Do you burn more calories in hot weather?

[Bing o]

Not meant to be a piss take given that it's midwinter where most of you are, but I'm starting a new keep fit regime, and was wondering what impact training in hot weather has on calorie consumption? Obviously I appreciate you get some weight loss through sweating, but some of my mates insist it's like doing double the distance in lower temperatures (I'm running in 25-30 degrees at the moment, with 65-90% humidity).

Also, for a 5km run, when should I be taking on water so that I avoid the dehydration headaches, but aren't too bloated either? I'm currently doing 32-35 minute 5kms depending on traffic lights and ambient conditions - I want to work up to a 10km run in a proper event, what sort of times should I be aiming for (not podium, just to be in the pack, and not the fat wheezy knacker at the back)?

Oh, and I'm 34 years young if that helps, 5'9" and 77kg, most of it on my tummy it seems...

[sawman]

no you will burn more calories in cold weather. I attended a lecture recently by Mike Stroud, who explained that when crossing the antarctic with rannolph feinnes he lost 3 stone, whilst consuming 5500 calories a day. admitedly he was working quite hard

not sure the difference would be a huge amount in our temperate climes though.

i noticed that when I was walking/cycling to work during the canadian winter, i could est all manner of carbs/drink beer and cheerfully loose 5-8 kilos over the winter, unfortunately my dietry habit continued over the summer putting all back again!

[Bing o]

sawman said:

no you will burn more calories in cold weather. I attended a lecture recently by Mike Stroud, who explained that when crossing the antarctic with rannolph feinnes he lost 3 stone, whilst consuming 5500 calories a day. admitedly he was working quite hard

not sure the difference would be a huge amount in our temperate climes though.

i noticed that when I was walking/cycling to work during the canadian winter, i could est all manner of carbs/drink beer and cheerfully loose 5-8 kilos over the winter, unfortunately my dietry habit continued over the summer putting all back again!

So is there a point at what you don't burn anymore calories regardless of the temperature, or is there an inverse bell curve of calories loss (ie bloody cold = lots, bloody hot = lots, 10-15 degrees = less)? I'd have thought that the heart would work harder in the heat (I'm trying to work out if it's my lack of fitness that hurts the most, or the fact it's 30 degrees plus 80% humidity....)

[goldblum]

Hot or cold makes no difference to calories burned.They are not related in any way except perhaps you may do exercise to keep warm!

It's a popular misconception that because you sweat a lot more when you workout/run/whatever on a hot day then you are working harder so

you are burning more calories.Not true.The body IS working harder,but to keep itself cool by sweating.

[CHIEF]

goldblum said:

Hot or cold makes no difference to calories burned.They are not related in any way except perhaps you may do exercise to keep warm!

It's a popular misconception that because you sweat a lot more when you workout/run/whatever on a hot day then you are working harder so

you are burning more calories.Not true.The body IS working harder,but to keep itself cool by sweating.

Sorry i disagree with that, if you are cold then your body burns calories (which is after all a unit of energy) to maintain body temperature, although i suspect the amount extra burnt is so small you wouldn't notice a difference but the fact is the body does burn more (however small) than someone who was at their optimum temperature.

[anonymous-user]

sawman said:

no you will burn more calories in cold weather. I attended a lecture recently by Mike Stroud, who explained that when crossing the antarctic with rannolph feinnes he lost 3 stone, whilst consuming 5500 calories a day. admitedly he was working quite hard

Is he actually that cold though? He's got proper gear on and is mainly burning calories because he's pulling a heavy sled across snow all day.

[Bing o]

So one poster says yes it does. The other that it doesn't. A couple of observations if I may. Boxers and jockeys dehydrate to hit weight limits. F1 drivers lose weight through sweat during 2 hours at 50 degrees.

However, I know of Thai boxers who go running in sweat suits to shed weight well ahead of a fight. Also, as mentioned, cold weather means you use more calories (shivering etc). What about if you sweat more, is there no calorific impact of the process of moving heat around the body?

