My Gym has a "Weightloss Pod"

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  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    You do burn more calories trying to stay cool. Just as you do trying to staying warm.

    Your heart rate should go up too since blood flow helps in cooling, which in this case there was none - so body just spends energy trying to cool down and it doesn't work.

    Interesting stress idea. Wonder what health safeguards are on it - or just a sign with some warning you have to pay attention to?

    It would be interesting to know how exactly they would calibrate how many calories you burned.

    Same as some people don't sweat when they exercise, or it takes a whole lot more effort and time to start. Their bodies take longer to feel the need to.
  • Keepcalmanddontblink
    Keepcalmanddontblink Posts: 718 Member
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    What I'd like to know is, what makes it different than a sauna? Other than the fact that its a pod...Is it like crazy oven temperature hot?
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    So its a sauna. Yeah you dont burn calories sitting in a sauna, you sweat. If you want to burn calories sitting in a room may I suggest a walk-in freezer, I imagine the shivering and struggle for your body to maintain its temperature would likely burn a few calories. Maybe not as many calories as going for a nice walk but at least you get to sit at an uncomfortable temperature.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    but can they really put a TOTALLy bogus calorie counter on there?

    Who would stop them the calorie police?
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Was trying to find the references to the fact metabolism is higher when warmer, but unless that machine is doing what a HRM or machine readout or exercise database are doing - including your resting calorie burn in there too (and to be fair, the others do also).

    So in total if you burned 200 calories in there, you'd burn around 100 anyway, so not as great as claimed, but not nothing either.

    This was interesting part of this study though. Now, they are talking during exercise, where say ratio of fat : carb burn is perhaps 40: 60.
    Whereas at rest fat burn is probably 90-95% of energy source. So does this mean it shifts it to even more carb burn?

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11219501

    "When exercise is conducted in very high ambient temperatures, the gradient for heat dissipation is significantly reduced which results in changes to thermoregulatory mechanisms designed to promote body heat loss. This can ultimately impact upon hormonal and metabolic responses to exercise which act to alter substrate utilisation. In general, the literature examining metabolic responses to exercise and heat stress has demonstrated a shift towards increased carbohydrate use and decreased fat use."
  • November_Fire
    November_Fire Posts: 165 Member
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    That should be illegal. Telling people they burned 400 cals sitting in a pod? There are sideshow magicians who aren't allowed to do that.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    That should be illegal. Telling people they burned 400 cals sitting in a pod? There are sideshow magicians who aren't allowed to do that.

    Seen magazines at the checkout line at grocery store? Why aren't those illegal with those claims?
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    That should be illegal. Telling people they burned 400 cals sitting in a pod? There are sideshow magicians who aren't allowed to do that.

    Hate to break it to you but sideshow magicians arent breaking the law either. There is no law against fooling people.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    but can they really put a TOTALLy bogus calorie counter on there?

    Who would stop them the calorie police?

    I'm the calorie police, you are all under arrest. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say about calories can and will be held against you.
  • jennifries227
    jennifries227 Posts: 113 Member
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    They should make a cold pod!! Like freezing cold! I bet if you are shaking cause you're so cold, you probably burn more calories! :laugh:

    They've actually done a study recently that shows shivering burns a ton of calories.
    http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/02/140211-shivering-cold-exercise-brown-fat-white-fat-irisin-metabolism-weight-loss/

    Interesting stuff. I seriously doubt you could burn 400 calories in 45 minutes just sitting in a hot pod, though. I wish it were true, though!
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    That should be illegal. Telling people they burned 400 cals sitting in a pod? There are sideshow magicians who aren't allowed to do that.

    It is illegal. I'm the calorie police and just arrested all of you.
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
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    That should be illegal. Telling people they burned 400 cals sitting in a pod? There are sideshow magicians who aren't allowed to do that.

    It is illegal. I'm the calorie police and just arrested all of you.

    Ooo. Handcuffs. Now we're talking.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    That should be illegal. Telling people they burned 400 cals sitting in a pod? There are sideshow magicians who aren't allowed to do that.

    It is illegal. I'm the calorie police and just arrested all of you.

    Ooo. Handcuffs. Now we're talking.

    Well this thread has certainly taken an unexpected but intriguing turn. Do go on.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    That should be illegal. Telling people they burned 400 cals sitting in a pod? There are sideshow magicians who aren't allowed to do that.

    It is illegal. I'm the calorie police and just arrested all of you.

    Ooo. Handcuffs. Now we're talking.

    :wink: :love: :smooched: :smokin:
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
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    In for BP in police woman garb.
  • November_Fire
    November_Fire Posts: 165 Member
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    That should be illegal. Telling people they burned 400 cals sitting in a pod? There are sideshow magicians who aren't allowed to do that.

    Hate to break it to you but sideshow magicians arent breaking the law either. There is no law against fooling people.

    Actually in my country psychics and charlatans cannot make unprovable claims. They word their business cards very carefully to ensure they skirt very closely around the laws - they still practise, but they're no longer allowed to state obvious untruths like they will actually contact your dead relatives or actually make you richer.

    The magazines also skirt similar laws.

    A small room claiming to evaporate 400 calories isn't exactly clever word play, is it? :p
  • scottkjar
    scottkjar Posts: 346 Member
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    400 calories is about 1/9 of a pound,or about 2 ounces. If you lost 2 ounces of water while sweating, they could reasonably claim that the pod's effects on your weight equate to burning 400 calories.
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
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    Put a bucket of water in there for an hour. How many calories would the water lose according to the machine? Now if you drink that water, do you lose weight because you're drinking negative calorie water? I think I've just thought up a new business idea. Negative calorie water.
  • Sinisterly
    Sinisterly Posts: 10,913 Member
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    Sounds like it'd be good for the skin, but that's about it O.o
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
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    I get the "water weight" aspect of it but the heat part. Being SO HOT though, I have to think that some of the Calorie burn has to be similar to the Cals you burn on something like a thermogenic. I sure felt like I ran 4 miles lol. If nothing else I'll continue it because of how relaxing it is, but can they really put a TOTALLy bogus calorie counter on there?

    yes they can, and they obviously have

    I've seen this argument for calorie burn in saunas before..... basically, all your cells are using energy (calories) all the time just staying alive and keeping your organs functioning. One of the things your cells do to keep you alive is generate heat... you're a mammal and warm blooded.... unlike cold blooded animals who can't generate their own heat.... you burn a lot of calories generating this heat. If you go somewhere really hot, then your cells are going to be using energy to keep you cool instead. So while staying cool does actually use energy, it's no different to the amount of energy you'd normally use keeping warm. (although you actually probably burn more calories keeping warm than staying cool) These calories that are used to keep you alive (including all your bodily functions like staying warm etc) are your basal metabolic rate (BMR) calories. In your MFP calorie target, before you log your exercise, all your BMR calories are accounted for. So definitely don't log this calorie burn as exercise. Additionally, there's no way a machine like that can accurately measure how many calories your body's actually using to cool down.

    Also, 180 degrees F? Sounds like they have a totally bogus thermometer too... I converted that to centigrade and it's 80 something... that's not far from the boiling point of water and hotter than the temperature McDonalds serves its coffee at... you'd have third degree burns (or die!) sitting that long in a pod at that temperate.

    Sounds like a total con to be honest...

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