Heat?

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ZekeandKyliesMom
ZekeandKyliesMom Posts: 71 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am walking on my lunch break at work and I am curious does the heat affect how many calories you burn? We went walking outside today and I was sweating like a pig and it got me thinking about my calories burned and whether or not the temp and amount you sweat had anything to do with it.

By the way I am still pretty much a newbie when it comes to exercise and stuff so don’t laugh at me if I ask stupid question… just laugh with me lol.

Replies

  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    It's not a stupid question. The answer is no, heat does not affect your caloric burn. what does affect caloric burn is your heart rate, if by chance heat causes your heart rate to increase then it could cause you to burn more, but I'm not sure it does. You may loose more weight when its hot out due to loss of water, not fat, which will come back once you intake enough fluids.
  • Yurippe
    Yurippe Posts: 850 Member
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    According to Yahoo Answers, yes (and no)...

    http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070622065227AADm96L

    I have no idea. I've read that you burn more calories when you are cold because your body has to burn them to keep you warm.
  • LosingLizard
    LosingLizard Posts: 69
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    I can confirm - nope. I use a Body Bugg to track my calorie burn and have compared walking/running indoors to the sweltering midwest heat and humidity. Despite the increased (by the bucket load) of sweat, the calorie burn was the same as when I was doing the same thing in my cozy a/c blasting room.
  • lvfunandfit
    lvfunandfit Posts: 654 Member
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    It doesn't affect your calorie burn as already stated. If you are sweating more make sure to drink more water as you could dehydrate more quickly (common sense I know, but had to say it).
  • msciccone1
    msciccone1 Posts: 288 Member
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    You know what you made me think about this because I go on walks every single day for an hour and will burn around 350 calories. Sunday I did that but it was hot as nuggets out there (:laugh: ) and when I saw my HRM at the end of my walk I saw I burned 503. Maybe the increased struggle to keep going uphill and breaking through that humidity made my heart work harder??? Who knows but it was a great burn :bigsmile:
  • DizzieLittleLifter
    DizzieLittleLifter Posts: 1,020 Member
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    I Always heard the oppisite. That the cold buns more cals because you body has to work to keep it warm. :laugh: IDK which is true. :)
  • rlinson
    rlinson Posts: 62 Member
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    hmm - I think eric had it right - just think about it - if heat was all it took, we could all lay out at a beach or sit in a sauna and melt away the pounds. Despite saying we are "burning" calories, the concept of burning a calorie is by definition a result of the ENERGY that it takes. (Calorie definition: A UNIT OF ENERGY (my caps) equal to the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius). The heat can affect you in other ways, so be careful and drink lots of water.
  • ZekeandKyliesMom
    ZekeandKyliesMom Posts: 71 Member
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    Thanks guys! The reason I asked is because I was just dripping sweat (gotta remember to bring an extra shirt from now on) when I came back in. The good news is that it really helped with my water intake. I have already drank 9-8oz glasses of water and haven't even been to my Zumba class yet!
  • jules1984
    jules1984 Posts: 439 Member
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    hrmm...

    I looked up this thread wondering myself. I just ran/walked outside and it kicked my butt because it was so hot and humid. I couldn't do nearly what I normally can and I feel WAAY more burnt out.

    It would be sad if the answer was that I really just burned less calories than normal and yet feel this crappy. (Yes I'm hydrated properly.)
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    It's not a stupid question. The answer is no, heat does not affect your caloric burn. what does affect caloric burn is your heart rate, if by chance heat causes your heart rate to increase then it could cause you to burn more, but I'm not sure it does. You may loose more weight when its hot out due to loss of water, not fat, which will come back once you intake enough fluids.

    Partially correct. A heat-related increase in heart rate does NOT lead to increased caloric burn --because it doesn't result in an overall increase in oxygen uptake. The heart muscle itself is working harder and consuming more oxygen, but it's such a small size it doesn't really affect overall oxygen uptake or caloric burn. An increased heart rate is ONLY associated with increased caloric burn when it reflects an increase in oxygen uptake.

    HRMs overestimate calories a lot more during the hotter weather.
  • HealthyChanges2010
    HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member
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    I am walking on my lunch break at work and I am curious does the heat affect how many calories you burn? We went walking outside today and I was sweating like a pig and it got me thinking about my calories burned and whether or not the temp and amount you sweat had anything to do with it.

    By the way I am still pretty much a newbie when it comes to exercise and stuff so don’t laugh at me if I ask stupid question… just laugh with me lol.
    Not a stupid question at all but I'll still laugh with you about anything else:flowerforyou: :tongue: I hadn't given it much thought but my first quick response never having given it a thought I might guess yes, just seems like you should be burning more with sweat dripping off your face, your shirt drenched, etc.:laugh:

    Now onto read the post by Azdak!! :tongue:

    Hey welcome to the site btw, I know it's April you joined I see but just tossing that out there. :flowerforyou:
    Becca
  • HealthyChanges2010
    HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member
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    It's not a stupid question. The answer is no, heat does not affect your caloric burn. what does affect caloric burn is your heart rate, if by chance heat causes your heart rate to increase then it could cause you to burn more, but I'm not sure it does. You may loose more weight when its hot out due to loss of water, not fat, which will come back once you intake enough fluids.

    Partially correct. A heat-related increase in heart rate does NOT lead to increased caloric burn --because it doesn't result in an overall increase in oxygen uptake. The heart muscle itself is working harder and consuming more oxygen, but it's such a small size it doesn't really affect overall oxygen uptake or caloric burn. An increased heart rate is ONLY associated with increased caloric burn when it reflects an increase in oxygen uptake.

    HRMs overestimate calories a lot more during the hotter weather.
    Always an interesting response from you Azdak:drinker: :happy: I had no idea HRM's were less accurate in the heat but suppose it makes sense, my brain is! :ohwell: :wink:

    Hope all is going well with you in your work, great to see you again:flowerforyou:
    Becca

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