I am between two phases right now in the fall transition: 1) Seasonal adjustment and 2) Working on my "second winter coat" for the upcoming snowy season.
Seasonal adjustment starts around daylight savings time when I love gaining an hour, but that means it's dark at 2 p.m. Sun becomes a myth and waking up to darkness and leaving in darkness are tough things to adjust to after a lovely summer season.
This phase leads right into working on my "second winter coat," thanks to the availability of Halloween candy and holiday treats. Whoppers, M&Ms, caramels, oh my! Once the vendor gifts start rolling in our office, all bets are off. That's when I end up over-indulging in candy and have a hard time resisting any treats. I love the change in seasons but sometimes the adjustment takes some time.
Lately, thanks to these phases, I've been having a little issue keeping to my diet and exercise regimen. I can't help being a little generous in the soup portion or grabbing the largest baguette and hibernating from the cold wind and chill in the air. Getting to the gym lately has been a chore, not a source of relief.
And to make the "winter coat" phase worse, being squished on the bus with a puffer jacket, especially between two "festively plump" ladies with down coats, just makes me fussy and squirmy, like a child.
This is similar to how I feel during this fall transition time
Does anyone else go through this? It's definitely not a bad feeling in spring when the sun returns and the weather starts to warm, but it seems the fall transition is always the toughest, even if the cuter clothes begin to come out.
Reader Note: Thanks everyone for your feedback on the Kate Spade purse post yesterday. Dad just confirmed that the purse arrived from Nordstrom's today! I really liked Alexa's comment about splurging on two bags a year. I think that's a great policy. I'm 90 percent sure that I'll keep it, but I'll know for sure when I see her again. Pretty things like that should be worn and enjoyed :) And I'm an enabler too so people telling me to keep it is just what I wanted to hear.
I totally know what you are saying! I am indulging myself with ton of candy my girls got from Trick or Treating as I type this and we still have more left....
ReplyDeleteWhen fall arrives, I tend to stop working out and eat and eat - blame it on Thanksgiving and Christmas and all the good stuff..
Yes the transition this fall has been very hard for me. I think after spending time in San Diego for a year and then coming back to Chicago winter, is what has me a bit down.
ReplyDeleteTo make matters worse today I went to weather.com today and I accidentally put in my old San Diego zip code and for a second thought it was Chicago's weather, sunny and 74....you can imagine my disappointment when I realized what happened and actually switched to the Chicago zip code.
I am so not buying a coat this year... I got a really nice one last year and I want to wear it forever.
ReplyDeleteI understand and can somewhat relate to what you're going through right now. Because the whole second winter coat thing is happening to me right now, even though it's nowhere NEAR winter where I live.
ReplyDeleteIt's just one of those things that comes with the season, and I look forward to the day where I can have a fire in my fireplace and drink hot cocoa without being too warm.
I love the image you created of suffocating in puffyness!
ReplyDeleteBut, yes, I do understand. For me, it is almost the visceral discomfort of the dampness. I just feel so chilled and runny nosed and damp.
LMAO- the seal was just incredibly funny. Really showed the right mood.
ReplyDeleteAs for my transition, I am sucking at it. Really bad. I hate it so much. It's cold, I don't want to leave my house. Plus I start gaining weight.
Yes the transisition is always hard. I tend to hibernate and thats just not good. I do try to do my stepper everynight to make up for it. As for Thanksgiving and Christmas -- My family bakes, bakes, and then bakes some more.
ReplyDeleteUnderground pedway, here we come.
ReplyDeleteyeah, living in Chicago you do need to spend money on real winter coat....feel free to laugh at me when you see me in my little leather at the winter meetups. If you listen closely you will hear me muttering about my coat being "thin-sulated" and then you will hear my face freeze....
ReplyDeleteI definitely sympathize...living where I do I have a number of coats that help with this:
ReplyDelete4x fall jackets
2x "It's not that cold" winter jackets
1x Serious Cold winter jacket
15+ Scarves
My favourite jacket for transitioning is a pea coat. I can wear a light scarf or a heavy scarf and make it as warm as I need without tons of bulk.
