The Winter Reset – How Slowed Metabolism and Stress Impact Women’s Health

Written by Andra Annette, Founder and Gut Health Expert

Andra Annette is an international best-selling author, healthcare expert, and founder of Pounds-to-Go. With 40 years as a nurse, nutritionist, and holistic practitioner, she is a trusted gut health expert specializing in the gut-thyroid connection and weight loss. Her latest work is the Rainbow of Wellness series (2024).

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Winter brings more than colder weather, it triggers real biological changes that affect women’s metabolism, hormones, digestion, and stress levels. If you’ve noticed lower energy, weight gain, bloating, or stronger cravings, it’s not a lack of discipline, it’s seasonal physiology. This article explores how winter slows metabolism, increases cortisol, and impacts women’s health, and introduces a gentle, science-backed Winter Reset to support your body without restriction or burnout.

“Winter isn’t a setback, it’s an invitation. Slow down, warm up, listen inward… and watch your body heal in ways rush never allowed.”

The winter shift no one talks about

Most women assume their holiday fatigue, slower metabolism, bloating, or mood dips are because they’re “off track” or “not disciplined enough.” But winter itself changes your biology.

Shorter days, colder temperatures, heavier foods, decreased sunlight, and increased stress create a physiological shift that affects your:

• Thyroid

• Digestion

• Metabolism

• Hormones

• Immune system

• Nervous system

Winter is not just a season, it’s a stressor. And your body responds in ways that can feel confusing unless you understand the science.

This article will teach you why your body behaves differently in December… and how to support it without overwhelm.

1. Your metabolism naturally slows in winter

As daylight decreases, melatonin rises and thyroid activity becomes more sluggish.

This means:

• You burn fewer calories at rest

• You crave more comforting foods

• You feel colder

• Your motivation dips

• Your cortisol rises

This is not a personal failure. It’s biology. Your body is trying to conserve energy, not sabotage you.

2. The cold weakens digestion (especially for women over 40)

Your digestive system relies on warmth. In cold months, blood flow is pulled toward your core and vital organs, leaving digestion less supported.

That’s why winter brings:

• More bloating

• Slower transit time

• Gas

• Heavier digestion after meals

• “Food sitting in the stomach” feeling
  

Cold foods make this worse, smoothies, salads, iced drinks, all force the gut to work harder.

Warmth restores digestive power.

3. Holiday foods spike hidden inflammation

Most winter foods are:

• Higher in sugar

• Higher in fats

• Lower in fiber

• Higher in inflammatory seed oils

• Paired with alcohol and stress
  

This triggers cytokines that:

• Block thyroid conversion

• Cause fluid retention

• Slow down metabolism

• Increase cravings

• Disrupt gut flora
  

Even one day of inflammatory eating can influence the immune system for up to 72 hours.

This isn’t judgement, it’s physiology.

4. Holiday stress ignites cortisol (which blocks weight loss)

Your nervous system doesn’t understand the difference between:

• holiday overwhelm

• an emotional trigger

• or actual danger
  

To your biology, it’s all “threat.”

High cortisol:

• disrupts sleep

• inflames the gut

• inflames the thyroid

• stores belly fat

• increases blood sugar swings

• slows metabolism

• increases emotional eating
  

This is why December diets often fail, your nervous system is not in a fat-burning state.

5. Seasonal depression and sunlight changes affect thyroid & gut

• Less sunlight = less serotonin.

• Less serotonin = slower gut motility + lower mood + cravings + fatigue.
  

Sunlight directly affects:

• Thyroid hormone activation

• Dopamine motivation pathways

• Gut movement

• Circadian rhythm

• Immune function
  

This isn’t “in your head.” It’s a biochemical seasonal shift. So… what do you do?

• Not another diet.

• Not more restriction.

• Not another detox.

• Not more shame.
  

You need a Winter Reset – simple, supportive, safe for metabolism and the nervous system.

Below are the science-backed steps:

Your winter reset plan (simple + doable)

1. Eat warm, cooked, easy-to-digest meals

Your gut loves warmth in winter:

• Soups

• Broths

• roasted vegetables

• herbal teas

• stews

• sautéed greens
  

Warmth = faster digestion + more energy + less bloat.

2. Add minerals back in

Winter drains minerals through stress + dehydration.

Focus on:

• potassium-rich foods

• magnesium-rich foods

• sodium balance

• trace minerals

• mineral-rich soups
  

Minerals calm cravings + reduce cortisol.

3. Support your thyroid with winter foods

Foods that help conversion during the cold:

• warm water with lemon

• seaweed flakes

• ginger

• cooked greens

• berries

• selenium-rich foods (e.g., Brazil nuts, 2 a day)

4. Use gentle nervous system tools daily

Just 3-5 minutes a day improves hormone conversion:

• long exhales

• humming

• vagus nerve stroking, a simple technique where you gently run your fingertips down the sides of your neck, from just behind the ears down toward the collarbone.

• warm compress on the belly

• slow chewing

• grounding practices
  

Safety = metabolism.

5. Light exposure in the morning

3-5 minutes outside boosts:

• Serotonin

• thyroid activation

• mood

• digestion

• immune support
  

Even on cloudy days.

• Create a “Winter Plate”

• Half warm veggies

• ¼ protein

• ¼ starch

• fat (like avocado, olive oil, butter, nuts)
  

Easy. Grounding. Anti-inflammatory. Seasonal.

Closing 

Winter isn’t working against you, it’s asking for a different kind of support. You’re not sluggish, unmotivated, or “falling off.” You are adapting to a season your biology recognizes.

When you work with your winter physiology instead of fighting it, you’ll notice:

• better digestion

• lower inflammation

• steadier energy

• calmer cravings

• more balanced hormones

• easier weight loss

• deeper sleep
  

Let this winter be the season you stop fighting your body… and start understanding it. You are not behind. You are right on time. And your body is ready for peace, warmth, nourishment, and a gentle reset.

Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info!

Read more from Andra Annette

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Andra Annette, Founder and Gut Health Expert

Andra Annette is a world-renowned healthcare expert and award-winning wellness authority. Recognized as a World-Wide Leader in Healthcare (2017) and Top Nurse in the Bronx by INA, Andra Annette blends nearly 40 years of experience with a personal journey of overcoming leaky gut, thyroid issues, and weight struggles. Her groundbreaking work earned her the Outstanding Female Wellness Expert Award by Every Woman TV Global (2024). As the founder of Pounds-to-Go, host of the TV show Healing from the Inside Out, and author of the published Rainbow of Wellness series, she empowers individuals to love their bodies and live vibrantly. Her mission is to clear the confusion in health and be part of the cure, not the chaos.