sweating and weight loss

mawhite717
mawhite717 Posts: 202 Member
edited September 27 in Health and Weight Loss
ok so is it true the more you sweat the more calories you burn? i've heard that, but i never really understood it.

for example, lets just say, for 2 days in a row i do the same exact workout, work out as hard one day as the next. except one day i workout in shorts and a tank top and the next day i workout in sweats and a thick t-shirt. of course i'm going to sweat a lot more wearing the sweats, but does that necessarily mean that i'm burning more calories since i'm working out exactly the same?

im not saying its not true because i have no idea. im just wondering what you guys think or if you know whether its true or not.

Replies

  • denise980
    denise980 Posts: 296
    I'm curious what other people have to say about this, because I have wondered the same thing
  • JesaGrace
    JesaGrace Posts: 799 Member
    i want to know too...
  • drobb821
    drobb821 Posts: 9
    I would imagine that sweating more than YOU usually sweat will mean that you are burning more calories. However, overall people sweat in different increments regardless of how much they are actually getting a workout. That's just my guess though. Everyone is going to be different. Some people sweat from walking and some don't sweat from just about anything.
  • macnatty24
    macnatty24 Posts: 8
    I don't think you lose more weight if you sweat more. It might stand to reason that in the short term you would as you lose water through sweat, but I would think that once you rehydrate, you'll find yourself having actually burned the exact same amount of calories as you did the day before wearing lighter clothing.

    Then again, I may be wrong. This is just what I think. I know nothing. Or at least nothing about this.
  • jmruef
    jmruef Posts: 824 Member
    I'm guessing you might weigh less (temporarily) just because you're losing water...? But once you re-hydrate you're right back.
  • tlems
    tlems Posts: 104 Member
    I want to know too, but I have to think it really has a bit to do with the temp of the environment. Running outside in 60 degree weather, I sweat less, but translate that to a stuffy gym on a treadmill and I am sweating buckets.
  • kimmerroze
    kimmerroze Posts: 1,330 Member
    Well when you sweat because you are wearing sweats and a sweat shirt you are just losing water weight, as soon as you drink water you will gain that weight back, so I wouldnt say that sweating means you are burning more calories..

    Perhaps it is true to say that if you are sweating you are burning more calories than if you weren't sweating. Like if someone is walking around a track for three hours and doesn't break a sweat, then it probably wasn't as good of a work out as if he would have cut his time in half and added jogging, which would definately make you sweat...

    But I am no expert that is JMO
  • aflane
    aflane Posts: 625 Member
    I think you're having increased water loss, not caloric burn. My heart rate monitor gives me the same types of readings regardless of how many layers (or lengths) of workout clothes I'm wearing. I alternate between shorts and long pants, no diff in the readings.

    But what does it matter... You're at the gym WORKING OUT!! Good for you!!! :happy:
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    ok so is it true the more you sweat the more calories you burn? i've heard that, but i never really understood it.

    No, you may lose more water weight, but after a few glasses of liquid and that would be put right back on. Water loss does not equal calorie burn.
  • anolan807
    anolan807 Posts: 273 Member
    You are losing water weight not calorie weight..
  • Buckeyt
    Buckeyt Posts: 473 Member
    Last night I did my standard Tuesday P90X workout the only difference was that it was in the high 80' s rather than the 50's like last week. According to my heart rate monitor the calories burned were marginally different despite sweating tons more last night.
  • eliz_in_pink
    eliz_in_pink Posts: 278 Member
    If sweating = weight loss, I'd never have to worry about my weight...
    *Sorry, I am not sorry lol...*
    I sweat nearly every single day in the tanning bed and working out I sweat to the point of my clothes being soaked.

    Just saying, calories burned and sweating are not the same thing. I wish though!! The tanning bed would be my PERFECT work-out, lol :glasses:
  • plain_jane
    plain_jane Posts: 49 Member
    When it's hot, it certainly does feel like you have to exert more effort for the same workout, so there may be some slight difference, but I doubt it amounts to much. You'd have to wear a HRM to test it out, I guess. It's really about the energy expended though, and not the sweating, just that for most people sweating is indicative of energy output to some degree.
  • mawhite717
    mawhite717 Posts: 202 Member
    thanks a lot guys. i never really believed it, but i didnt really disbelieve it either... kinda stuck in the middle and just wondering. whether or not i am burning more calories, i still love sweating like crazy when i work out. it makes me feel like im accomplishing something... even if im really not. lol
  • rockabyesarojane
    rockabyesarojane Posts: 471
    thanks a lot guys. i never really believed it, but i didnt really disbelieve it either... kinda stuck in the middle and just wondering. whether or not i am burning more calories, i still love sweating like crazy when i work out. it makes me feel like im accomplishing something... even if im really not. lol

    well. even if you arent burning more calories at least youre clearing up your skin by sweating out all the toxins! WINNING!
  • mawhite717
    mawhite717 Posts: 202 Member
    thanks a lot guys. i never really believed it, but i didnt really disbelieve it either... kinda stuck in the middle and just wondering. whether or not i am burning more calories, i still love sweating like crazy when i work out. it makes me feel like im accomplishing something... even if im really not. lol

    well. even if you arent burning more calories at least youre clearing up your skin by sweating out all the toxins! WINNING!

    i never thought about that, but you're right!!!!! EPIC WIN!
  • yankeefamily05
    yankeefamily05 Posts: 657
    I wondered the same. After doing a workout for 2 weeks, I don't sweat as much!!!!
  • Mayor_West
    Mayor_West Posts: 246 Member
    Sweating is the body's way of cooling itself and is not a reliable barometer for determining level of effort or caloric expenditure. I've played football in 20-degree weather, busted my *kitten* and barely broke a sweat in the process. Conversely, I've sat on my *kitten* at the beach in 95-degree weather and sweated bullets.
  • breezymom81
    breezymom81 Posts: 499 Member
    From what I understand you should be replacing the fluid lost with water anyways, your heart rate is what controls your calorie burn
This discussion has been closed.

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