[anonymous-user]

Bing o said:

Boxers and jockeys dehydrate to hit weight limits. F1 drivers lose weight through sweat during 2 hours at 50 degrees.

However, I know of Thai boxers who go running in sweat suits to shed weight well ahead of a fight.

That's not burning calories though it's just losing water in your body.

[LightningMcSteve]

For my maths degree, I did a final year project modelling hypothermia in humans.

The amount of heat the body can generate through shivering is about equal to the calories used when walking. I don't think the temperature makes that much diference to calories used when you are exercising as you are not shivering. When I've run in cold temperatures I still end up boiling hot.

However, there is the heat lost due to respiration. You are breathing in cold air and exhaling warm air. That will contribute to calories used.

[Bing o]

So I run at 0 degrees. 15 degrees. 30 degrees. What burns the most calories, the least, and the average? Simple question?

[goldblum]

CHIEF said:

goldblum said:

Hot or cold makes no difference to calories burned.They are not related in any way except perhaps you may do exercise to keep warm!

It's a popular misconception that because you sweat a lot more when you workout/run/whatever on a hot day then you are working harder so

you are burning more calories.Not true.The body IS working harder,but to keep itself cool by sweating.

Sorry i disagree with that, if you are cold then your body burns calories (which is after all a unit of energy) to maintain body temperature, although i suspect the amount extra burnt is so small you wouldn't notice a difference but the fact is the body does burn more (however small) than someone who was at their optimum temperature.

I'm answering the OPs' question,which as I understand it pertains to exercise.In fact now I think about it you would burn LESS calories (tiny amount) when cold,

due to better heat exchange.ie the cold outside air would carry heat away more proficiently,so your heart wouldn't work as hard getting blood to the muscles to

replace fluids lost as sweat.

General rule of thumb is drink on a run whenever you want but only lightly.Most runners go about 40 minutes before having refreshment.For a 10k anything around

50 mins will keep you from the back of the pack.

[sawman]

el stovey said:

sawman said:

no you will burn more calories in cold weather. I attended a lecture recently by Mike Stroud, who explained that when crossing the antarctic with rannolph feinnes he lost 3 stone, whilst consuming 5500 calories a day. admitedly he was working quite hard

Is he actually that cold though? He's got proper gear on and is mainly burning calories because he's pulling a heavy sled across snow all day.

Interestingly he said that they did not wear loads of warm gear, just wind proofs mainly, they figured that they would be working hard enough to keep warm, which was the case - this meant they had to carry less gear and so more food. Unfortunately their extremities still got frostbite.

[sawman]

Bing o said:

sawman said:

no you will burn more calories in cold weather. I attended a lecture recently by Mike Stroud, who explained that when crossing the antarctic with rannolph feinnes he lost 3 stone, whilst consuming 5500 calories a day. admitedly he was working quite hard

not sure the difference would be a huge amount in our temperate climes though.

i noticed that when I was walking/cycling to work during the canadian winter, i could est all manner of carbs/drink beer and cheerfully loose 5-8 kilos over the winter, unfortunately my dietry habit continued over the summer putting all back again!

So is there a point at what you don't burn anymore calories regardless of the temperature, or is there an inverse bell curve of calories loss (ie bloody cold = lots, bloody hot = lots, 10-15 degrees = less)? I'd have thought that the heart would work harder in the heat (I'm trying to work out if it's my lack of fitness that hurts the most, or the fact it's 30 degrees plus 80% humidity....)

my understanding would be that the work of you running would be the same irrespective of temperature, however your body will burn more calories when cold to keep itself warm in a cold climate. In the same way that your house central heating works harder in the winter than it does in the spring to maintain the same temp in your living room.

[goldblum]

Not unless you're shivering a hell of a lot it won't.The body does not burn calories to keep you warm automatically.Like the Arctic explorer you will

need a lot of slow digesting food,ie protein, to keep your METABOLISM working as you digest the food.Your metabolism will convert the cals to heat.It's

simple thermodynamics and has been covered before elsewhere.All things being equal you will burn slightly more cals when it is hot due poorer heat exchange.

