Can being cold burn fat?

[*michaelsean*]

Your body is always burning calories to keep the body at 98.6 so it seems logical that if you are out in the cold your body would have to burn more calories to keep your temperature up. One concern would be that maybe your body would burn up muscle in order to preserve the insulating effect of fat. i would think that even being in relatively warm water (80 degrees) would burn calories since water is such an effective conductor of heat.

[Tiger Teeth]

She thinks so.

[Penn]

You will see more than one possible answer if you research this but based on what I've read..

(10-08-2015, 05:27 PM)michaelsean Wrote: Your body is always burning calories to keep the body at 98.6 so it seems logical that if you are out in the cold your body would have to burn more calories to keep your temperature up.

Yes, your body does burn more calories in cold.  If you are at rest in just moderately cooler temperatures the it isn't enough to be noteable.  If you are at rest and cold enough to be shivering the level is noticeable but not advisable since to decrease a chance of hypothermia the vessels in the arms and legs will contract to centralize heat in the core.

If you are exercising the extra calorie burn is not significant because your body will cease to burn extra calories once the heat reaches a certain point (the reason for heart rate increase is the extra oxygen, creating heat is a by-product once you are beyond a normal temperature).
 

Quote:One concern would be that maybe your body would burn up muscle in order to preserve the insulating effect of fat.

Some studies indicate the body does utilize different sources due to temperature but muscle isn't in the equation.  In warmer temps early results indicate the body burns fat first.  In cooler temps it goes to carbs first.

Quote:i would think that even being in relatively warm water (80 degrees) would burn calories since water is such an effective conductor of heat.

I haven't seen anything in regards to the temperature of water if the body is submerged.  But going off of what I mentioned already, if you want to burn fat I would assume warmer water is better but cooler water the body would burn carbs first.

[XenoMorph]

(10-08-2015, 05:27 PM)michaelsean Wrote: Your body is always burning calories to keep the body at 98.6 so it seems logical that if you are out in the cold your body would have to burn more calories to keep your temperature up. One concern would be that maybe your body would burn up muscle in order to preserve the insulating effect of fat. i would think that even being in relatively warm water (80 degrees) would burn calories since water is such an effective conductor of heat.

well i was always told sweating when its cold outside is a better workout than sweating when its hot outside. but clothing probly wouldnt be the same

[*michaelsean*]

(10-08-2015, 06:32 PM)Penn Wrote: You will see more than one possible answer if you research this but based on what I've read..


Yes, your body does burn more calories in cold.  If you are at rest in just moderately cooler temperatures the it isn't enough to be noteable.  If you are at rest and cold enough to be shivering the level is noticeable but not advisable since to decrease a chance of hypothermia the vessels in the arms and legs will contract to centralize heat in the core.

If you are exercising the extra calorie burn is not significant because your body will cease to burn extra calories once the heat reaches a certain point (the reason for heart rate increase is the extra oxygen, creating heat is a by-product once you are beyond a normal temperature).
 

Some studies indicate the body does utilize different sources due to temperature but muscle isn't in the equation.  In warmer temps early results indicate the body burns fat first.  In cooler temps it goes to carbs first.


I haven't seen anything in regards to the temperature of water if the body is submerged.  But going off of what I mentioned already, if you want to burn fat I would assume warmer water is better but cooler water the body would burn carbs first.

Burning carbs is like burning future fat so I'd be good with that.

[*bfine32*]

(10-08-2015, 05:58 PM)Tiger Teeth Wrote: She thinks so.

Hit

[Aquapod770]

Your body almost exclusively burns fat at rest. How much is dependent upon your resting metabolism. Only when you start to move does your body start burning carbs.




This is a very simple graph representing Respiratory Exchange Ratio and its relation to what fuel your body is using for energy. If the normal population the "halfway point" is about 65% of your VO2 Max. Untrained individuals are much lower than that. For example, a morbidly obese person would start burning more carbs than fat pretty quickly as they started exercising. With training you can push that intersecting point to the right and utilize fat stores for energy at a much higher intensity.

When you're cold you start to shiver. Which is basically your body trying to warm itself through muscle heat. So yes, you would be burning more calories. Whether those calories are from fat or carbs depends on how trained you are.

[magikod]

(10-09-2015, 09:49 PM)bfine32 Wrote: Hit

eek

[HarleyDog]

Never heard the term "Freezing my ass off?"

[Toy Cannon]

Reminds me of the survivalist show where Bear Grylls is dropped into a snow-covered wilderness, and he has to live off the land and find his way to civilization. Early on he will say, "I need to find food soon, it takes a lot of calories to maintain body temperature in this cold."