Learning to tolerate cold weather

DownsizingSam88

I reckon I would have to be one of the world’s biggest sooks when it comes to cold weather. A lot of my friends and family love the absence of heat, but I just can’t stand it- being cold is not a pleasant feeling!
I got thinking this year about how I used to be able to tolerate the cold a lot better, even before I’d put on (and then lost a fair chunk of) weight. So I googled if there was a way to make myself be able to tolerate the cold weather better. The articles I found all pointed to not layering up so much and having a cold blast at the end of my showers. I have to say that I loathe every second of being under the cold water, but as soon as I step out of the shower I feel so much more alive then when I got in the shower. One of the horsemen I follow also posts some well being stuff and he has been raving about cold plunges and cold blasts for a couple of years. Apparently it gives you a similar endorphin rush to sky diving or bungee jumping. Who’d’ve think it?!?!
I have only been at it a little over a week and I’ve read it will take 3-4 weeks before I notice a difference. But just wondering has anyone else tried this and found success? I kind of feel like I’m getting better with it but I also wonder if that’s just a mind trick?
My motto at the moment is “get comfortable with being uncomfortable” I have used it many times when I was working out and wanted to push myself a little more, now I’m using it when I’m feeling cold and want to reach for another layer/ step off my horse early/ shove my hands in my pockets on my morning walks (depending on what the temperature is I will still do these things)

AnnPT77

If it's just a mind trick, but it works, do you care that it's just a mind trick? Placebos can have physical effects, not just "all in one's head".

Keep in mind that there are multiple reasons one can feel colder besides the "fat is insulation" theory. It can be a effect of adaptive thermogenesis, because reducing core body temperature is one way the body can try to compensate for reduced calories (especially if big reduction) or for sub-par nutrition. It's not likely to be a huge effect, but it's a potential for a small change.

I haven't done cold showers, but I do feel that I tolerate Winter cold better if I keep the thermostat on the lower side in the house, rather than cranking the heat up. (I usually go for somewhere in the 60s F (upper teens C), not super cold.)

I haven't been a yo-yo dieter overall, but lost quite a bit of weight when I was in college, and felt cold all the time afterward, even on warm days. I didn't much exercise (though I had a physical job & walked/biked as transportation), and I'm sure my nutrition wasn't ideal. The recent time I lost weight (starting at age 59), I put a lot of emphasis on eating nutritiously overall, and continuing a pre-existing regular exercise routine. I haven't been cold at all. Did the behavioral stuff make a difference? No idea.

As a possibly-interesting aside, not a practical suggestion: There's a Tibetan meditation practice that seems - per modern research - to permit long-time practitioners to raise their body temperature fairly significantly, for episodes of time. See, for example:

https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2002/04/meditation-changes-temperatures/

I'm not saying that's for sure a true thing, but it's something that's been reported anecdotally for decades, and studied (fairly slightly) more recently. I first read about it in Alexandra David-Néel's book about studying in Tibet, written in the 1920s.

beabria

I can't comment on whether it will help you tolerate cold weather better (my internal thermostat has always run hot), but I do do the cold blast sometimes after a shower - or a cold bath depending on the day. I do find it gives me a lot of energy, and in a pleasant rather than a frenetic sort of way.
I think it's fine to push your comfort boundaries - with some limits. I've worked in polar environments, which taught me that my body reacts to cold in two ways (obviously your reactions may be different). The first is "skin cold"; it's bracing, makes your cheeks flushed, makes you want to move quickly, but goes away quickly when you return to a warm environment. Then there is "bone cold", where you are shivering hard, your thinking and reaction time slow down, or you have trouble rewarming without assistance. It seems fine to push your comfort with the first type, but don't try to push through the second type. That could be dangerous, and your body may genuinely react differently to cold than other people's bodies.