[Bing o]

sawman said:

In the same way that your house central heating works harder in the winter than it does in the spring to maintain the same temp in your living room.

You've clearly not seen my electric bills for my A/C then - far greater than my heating bills ever were....

[sawman]

Bing o said:

sawman said:

In the same way that your house central heating works harder in the winter than it does in the spring to maintain the same temp in your living room.

You've clearly not seen my electric bills for my A/C then - far greater than my heating bills ever were....

Ah I understand your geography now! I might gave chosen a better analogy, D'oh!

When in canada, we mad winter temps of -30 to -50 and summer temps up to +35 so I have good experience of heating and cooling, It cost me about the same per month to heat/cool my house there, but in spring and autumn it would cost nothing for a few weeks as neither system is active, this is the wone that your body would be working in for most of the time, only flipping to heating or cooling in extremes, as someone else pointed out you dont burn calories to cooldown (that would negate any cooling benefits)

[CHIEF]

goldblum said:

CHIEF said:

goldblum said:

Hot or cold makes no difference to calories burned.They are not related in any way except perhaps you may do exercise to keep warm!

It's a popular misconception that because you sweat a lot more when you workout/run/whatever on a hot day then you are working harder so

you are burning more calories.Not true.The body IS working harder,but to keep itself cool by sweating.

Sorry i disagree with that, if you are cold then your body burns calories (which is after all a unit of energy) to maintain body temperature, although i suspect the amount extra burnt is so small you wouldn't notice a difference but the fact is the body does burn more (however small) than someone who was at their optimum temperature.

I'm answering the OPs' question,which as I understand it pertains to exercise.In fact now I think about it you would burn LESS calories (tiny amount) when cold,

due to better heat exchange.ie the cold outside air would carry heat away more proficiently,so your heart wouldn't work as hard getting blood to the muscles to

replace fluids lost as sweat.

General rule of thumb is drink on a run whenever you want but only lightly.Most runners go about 40 minutes before having refreshment.For a 10k anything around

50 mins will keep you from the back of the pack.

I'm sorry but i believe you are wrong.

If you are cold (i mean cold not just slightly nippy lol) your body has to bring your body up to temperature which in turn uses calories. It is well known that arctic explorers used a lot more calories due to the extreme cold weather they encountered than they would have normally in a normal enviroment.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/he...

The recent television reconstruction in the Antarctic of Scott’s last journey demonstrated that more than twice as many calories are needed to pull sledges in sub-zero temperatures than are burnt up by a miner working at the coalface. There is no change in the basic metabolic rate in the winter for those living in a centrally heated environment. However, if they are exercising in cold weather the same tasks will burn up more calories. If more food is not eaten to compensate and Susie’s calorie intake remains the same, her usual daily exercise regime will help her to lose more weight than in summer. To this extent winter exercise is better for her.

[goldblum]

CHIEF said:

goldblum said:

CHIEF said:

goldblum said:

Hot or cold makes no difference to calories burned.They are not related in any way except perhaps you may do exercise to keep warm!

It's a popular misconception that because you sweat a lot more when you workout/run/whatever on a hot day then you are working harder so

you are burning more calories.Not true.The body IS working harder,but to keep itself cool by sweating.

Sorry i disagree with that, if you are cold then your body burns calories (which is after all a unit of energy) to maintain body temperature, although i suspect the amount extra burnt is so small you wouldn't notice a difference but the fact is the body does burn more (however small) than someone who was at their optimum temperature.

I'm answering the OPs' question,which as I understand it pertains to exercise.In fact now I think about it you would burn LESS calories (tiny amount) when cold,

due to better heat exchange.ie the cold outside air would carry heat away more proficiently,so your heart wouldn't work as hard getting blood to the muscles to

replace fluids lost as sweat.

General rule of thumb is drink on a run whenever you want but only lightly.Most runners go about 40 minutes before having refreshment.For a 10k anything around

50 mins will keep you from the back of the pack.

I'm sorry but i believe you are wrong.

