Recently, the clocks went forward by one hour and pretty much all of us do NOT like this time change. We lose an hour and I am not sure how you handle this, but the older I get, the more I feel that lost hour. It actually takes me several days to get my “balance” back as this relates to when I fall asleep and when I awake in the morning.
Now that some time has passed, I am now time-adjusted and can enjoy the major benefit of this “spring forward” time change: It is now getting dark one hour later. Additionally, sunset occurs about 1 minute later each evening due to the earth’s rotation as we head closer and closer to summertime when sunset will occur close to 9 PM.
The increasing daylight provides an opportunity for our weight control efforts. As exercise is part of the “equation” (albeit not as important as the dietary part of this equation), there is much more opportunity to burn calories off during this time of the year. The opportunity exists either before dinner or after dinner to:
- Take that extra walk with your dog
- Hop on the bicycle for a ride
- Brisk walk/jog with your spouse, friend or child
- Hit some tennis with your tennis partner
During those long, dark, cold winter months this opportunity does not exist. For many (including me), they find themselves nestled under a warm blanket in front of a television and munching on their favorite snacks as the cold winds howl outside.
Opportunity is knocking…Here comes the Sun….take advantage of this!
And my favorite version: Richie Haven’s playing the original Beatles song.