Is it really important to sweat if I want to lose weight?

matthewsq

I just started using the elliptical at my basement. I do it for thirty minutes after 7 minutes my heart rate is at 150. it stays up to 150 till I finish. The problem is that I don't sweat that much than I normally sweat in the gym. I think it's because of the temperature in the basement. So... Is it important to sweat if I want to lose weight?

age: 20

econut2000

No, some people sweat more than others. You'll be fine and lose weight regardless of whether you sweat. Good luck!

mamagooskie

I don't think it matters.......I sweat more doing some exercizes than others. When I did stairs yesterday outside in the cold I didn't sweat at all but today doing one of my videos I was soaked. It's your bodies heat regulator.....and some people sweat a lot and some people not so much.

I have also heard the more fit you are the more you sweat since your body is more efficient at cooling itself but I have no idea if that is true or not.

lcardullo

I think it is a personal thing - my husband sweats while watching someone exercise! I on the other hand, don't sweat much at all unless the activity is outdoors and it's hot.

victoria4321

Nah I almost never sweat at the gym. The only time I actually sweat is after running around 4 miles or when it's really hot outside. If anything, i just glisten

BrianSharpe

The amount you perspire has nothing to do with calories burned or else I'd already be skinny. :laugh:

The only benefit to sweating a lot is that you don't need to worry as much about going over your sodium numbers from time to time but you do need to watch hydration more closely.

nibbynoo

this is really good news to me to!
i work out with a friend and by the end of it she is streaming sweat and i have a forehead glaze and thats it! im just not a sweaty person!

Ruger2506

I just started using the elliptical at my basement. I do it for thirty minutes after 7 minutes my heart rate is at 150. it stays up to 150 till I finish. The problem is that I don't sweat that much than I normally sweat in the gym. I think it's because of the temperature in the basement. So... Is it important to sweat if I want to lose weight?

age: 20

The best way to judge a good cadio routine is maintaining your target heart rate for 30 minutes or more. Another great way to judge it is to try and have a conversation. If you cannot speak an entire sentence without stopping to take a breath you are working hard enough. If you can hold a conversation without gasping for air you aren't working hard enough.

teeley

sweat is just the bodies way of cooling the body, it is not weight/fat loss, like BrianSharpe said IF you do sweat a lot you need to rehydrate!!

Nigerianebony

The more fit you are the faster you start to sweat. That's what I have been told. Now it doesn't necessarily mean you sweat more. Remember sweating is a cooling mechanism.

TrailRunner61

Temperature has a lot to do with the amount of sweating I do. If I'm in a cool room or have a fan/breeze, I hardly sweat but take it away and I sweat buckets! Just keep that heart rate up and you'll do fine.

jacksonpt

Nope. You lose weight by eating right, not by exercising. Exercising can give you some leeway in the diet area if you don't have things dialed in there, but ultimately weight loss is about the diet, not the exercise.

WhitneyT586

Sweating has little to do with exertion levels. You will start to sweat just sitting in a sauna or hot tub. It's simply the body's way of cooling itself when overheated.

rebeccap13

Sweating is a ballpark way of estimating how hard your body is working during a work out but it is highly dependent on the environment you're in. I however sweat like a dude and think I'm usually working harder than I am. If you're trying to figure out how hard your body is working check out your target heart rate, buy an HRM or use one on the machine and try to maintain an avg HR during your workout close to your target HR. I use a HRM during my runs because I have a hard time pushing myself while running without one.

Ruger2506

Nope. You lose weight by eating right, not by exercising. Exercising can give you some leeway in the diet area if you don't have things dialed in there, but ultimately weight loss is about the diet, not the exercise.

While that's true, that does not address cardiovascular fitness. Over my years out there seeing patients I can tell you I know many skinny people that are in trouble and many "heavy" or even "obese" people who are in less trouble cardiovascularly.

Plus lean muscle and the mitochondria exercise creates makes the muscles more efficient at burning calories and fat. Therefore exercise does have a direct correlation to weight loss. Diet AND exercise are the proper combination to weight loss.

