hothothot!!! Am I burning more calories?

queenofpuppies
queenofpuppies Posts: 189 Member
edited December 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
Its really freakin' hot out! Over 100F for several weeks with 60% humidity and I can't walk and run in it like I could in May when it was 70F. If I go for the same run on a 70 day as I do on a 100 day, am I burning more calories on the hotter day? Is it enough to where I should be upping what I eat back?

Replies

  • ccrdragon
    ccrdragon Posts: 3,374 Member
    nope... you will burn slightly more calories because your body has to work harder to cool you down but the difference is really small. the bigger problem is that you get dehydrated faster in the heat and that will severely affect your performance in the activity that you are performing. You need to be sure that you are drinking more fluids when it's hot as compared to when it's cooler.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    No.
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
    Nope. Your heart rate is higher than if it were cooler and you feel like it's more effort because your cardiovascular system is not as efficient at distributing oxygen in the heat and humidity. But that doesn't really burn an appreciable amount more calories.

    If anything you're likely burning less (at least as a function of time) because we tend not to put in as much effort when it's hot and humid. It'd be nice if it weren't the case, though.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Not really, no...maybe slightly more, but pretty negligible.
  • CincyNeid
    CincyNeid Posts: 1,249 Member
    Technically yes. because your body has to cool down and spends calories doing that.

    In reality, no. It's not enough to warrant any significant amount to worry about replacing.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    CincyNeid wrote: »
    Technically yes. because your body has to cool down and spends calories doing that.

    In reality, no. It's not enough to warrant any significant amount to worry about replacing.

    this.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    So that's a whole heap of no, slightly moderated by a little minutiae

    :)
  • robininfl
    robininfl Posts: 1,137 Member
    ccrdragon wrote: »
    nope... you will burn slightly more calories because your body has to work harder to cool you down but the difference is really small. the bigger problem is that you get dehydrated faster in the heat and that will severely affect your performance in the activity that you are performing. You need to be sure that you are drinking more fluids when it's hot as compared to when it's cooler.

    Really? I thought this was the other way around - bodies slow down to cool off, and speed up to heat up. So hot yoga, for example, should burn slightly fewer calories than regular yoga, and running in cold weather burn slightly more calories than in hot.

    I do know that studies showed that swimming in cold water burned slightly more calories than in barely cool water.
  • CincyNeid
    CincyNeid Posts: 1,249 Member
    robininfl wrote: »
    ccrdragon wrote: »
    nope... you will burn slightly more calories because your body has to work harder to cool you down but the difference is really small. the bigger problem is that you get dehydrated faster in the heat and that will severely affect your performance in the activity that you are performing. You need to be sure that you are drinking more fluids when it's hot as compared to when it's cooler.

    Really? I thought this was the other way around - bodies slow down to cool off, and speed up to heat up. So hot yoga, for example, should burn slightly fewer calories than regular yoga, and running in cold weather burn slightly more calories than in hot.

    I do know that studies showed that swimming in cold water burned slightly more calories than in barely cool water.

    Say what you want about Lance Armstrong I find his site informative. And it's ironic you mention Yoga/Hot Yoga. They talk about that directly in this article.

    http://www.livestrong.com/article/526014-does-your-body-burn-more-calories-if-you-are-hot-or-if-you-are-cold/
  • ccrdragon
    ccrdragon Posts: 3,374 Member
    the cold water makes your body try and heat itself up (thus why you shiver when you are cold - it's the bodies way of warming itself). the same is true when you are hot - sweat is a reaction that is designed to cool you down. the body also has other reactions to the heat such as panting, slowing down, reducing capillary size, etc.

    the human body is a pretty amazing organism when you really look at all of the adaptations that it is possible of performing so that within it's microcosm the status quo (and thus the ability to survive) is maintained.
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