I am with you. Completely. It is so hard to leave work in the dark--it makes me so tired. Or to look out the window mid-afternoon to watch the sun go down. Miserable. It takes me a long time to adjust to the dark winters. I do, however, love the snow, for the most part. I just wish our daylight didn't have to disappear...
ReplyDeleteGood call on the bag, too.
And, yes, dating sucks, especially when they dump you! :(
Have a great Wednesday!
Winter is always hard. I try to remain excited, but the coldness and lack of sunshine really gets to me by the beginning of January. Usually I'm too distracted by the holidays to notice it before then.
ReplyDeleteI actually love the fall transition. I always dread driving home in the dark, but then when it actually happens I don't mind it so much. The hardest part for me is not being able to work out as much, but the cute sweaters and fun storms make up for it.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh.. the picture of the seal is cracking me up.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure that I grow this winter coat that you speak of. I also have the tendency to hibernate. Once it gets dark, I just feel lazy and tired.
I am with you on the hibernating thing during the cold part of the year, and also skipping the work outs. It is so easy to forget that warm and baggy clothes don't mean you are not putting on a little winter weight.
ReplyDeleteI hate day light saving. I really do not understand why we have it. I might have to consult with wikipedia on this one.
i wish we had some sort of seasonal change here in LA, haha. we went from rain, to warm, to cold and apparently today's supposed to get in the 90s, it's crazy i say.
ReplyDeleteHahahaha - yes, welcome to the seasonal tides in Chicago! What I hate most about my puffy coat is getting in and out of the car. It's like trying to squeeze a marshmallow through a straw (can ya tell my car is small)?
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the fall..but when daylight savings happens, I get all out of whack. It's hard for me to do anything after work because I feel like its time for bed! I like to go to the gym after work, but when its so dark out, my motivation is next to nothing..
ReplyDeleteMan, and I thought daylight savings was a killer in glasgow!!! I leave work usually at 4pm and since our clocks went back at the end of october it's dark before i get home. I didn't realise it started even earlier in Chicago. Suddenly I don't feel so bad . . . :)
ReplyDeleteIt gets dark at 2? You poor thing being smashed between two people, I'd get claustrophobic! Good choice on the purse. Oh and can your dad adopt me and buy me one too? :) Just a thought!
ReplyDeleteDark by 2pm!? Wow. I wouldn't know what a fall transition being that I live in Florida and all.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. With the exception of sleeping in one more hour the Spring transition takes the cake!
ReplyDeleteI'm so not a fan of the cold. Or the winter coat that comes in the form of holiday sweets...grrrr.
(nice touch with the seal, too funny)
i'm so happy you are keeping the purse!! and that i could help you rationalize the decision : )
ReplyDeleteand as for the "second coat" i have never thought of it like that, but its a perfect way to put it!
i hope it's a light spring coat this year.
I usually get it from Jan-March ...but I think this year it has started early.
ReplyDeleteI totally know what you are saying also! I actually love the transition to fall though, because I like the clothes a lot more than summer, and they can cover up a lot of problem spots more than in the summer!
ReplyDeleteOh, I agree. I hate the constant dark. My eyes are always fighting to stay open! GRR!
ReplyDeleteBut, there are some times in the winter that I step outside and think...'holy cow, this is wonderful!' Just have to wait for those moments, I suppose.
It's hard to have the motivation to work out when its dark when you wake up and dark when you get home from work. Plus, the cold weather just makes you want the warm heavy food to eat!
ReplyDeleteI'm currently training for a race...
ReplyDeleteand well I do like running. But something that has helped me stick to it was printing out the running schedule for each week and checking off each distance with a pink pen. Its just a list of distances they aren't assigned to days.
I like that it gives me flexibility and I can say I have accomplished something each week. Endorphins are great :-)