Heck, I'm "obese" by the BMI standard but I can out mountain hike most people I know. That and my Treadmill Stress Tests are completely normal.

Vegetablearian

I dont really sweat even when my heart rate is 170+ for ages!

jenalderman

I agree that how much you sweat has no bearing on how many calories you are burning doing any specific activity.

I don't agree that weight loss is strictly about your diet and not about exercise. BURNING calories factors just as heavy in the calories in < calories out equation. They are both equal factors. It doesn't matter which end of the equation that you work the hardest on, you will lose if you burn more than you eat.

As for sweating.... I have definitely seen my sweat increase with my fitness level. In addition, it's a good way for me personally to measure whether or not I'm well hydrated. For me, I tend to sweat more when I'm well hydrated and less when I'm lacking.

jbenton091011

I personally found that the fitter I got the more I sweat. And just because you sweat bucket loads, doesn't necessarily mean that you're losing weight. Don't let that be the indication that you're making progress.

SoDamnHungry

The only weight you lose from sweat specifically is water weight, so it doesn't matter that much. However, remember that sweat can be a good indicator of how hard you're working, so if you aren't even sweating a drop, you may need to look at your exercise and see if it's challenging.

wifeygrooms

I think you are correct about sweating more when you are fit...My husband in Military and he is very fit and he sweats like crazy...Myself on the other had has never been one to workout but now that I am I sweat a little and when he's done you can wring his clothes out...

I don't think it matters.......I sweat more doing some exercizes than others. When I did stairs yesterday outside in the cold I didn't sweat at all but today doing one of my videos I was soaked. It's your bodies heat regulator.....and some people sweat a lot and some people not so much.

I have also heard the more fit you are the more you sweat since your body is more efficient at cooling itself but I have no idea if that is true or not.

I think you are correct about sweating more when you are fit...My husband in Military and he is very fit and he sweats like crazy...Myself on the other had has never been one to workout but now that I am I sweat a little and when he's done you can wring his clothes out...

stormieweather

Some people sweat, some people do not. It is not a sign of how hard you are working. My X husband would sweat while washing the dinner dishes :huh: . My 16yr old daughter never gets a single drop of sweat on her face...not even after an hour of zumba or a 3 mile skate through 95 degree sunshine to the beach. She simply does not sweat. Now me? I drip everywhere and get beet red in the face as well. I look like I'm about to have heatstroke...and it doesn't disappear until I've been sedentary for 15-20 minutes.

Different people are different...:flowerforyou:

AllTehBeers

Nah I almost never sweat at the gym. The only time I actually sweat is after running around 4 miles or when it's really hot outside. If anything, i just glisten

I think that means you're a vampire.

butterflyliz32

I really don't sweat, even when I am working my butt off. It is a hormonal thing, for me. I pretty much turn beet-red and scare the crap out of the people around me.

The best way to judge your burn is through a HRM (so I have found). Just make sure you are putting your correct weight and stuff in there and checking your HR as you change intensity.

yoovie

for me- sweat is the only visible instant gratification I get from a workout- that is undeniable when i look in the mirror. When I dont sweat, Im worried I wasted my time- so I can feel you on your question. I try to calm myself from worry about it when I think of other factors like...

Is it cold outside- maybe thats why
I may not be sweating, but my DOMS are gonna be ridic tomorrow
my heart rate is still over 160- and its been above 140 for at least 45 minutes... that counts.
it really does
even if im not soaked

I may have a sweat addiction problem though if I have to always talk myself through it when I dont LOL

spicy618

for me- sweat is the only visible instant gratification I get from a workout- that is undeniable when i look in the mirror. When I dont sweat, Im worried I wasted my time- so I can feel you on your question. I try to calm myself from worry about it when I think of other factors like...

Is it cold outside- maybe thats why
I may not be sweating, but my DOMS are gonna be ridic tomorrow
my heart rate is still over 160- and its been above 140 for at least 45 minutes... that counts.
it really does
even if im not soaked

I may have a sweat addiction problem though if I have to always talk myself through it when I dont LOL

This is me too. I have to see the wetness. :laugh: