Winter sports and food
A lot of people are concerned with health in their daily lives, and that mainly means a healthy diet. And that healthy diet is the first thing that falls during the annual winter sports holiday. I don’t know anyone who is sitting there comfortably squeezing a healthy smoothie in the morning and who orders a balanced and vitamin-rich salad for lunch. No, during winter sports the fried eggs with bacon are served in the morning, during lunch it is schnitzel, spaghetti and a hamburger with fries to add some beer, wine or shots between 4 pm and 7 pm. Now, in most winter sports areas, I don’t think the food on the slopes is necessarily healthy, but if you put in a little effort, it is really possible to have reasonably healthy meals throughout the week – although the question is whether you should want to. Because as far as I’m concerned, winter sports are also a holiday for the mind and if you’re in the mood for fries, don’t hurt yourself with a salad and go for it.
So there is more than just the food. I really like being outside – preferably all day – because without fresh air I function less well. And that is why winter sports are so much fun for me: you spend the whole day outside in the fresh mountain air and with every breath you feel yourself getting healthier. The air in the mountains is a lot cleaner than in the city, so that already does something good for your health and if you’re lucky you’ll also score a lot of vitamin D (when the sun is shining). through your eyes quite a bit of health inside, because a week-long view of the high white mountain peaks does everyone a lot of good. As far as I’m concerned, that’s what winter sports are all about, about enjoying being outside, enjoying the view, being active and with nice people around you. So is winter sports healthy? Yes, in my opinion that is very healthy!
Skiing versus other sports
The last few days I was in Livigno in Italy. Truly a fantastic place, but more on that later. On my wrist I wear the Garmin Forerunner 235, a sports watch with an activity meter that keeps track of how active you have been all day long. And after a long day of skiing, the counter was less than 2,000 steps and I received non-stop push notifications that I had to move more. But I had been in full exercise from 7:30 am to late at night, I felt I had had more than enough exercise, but the watch thought otherwise. So how healthy is skiing or snowboarding now compared to other sports?
For starters, such a watch cannot measure an activity like skiing. The only thing that is visible are the peaks in my heart rate, for example, but otherwise you seem inactive with skiing. The advantage of skiing or snowboarding is that you don’t do that for an hour or an hour and a half, as with most other sports. No, you work long days and do so many days in a row. You really burn more in one week than if you go to the gym for an hour twice a week. Also, don’t underestimate the lugging around and walking in ski boots, you’re burning calories all day. So if you compare a winter sports week with a normal week of working and the occasional sport, then you will burn so many more calories with that winter sports week than you normally would, that that extra plate of fries should really be possible.
Do you want something other than skiing?
Annemerel also asked me what else you can do for your health when you are on winter sports and I think you have very nice options for that. I have listed three of them.
- Ski touring: you can take the ski lift up, but you can also climb up yourself. This is called ski touring and you do need special bindings for that. With skins under your skis – which prevent you from sliding down – you then climb up and that is good for you in every way. It’s a real cardio workout because it does take you a while to climb to the top, but the feeling it gives when you’re at the top is unmatched by any ski lift. You burn a lot more calories than with normal skiing and it gives a huge kick. Two birds with one stone!
- Snowshoeing: One of my favorite things to do is snowshoeing. With a kind of tennis rackets under your feet and ski poles in your hands you walk through the fresh snow. Just the crackling sound of the snow under your shoes is such a good feeling! In Livigno we went up the mountain with snowshoes in the evening to eat in an incredibly nice mountain hut and then walk down again. That is in any case a lot of calories that you have burned, but this is also so good for your mental health! Such a snowshoe walk doesn’t have to be in the evening, it is also the perfect activity, for example, when it snows so hard that the lifts are closed or when you just don’t feel like skiing or snowboarding and you still want to go outside to do something active.
- Wellness! That doesn’t seem very sporty and you won’t burn thousands of calories with it, but a few hours of wellness is also super good for you. Do some lengths in the pool, sit outside in a heated bubble bath under the starry sky, go to the sauna: relaxation of the muscles ensures that you can go full throttle again the next day on the slopes.