If you are cold (i mean cold not just slightly nippy lol) your body has to bring your body up to temperature which in turn uses calories. It is well known that arctic explorers used a lot more calories due to the extreme cold weather they encountered than they would have normally in a normal enviroment.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/he...

The recent television reconstruction in the Antarctic of Scott’s last journey demonstrated that more than twice as many calories are needed to pull sledges in sub-zero temperatures than are burnt up by a miner working at the coalface. There is no change in the basic metabolic rate in the winter for those living in a centrally heated environment. However, if they are exercising in cold weather the same tasks will burn up more calories. If more food is not eaten to compensate and Susie’s calorie intake remains the same, her usual daily exercise regime will help her to lose more weight than in summer. To this extent winter exercise is better for her.

• SIGH *

'and was wondering what impact training in hot weather has on calorie consumption?'- OP

Interesting information about Scott,but I don't think the OP intends exercising in such extreme conditions.

As I have said you will use a tiny bit more calories exercising when it's hot because the outside warm air doesn't carry heat away from the body

as efficiently as cold.So the heart has to work a bit harder in warm weather,and this will burn cals.

Edited by goldblum on Tuesday 14th December 11:16

[CHIEF]

goldblum said:

CHIEF said:

goldblum said:

CHIEF said:

goldblum said:

Hot or cold makes no difference to calories burned.They are not related in any way except perhaps you may do exercise to keep warm!

It's a popular misconception that because you sweat a lot more when you workout/run/whatever on a hot day then you are working harder so

you are burning more calories.Not true.The body IS working harder,but to keep itself cool by sweating.

Sorry i disagree with that, if you are cold then your body burns calories (which is after all a unit of energy) to maintain body temperature, although i suspect the amount extra burnt is so small you wouldn't notice a difference but the fact is the body does burn more (however small) than someone who was at their optimum temperature.

I'm answering the OPs' question,which as I understand it pertains to exercise.In fact now I think about it you would burn LESS calories (tiny amount) when cold,

due to better heat exchange.ie the cold outside air would carry heat away more proficiently,so your heart wouldn't work as hard getting blood to the muscles to

replace fluids lost as sweat.

General rule of thumb is drink on a run whenever you want but only lightly.Most runners go about 40 minutes before having refreshment.For a 10k anything around

50 mins will keep you from the back of the pack.

I'm sorry but i believe you are wrong.

If you are cold (i mean cold not just slightly nippy lol) your body has to bring your body up to temperature which in turn uses calories. It is well known that arctic explorers used a lot more calories due to the extreme cold weather they encountered than they would have normally in a normal enviroment.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/he...

The recent television reconstruction in the Antarctic of Scott’s last journey demonstrated that more than twice as many calories are needed to pull sledges in sub-zero temperatures than are burnt up by a miner working at the coalface. There is no change in the basic metabolic rate in the winter for those living in a centrally heated environment. However, if they are exercising in cold weather the same tasks will burn up more calories. If more food is not eaten to compensate and Susie’s calorie intake remains the same, her usual daily exercise regime will help her to lose more weight than in summer. To this extent winter exercise is better for her.

• SIGH *

'and was wondering what impact training in hot weather has on calorie consumption?'- OP

Interesting information about Scott,but I don't think the OP intends exercising in such extreme conditions.

As I have said you will use a tiny bit more calories exercising when it's hot because the outside warm air doesn't carry heat away from the body

as efficiently as cold.So the heart has to work a bit harder in warm weather,and this will burn cals.

Edited by goldblum on Tuesday 14th December 11:16

The OP questions was Do you burn more calories in hot weather?

My opinion is no, you burn more in cold weather. That is all.

[emicen]

Interesting one.

Cold weather your body will burn more calories maintaining its core temp, hence you can get away with a bit more feel good food in winter

In hot weather, you sweat more, or if you wrap up when exercising you sweat more. I am sure I recall a product being touted on the dragons den which was essentially a binbag suit to cause you to sweat more because (and I'm buggered if i can recall the research they quoted) generating a bead of sweat burns something like 0.07 calories.

I'd love to find out more about it tbh.