Is it true the more you sweat the more calories burned

heathermiller77715
heathermiller77715 Posts: 26
in Health and Weight Loss
I once heard that if your sweating a lot during a workout that means your burning more calories is this true?

Replies

  • majope
    majope Posts: 1,325 Member
    No.
  • Joehenny
    Joehenny Posts: 1,222 Member
    No lmao
  • FriendsR4EverTreasures
    FriendsR4EverTreasures Posts: 179 Member
    myth
  • 7opoundsin16weeks
    7opoundsin16weeks Posts: 211 Member
    No, especially if you're a beginner.
  • Nikki_XC
    Nikki_XC Posts: 69
    I suggest using a heart rate monitor, or learning to check your pulse/heart rate manually to get a better idea (and more accurate reading) of calories burned.

    Manual HR check: http://www.glencoe.com/sites/common_assets/health_fitness/gln_health_fitness_zone/pdf/heart_rate_monitor_activities/the_heart/the_heart_activity_4.pdf
  • ashlinmarie
    ashlinmarie Posts: 1,263 Member
    Not at all. I've noticed I burn more calories than what most would doing the same exercise (according to my HRM) but I barely sweat at all.
  • 1Fizzle
    1Fizzle Posts: 241 Member
    Not necessarily...
  • heathermiller77715
    heathermiller77715 Posts: 26
    Thankyou all I kinda figured that wasn't true but I figured I would get a second opinion.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    If only.
    I sweat if I think too hard. Pretty much any workout makes me break a sweat. Others can do a tough workout and not sweat at all. It's an individual thing and does not accurately reflect effort or calories burned.
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
    Uhhh?

    In that case I'm burning heaps cause I'm sitting here in the heat of the day with my fan going sweating like crazy.
  • dixiewhiskey
    dixiewhiskey Posts: 3,333 Member
    Definitely not.. I have done HIIT and not sweat a drop, while other days I sweat buckets. No indicator of increase/decrease in calorie burn..
  • TrailRunner61
    TrailRunner61 Posts: 2,505 Member
    I use a Polar FT4 heart rate monitor and when it's hot out, I burn nearly twice the calories, so I'd say yes! It's obviously harder to work out when the temperatures are up. If anyone disputes this, come to central IL in August! Also, when I'm sweating like crazy, it's because my pulse is in the higher range, therefore burning more calories. That doesn't happen when I'm walking 2mph!
    The harder you work out, the more sweat you'll have and you'll burn more cals. Unless you're strange and never sweat, but I only see that with the girls wearing tons of makeup at the gym.
  • heathermiller77715
    heathermiller77715 Posts: 26
    I use a Polar FT4 heart rate monitor and when it's hot out, I burn nearly twice the calories, so I'd say yes! It's obviously harder to work out when the temperatures are up. If anyone disputes this, come to central IL in August! Also, when I'm sweating like crazy, it's because my pulse is in the higher range, therefore burning more calories. That doesn't happen when I'm walking 2mph!
    The harder you work out, the more sweat you'll have and you'll burn more cals. Unless you're strange and never sweat, but I only see that with the girls wearing tons of makeup at the gym.

    Thankyou! This makes sense.
  • holothuroidea
    holothuroidea Posts: 772 Member
    Oh man I hope not. I don't sweat at all until I've run at least a mile and a half.

    Sweating is highly individual and has nothing to do with how many calories you are burning. I think the idea comes from people using sweat as a general guideline for intensity, and higher intensity does mean burning more calories.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    I use a Polar FT4 heart rate monitor and when it's hot out, I burn nearly twice the calories, so I'd say yes! It's obviously harder to work out when the temperatures are up. If anyone disputes this, come to central IL in August! Also, when I'm sweating like crazy, it's because my pulse is in the higher range, therefore burning more calories. That doesn't happen when I'm walking 2mph!
    The harder you work out, the more sweat you'll have and you'll burn more cals. Unless you're strange and never sweat, but I only see that with the girls wearing tons of makeup at the gym.

