Hot humid weather = more calories burned?

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LGrill27
LGrill27 Posts: 337 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I’m curious… I went for my regular 5 mile walk/run around the park yesterday and kept my usual pace. It was the first day in the 90’s with high humidity, I felt great but sweat my *kitten* off! Does more sweat necessarily mean a harder workout which equals more calories burned?
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  • 43932452
    43932452 Posts: 7,246 Member
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    Bump ..
  • phjorg1
    phjorg1 Posts: 642 Member
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    no
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
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    Sweating is the body cooling the skin down when it reaches certain temperatures, doesn't necessarily have to do with how hard you're working, just the starting point of your skin temp based on the weather
  • BAMFMeredith
    BAMFMeredith Posts: 2,829 Member
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    I've wondered this too. I know that sweating more just means your body is cooling you down, not burning more calories or anything, BUT when I go running in the summer I have to work a LOT harder to do the same exercise as I do when it's more moderate outside. Last weekend I ran a route that I run all the time when it's cooler out and have no problem, but the heat made it so much harder to complete. Am I burning more calories because I'm working harder due to the heat? I mean, I'm not gonna log it differently or eat more to compensate or anything, I'm just kinda curious.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    If sweat = calories burned I'd already be skinny! :laugh:

    All it means is that you need to be more aware of staying hydrated in hot humid weather, you may even want to think about the occasional sports drink as sweat contains electrolytes and sports drinks can help replace some of those lost (you can also just feel free to use a little more salt in the summer months)
  • oldernotwiser
    oldernotwiser Posts: 175 Member
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    You acutally burn more calories in cold weather just maintaining body temperature.
  • jayrudq
    jayrudq Posts: 503 Member
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    Oldernotwiser...that actually hurt!

    Signed,

    Suffering in the heat and humidity!
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    You acutally burn more calories in cold weather just maintaining body temperature.

    Not noticeably, your body warms up very quickly. If you're cold & shivering vs standing around at a comfortable temperature then yes you'd be burning more (The Canadian Army did some fairly extensive research on the caloric needs of soldiers operating in arctic environments, and the differences were surprisingly small)

    My own (anecdotal, sample of 1) observation is that I don't burn an appreciably higher number of calories running in winter compared to summer (that could change if I ran naked, but that's not about to happen....)
  • jonjhayden
    jonjhayden Posts: 165 Member
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    All it means is that you need to be more aware of staying hydrated in hot humid weather---

    May I add that you should be even more aware in hot dry weather. You may not observe yourself sweating as much as you would in a humid environment, but you are sweating at least as much possibly more. It is just the sweat is evaporating rather than sitting on the skin as is the case in humid locales. So, since you don't notice how much you are sweating it is very easy to suffer from dehydration.
  • RAGGEDYANN1970
    RAGGEDYANN1970 Posts: 115 Member
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    no, you don't burn more calories.
    (unfortunately) b/c i too live in a very humid environment.

    be sure to drink A TON of water!
  • sbedwards1077
    sbedwards1077 Posts: 32 Member
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    I wear a heart rate monitor with a chest strap when I run. If I run for about an hour, I burn about 30 calories more than I would on a cooler day. I have only worn the heart rate monitor since March, so I really don't know how many calories I burn while running in the winter.
  • kimosabe1
    kimosabe1 Posts: 2,467 Member
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    tumblr_m7oq5k17pY1r3084q.jpg
  • Nicolee_2014
    Nicolee_2014 Posts: 1,572 Member
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    No.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    No. Doing the same workout at the same Intensity burns the same amount of calories. It may feel harder but it's not.

    People report higher burns with HRMs however heat and humidity are two factors that affect accuracy of HRMs.


    "• Numerous confounding factors affect the HR response to PA and therefore the HR vs. VO2 relationship.
    These include high ambient temperature or humidity, time of day, emotional state/stress, fatigue, hydration status, food, caffeine and nicotine intake, previous PA, illness, body position, mode of exercise and use of limbs. "

    Reference in this link
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/773451-is-my-hrm-giving-me-incorrect-calorie-burn
  • misscharleygirl
    misscharleygirl Posts: 66 Member
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    Then why all the hype with bikram yoga?
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    All it means is that you need to be more aware of staying hydrated in hot humid weather---

    May I add that you should be even more aware in hot dry weather. You may not observe yourself sweating as much as you would in a humid environment, but you are sweating at least as much possibly more. It is just the sweat is evaporating rather than sitting on the skin as is the case in humid locales. So, since you don't notice how much you are sweating it is very easy to suffer from dehydration.

    Excellent point! I wish I lived somewhere with ht dry weather!:happy:
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    Then why all the hype with bikram yoga?

    I always assumed it was because of heat and the muscles or the purported cleansing effects of sweating not for calories burned. I've never really looked closely at it though.
  • misscharleygirl
    misscharleygirl Posts: 66 Member
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    I always assumed it was because of heat and the muscles or the purported cleansing effects of sweating not for calories burned. I've never really looked closely at it though.

    That would make sense.

    I've never looked into it either - it sounds horrible.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    I always assumed it was because of heat and the muscles or the purported cleansing effects of sweating not for calories burned. I've never really looked closely at it though.

    That would make sense.

    I've never looked into it either - it sounds horrible.

    I sweat enough in cooler rooms. I can't imagine doing hot yoga (I'm sure people love it, I just sweat enough)
  • houlee
    houlee Posts: 60
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    I'm not a doctor, so I may be wrong about this, but my understanding is that you do not burn more calories in hotter weather although you may be sweating more. You may feel like you are working harder if dehydration is a factor. Fatigue and increased heart rate are two side effects of dehydration that can lead to this impression.

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