewhere hot if you can (I just booked an uber-cheap return flight to Asia) but if you can't afford it, I think it's still a great idea to get away somewhere cosy and local.
Preferably cabin-style accommodation with some sort of open fire… if you can't beat winter, you might as well join it.
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