    Unfortunately, heat and humidity affect the accuracy of HRMs. You do not burn more calories because it warmer out. Your heart rate may be higher but that does not necessarily translate into more calories burned. There is a very specific relationship between HR and calories burned. There are many cases where higher HR is not related to calories burned, this is one of them. Your HRM cannot tell the difference and will give an inflated burn.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/773451-is-my-hrm-giving-me-incorrect-calorie-burn

    Yes, the harder you workout, the more likely you are to sweat but everyone has a differen relationship. I have finished races where I am totally drenched and the winner, who ran at a higher intensity barely broke a sweat.
  • dixiewhiskey
    dixiewhiskey Posts: 3,333 Member
    I use a Polar FT4 heart rate monitor and when it's hot out, I burn nearly twice the calories, so I'd say yes! It's obviously harder to work out when the temperatures are up. If anyone disputes this, come to central IL in August! Also, when I'm sweating like crazy, it's because my pulse is in the higher range, therefore burning more calories. That doesn't happen when I'm walking 2mph!
    The harder you work out, the more sweat you'll have and you'll burn more cals. Unless you're strange and never sweat, but I only see that with the girls wearing tons of makeup at the gym.

    I never wear makeup.. sometimes people just don't sweat all the time

    Also hot weather doesn't really translate into burning more calories.. it just makes your body become more heated quicker than working out in a cold gym. You also become dehydrated more easily which isn't directly a result of exercise induced sweat exertion..
  • AbsoluteNG
    AbsoluteNG Posts: 1,079 Member
    Yes, you do. Water is a byproduct of the creation of ATP. ATP is what your cells use as energy in Aerobic respiration. Ever heard the saying that your body is 90% water? Well it's true and the same thing goes for fat cells. When your body burns fat to extract ATP, water is released as a by product. Below is the wiki link to describe to you how your metabolism works, Aerobic Respiration.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellular_respiration#Aerobic_respiration



    Here is the equation for carbs to create energy your cell needs. Carbs is actually short for Carbon as a Carbon chain is what your body starts off with to produce ATP. Your body starts off with Carbs and Oxygen to produce ATP. Once ATP is produce, the end results is a familiar term called Carbon Dioxide. That's what you breath out after breathing in. As you can see in the equation, water and HEAT are also byproducts of this process. So yes, the harder you exercise the more sweat you create. However, you could just pee out the excess water later.


    C6H12O6 (s) + 6 O2 (g) → 6 CO2 (g) + 6 H2O (l) + heat



    Fat is also made up of a Carbon chain and when broken down as energy, water is a byproduct.


    Edit: This is assuming you're exercising and not in a sauna.
  • LadyPakal
    LadyPakal Posts: 256 Member
    I suspect sweat is more a result of external temperature, than exercise. I live in Aberdeen and barely sweat at all when exercising - that's 'cos it's baltic most of the time. Live somewhere hot & humid and you pretty much sweat all the time.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    wish it was true, because I'm sitting on the sofa on my laptop, in Bahrain where the weather's really starting to heat up, and I'm sweating
  • ashleab37
    ashleab37 Posts: 575 Member
    I use a Polar FT4 heart rate monitor and when it's hot out, I burn nearly twice the calories, so I'd say yes! It's obviously harder to work out when the temperatures are up. If anyone disputes this, come to central IL in August! Also, when I'm sweating like crazy, it's because my pulse is in the higher range, therefore burning more calories. That doesn't happen when I'm walking 2mph!
    The harder you work out, the more sweat you'll have and you'll burn more cals. Unless you're strange and never sweat, but I only see that with the girls wearing tons of makeup at the gym.

