Feeling cold since increasing water consumption

lolly2414

I just started back on MFP after losing about 25lbs (of about 70 total I needed to lose) while using it in the second half of 2014. To put a long story short, 2015 was a super stressful and busy year for me and I gained all the weight back, ate like crap most of the year and felt like crap by the end of the year. So this past Monday I started back on my diet and this time I'm trying to make sure that I drink enough water. Typically before the diet I consumed probably 25 to 30 oz of water per day and this week I've been drinking 65 to 70 oz per day. The only problem is that since Tuesday I've been really cold all day and all night long. This is completely opposite of how I usually am, because I'm usually hot all the time even in the winter. So I was wondering if up my water consumption is making me feel cold? Anyone else had this experience?

lorrpb

No, drinking enough water would not make you that cold, unless you're drinking ice water. Try drinking room temp water.

DaddieCat

How is your diet? How many calories are you eating? My SO struggles with disordered eating and when she's in a bad place and not eating enough, she gets downright frosty, but it goes away again once she gets everything under control. It's possible that you aren't eating enough food.

lolly2414

Okay, now that I'm reading some more I think it may just be that I'm undereating on calories. My body is used to probably twice as many calories most days as I've eaten this week so maybe that's why there's been such a big change.

lolly2414

BecomingBane wrote: »

How is your diet? How many calories are you eating? My SO struggles with disordered eating and when she's in a bad place and not eating enough, she gets downright frosty, but it goes away again once she gets everything under control. It's possible that you aren't eating enough food.

Yeah, that's a possibility. I've been eating around the 1200 to 1300 cal range per day this week when my calorie goal is set at 1500 (and MFP originally set it at 1700 but that was with my exercise plan that I'm not starting until Sunday). So I've been mostly sedentary this week but I'm trying to stay within my sodium and sugar range for the first time and I'm really trying to eliminate most added sugar from my diet so some of the foods that I allowed myself to eat or drink the last time I dieted I'm not allowing this time because I just want to eat healthier in general and focus on more than just CI/CO (even though that's still the general idea).

DaddieCat

Sodium and sugar are not really something you have to monitor unless you have a medical reason to do so. Also, MFP specifically means added sugar but then doesn't split out things like fruit sugar. Just something to be aware of.

Many people completely remove sugar and add in fiber to the tracker as it's a more valuable thing to track.

lolly2414

BecomingBane wrote: »

Sodium and sugar are not really something you have to monitor unless you have a medical reason to do so. Also, MFP specifically means added sugar but then doesn't split out things like fruit sugar. Just something to be aware of.

Many people completely remove sugar and add in fiber to the tracker as it's a more valuable thing to track.

I have Non-alcoholic fatty liver that causes me some back and abdominal pain so that's my reason for watching what type of sugar and carbs I'm putting into my body. I'm not super concerned about going a little over on sodium but I feel like I eat too much of it and I've been trying to reduce that a bit. I am watching fiber as well and trying to increase my fiber intake. The big thing for me is giving up Coke and fruit juices and focusing on water, as well as reducing the amount of high sodium processed meats (like bacon, lunchmeat, sausage, etc) and anything with high fructose corn syrup or that's just really high in added sugar. I don't worry about sugar that comes from fruits, vegetables or milk. Otherwise I focus mostly on calories.

screamineagles

Your body "wants" to be at 98.6F. When you introduce a substance that's cooler than 98.6F, you're asking your body to do extra work to raise the average temperature. Until your body has achieved this, you will be operating at a temperature of less than 98.6F. When we're only drinking a glass here and there, our body can normalize quite quickly. If we add a lot more liquid than normal, our body requires more time. Until the 98.6F is normalized, we'll be chilly.

Also, most of us are dehydrated. Assuming you weren't getting the optimal amount of water before, your body should increase in efficiency as your intake approaches optimal levels. As your body increases in efficiency, you'll metabolize more of your fat storage. As your existing fat storage is metabolized you will a) decrease the amount of body mass that's currently maintaining the 98.6F temp and b) remove insulation against environmental impacts.

This is all good stuff, but the water temp can change your temperature and you'll notice environmental impacts quicker. Your body is a pretty intensely interconnected machine. You can definitely make changes that help with the chills and you should be encouraged that you're aware of your experience!

Warm water or tea can be helpful. A mug of warm broth is also pretty awesome.

I hope this response wasn't too nerdy!!

DaddieCat

Sounds like you've got a plan.

I find that adding those zero (or low) calorie flavor packets to my water helps immensely. I get them at the dollar store or amazon. I used to add them to water from my sodastream too, but gave up on that because the carbonation was so expensive.

MelaniaTrump

Have you ever tried drinking green or black tea? It might help you keep warm during the winter months.

janicelo1971

i also get cold more often now that i have shredded a few pounds and drink more water

zcb94

I've heard that your body uses some thermal energy to warm the water inside of your system. Otherwise, let's just say that you'd notice when it made its exit later. That's part of the magic behind water as a weight loss tool because that takes energy/calories. All that thermal energy is going from your limbs to, shall we say, Waste Management Central.

RodaRose

lolly2414 wrote: »

BecomingBane wrote: »

How is your diet? How many calories are you eating? My SO struggles with disordered eating and when she's in a bad place and not eating enough, she gets downright frosty, but it goes away again once she gets everything under control. It's possible that you aren't eating enough food.

Yeah, that's a possibility. I've been eating around the 1200 to 1300 cal range per day this week when my calorie goal is set at 1500 (and MFP originally set it at 1700 but that was with my exercise plan that I'm not starting until Sunday). So I've been mostly sedentary this week but I'm trying to stay within my sodium and sugar range for the first time and I'm really trying to eliminate most added sugar from my diet so some of the foods that I allowed myself to eat or drink the last time I dieted I'm not allowing this time because I just want to eat healthier in general and focus on more than just CI/CO (even though that's still the general idea).

How much fat and protein are you eating?

alp_19

This happens to me all the time in the winter! I also have Raynaud's so my circulation is poor and that contributes to the problem. When I drink cold water I can feel it making me cold inside and then it's really tough to warm up.

What I do is drink warm/hot water as much as I possibly can. I can drink cold water after a run or when my body is hot but otherwise I try to warm it a bit. If your tap water is okay, it's as simple as using it warm. You can also add a bit of lemon or tea and use hot water. It'll have the opposite effect and make you warmer!