Does shivering count as exercise?

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haweller2708
haweller2708 Posts: 21 Member
in Getting Started
The temps here have dropped radically. The week of Christmas it was in the 70's, last week 60's, today it is 17 degrees this morning when I walked my dogs. So I am thinking that I will get my exercise threw shivering today

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  • Whitezombiegirl
    Whitezombiegirl Posts: 1,042 Member
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    Good try! :-)
  • Maaike84
    Maaike84 Posts: 211 Member
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    That seems really uncomfortable to me. I am sure I read somewhere that yes- your body burns more calories trying to keep you warm - but I doubt it is that significant and it seems a really roundabout way of burning the calories. Not to mention you probably wouldn't get the cardio benefits, but that's a guess. If I were you I'd put on a sweater and head to the gym.
  • jandw122912
    jandw122912 Posts: 66 Member
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    Shivering is the body's way of producing heat. It does use enery so you are burning calories, but probably not as many as you'd hope.
    And where are you? Sounds like the weather where I am (Georgia). It was 79* on Christmas but was below freezing this morning! Craziness!
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,473 Member
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    sure, minus 23 here and I snowshoed in it, I like the cold.
  • mulecanter
    mulecanter Posts: 1,792 Member
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    add a blood donation to shivering and you will really have a nice deficit.
  • haweller2708
    haweller2708 Posts: 21 Member
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    So, it was actually a joke. Turns out I have heat in my house ;)
  • not2late
    not2late Posts: 98 Member
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    Yes it does. Research has shown that 15 mins shivering can be equivalent to an hours moderate exercise.The thing is, the body needs to keep a constant core temperature. In a warm environment we sweat to cool, in a cool environment we burn fat to stay warm, and that uses calories. If you turn your heating down you will save money on energy bills and also contribute to weight loss.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2551644/Shivering-10-minutes-burns-calories-HOURS-exercise.html
  • smcrimmon84
    smcrimmon84 Posts: 135 Member
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    Haha! You must live near me - our temps have been ALL over the place lately.
  • tacticalhippie
    tacticalhippie Posts: 596 Member
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    Sounds like NC.
    We were having our heat unit worked on this morning at work.
    No heat, and back door open for over 3 hours.
    I was shivering in my parka.


    I'll take the tiny little extra bit of calorie burn lol
  • mallory_2014
    mallory_2014 Posts: 173 Member
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    haweller2708 wrote: »
    The temps here have dropped radically. The week of Christmas it was in the 70's, last week 60's, today it is 17 degrees this morning when I walked my dogs. So I am thinking that I will get my exercise threw shivering today

    I would LOVE your temperatures!!!! It is -17 here today
  • Linzon
    Linzon Posts: 294 Member
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    mallory_2014 wrote: »
    haweller2708 wrote: »
    The temps here have dropped radically. The week of Christmas it was in the 70's, last week 60's, today it is 17 degrees this morning when I walked my dogs. So I am thinking that I will get my exercise threw shivering today

    I would LOVE your temperatures!!!! It is -17 here today

    That was us for the first half of the week! Now it's a balmy 19F and I'm earning extra calories by pushing a stroller through the snow ;)
  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
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    I lived for over 10 years in a house that had virtually no heat in the winter. I only had two 1500 watt space heaters to help keep the chill off the first floor f my home. Most of the time I managed to keep it around 55 in the house in Jan and Feb. There were times when it got down to 39. My bedroom on the second floor had no heat. In the last few years I lived there I did have an electric blanket. Mostly my dogs helped me keep warm.

    I shivered some.

    I also was very very lethargic all winter and spent all of my waking hours at home bundled up on the sofa not moving any more than I had to and eating a lot of carbs. I definitely did not lose weight on the being cold all the time plan. I really don't recommend it.

  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
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    not2late wrote: »
    Yes it does. Research has shown that 15 mins shivering can be equivalent to an hours moderate exercise.The thing is, the body needs to keep a constant core temperature. In a warm environment we sweat to cool, in a cool environment we burn fat to stay warm, and that uses calories. If you turn your heating down you will save money on energy bills and also contribute to weight loss.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2551644/Shivering-10-minutes-burns-calories-HOURS-exercise.html

    The Daily Mail - always a great source of reputable scientific info. ;)

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