    Thankyou! This makes sense.
    Thank you for being the first person to agree with me out of twenty! I will believe you because you agreed with what I want to believe as the truth.
  • beachlover317
    beachlover317 Posts: 2,848 Member
    I use a Polar FT4 heart rate monitor and when it's hot out, I burn nearly twice the calories, so I'd say yes! It's obviously harder to work out when the temperatures are up. If anyone disputes this, come to central IL in August! Also, when I'm sweating like crazy, it's because my pulse is in the higher range, therefore burning more calories. That doesn't happen when I'm walking 2mph!
    The harder you work out, the more sweat you'll have and you'll burn more cals. Unless you're strange and never sweat, but I only see that with the girls wearing tons of makeup at the gym.

    Thankyou! This makes sense.
    Thank you for being the first person to agree with me out of twenty! I will believe you because you agreed with what I want to believe as the truth.

    best answer ever. :drinker:
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    Yes, you do. Water is a byproduct of the creation of ATP. ATP is what your cells use as energy in Aerobic respiration. Ever heard the saying that your body is 90% water? Well it's true and the same thing goes for fat cells. When your body burns fat to extract ATP, water is released as a by product. Below is the wiki link to describe to you how your metabolism works, Aerobic Respiration.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellular_respiration#Aerobic_respiration



    Here is the equation for carbs to create energy your cell needs. Carbs is actually short for Carbon as a Carbon chain is what your body starts off with to produce ATP. Your body starts off with Carbs and Oxygen to produce ATP. Once ATP is produce, the end results is a familiar term called Carbon Dioxide. That's what you breath out after breathing in. As you can see in the equation, water and HEAT are also byproducts of this process. So yes, the harder you exercise the more sweat you create. However, you could just pee out the excess water later.


    C6H12O6 (s) + 6 O2 (g) → 6 CO2 (g) + 6 H2O (l) + heat



    Fat is also made up of a Carbon chain and when broken down as energy, water is a byproduct.


    Edit: This is assuming you're exercising and not in a sauna.

    ????

    metabolic water (that means water that is produced as a result of cellular respiration) is not sweat.... the water produced by cellular respiration just goes into your blood. If you have too much water in your blood (which in most cases would be due to drinking too much water) your kidneys remove it and you pee more. When you exercise, you get hot, because your rate of respiration (i.e. burning fuel to get energy) speeds up in the muscles that you're using because they need much more energy, and this excess heat needs to be lost, so you sweat. Sweat comes from the water that's in your blood. The amount of water needed for sweating is a lot more than what's produced during respiration (which is just six molecules of water for each molecule of glucose broken down) so you need to take in water (i.e. by drinking it) when exercising, or you will become dehydrated.

    You sweat because you get hot. If two people burn the same amount of calories during exercise, but one is working out in the snow, while the other's working out in a warm gym, the one in the warm will sweat a lot more because they're hotter. Just like I'm sitting here sweating in my Bahraini living room at midday even though the only activity I'm doing is using my typing fingers and whatever muscles are keeping me sitting upright (and I'm leaning against the back of the sofa so they don't even have to do *that* much work right now).

    Work out, if you are sweating too much, air conditioning may help, but at the very least you need to drink plenty of water. And if it's very cold and you're not sweating, it does not mean you're not working just as hard.
  • AbsoluteNG
    AbsoluteNG Posts: 1,079 Member
    You sweat because you get hot.


    What you say makes sense but where does heat come from? Heat is also a byproduct of Aerobic Respiration. With all things being equal between two individuals at room temperature, where does the heat come from?
  • KatjaO
    KatjaO Posts: 71
    I have lived in both cold and hot climates. Running in the winter, I do not even break a sweat ( until after inside) and running in hot climate any time, I sweat before I even get out the door, am drenched after the run, and leave a water trail behind me. Do I use more calories in that winter scenario, since I really need to work to keep warm, or in the hot scenario since I need to work to make that sweat to not over heat? Same distance, same speed ( slightly more clothing on in the winter scenario)

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