So cold all the time :(

I believe I remember reading, as you decrease body fat, there's less of it to keep you insulated so feeling cold all the time isn't so uncommon.

Aside from the obvious solution of increasing body fat - which is counterproductive to my goals lol - and just bundling up, does anyone have any suggestions? I'm like the office freak, always walking around in my winter coat. At home, I'm in a minimum of 2 sweatshirts. I can't really ask my office to become the sauna I want it to be and my fiance always runs hot, so I figure it's easier for me to go on layer overdrive.

I have a scheduled 2 week diet break coming up soon (CAN'T WAIT) and while I hope to not put on any fat, I'm curious to see if that has any affect since I was wondering if it was a hormonal issue.

Thanks in advance :)
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Replies

  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
    Bundle up and consider a space heater under your desk.
  • andreaen
    andreaen Posts: 365 Member
    Being very cold can be a result of your body wanting to save energy and therefore not having enough to keep the internal heater going (aka processes that use energy and heat = energy as your science teacher probably told you at some point).

    What are your calories at? It might help to just increase carbs, just from my own experience.
    Also, do you know your fat percentage estimate? You have to be very lean for this to happen due to low body fat.

    Also a diet break will probably help a lot as your body can start to balance out your hormones and other bodily functions again.
  • laurenbastug
    laurenbastug Posts: 307 Member
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    Yes, a long enough diet break should compensate some.

    For example at full maintenance I would expect some more involuntary movements, an increase in resting heart rate, things like nails and hair growing faster. And your core temperature should go slightly up.

    This would be a (partial) reversal of adaptive thermogenesis which your being cold while on a diet, in my opinion, has much more to do with than the loss of fat insulation.

    Yes, I was also reading that just the sheer fact I'm restricting calories could result in feeling cold all the time. I always thought it had to do with body fat %. I'll be very interested to see the results the diet break will bring along with what you mentioned. Thanks so much!
  • laurenbastug
    laurenbastug Posts: 307 Member
    andreaen wrote: »
    Being very cold can be a result of your body wanting to save energy and therefore not having enough to keep the internal heater going (aka processes that use energy and heat = energy as your science teacher probably told you at some point).

    What are your calories at? It might help to just increase carbs, just from my own experience.
    Also, do you know your fat percentage estimate? You have to be very lean for this to happen due to low body fat.

    Also a diet break will probably help a lot as your body can start to balance out your hormones and other bodily functions again.

    Ah makes sense. I'm currently at 1580 (148C, 130P, 52F) - I gravitate/prefer a higher protein/fat diet and find that my carbs are enough to fuel my workouts. I'm probably close to 24% body fat which I know isn't very low.

    Yes, I'm hoping to really see a lot of the physiological benefits of the diet break in addition to the psychological.

    Thanks! :)
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,393 Member
    edited April 2018
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    Yes, a long enough diet break should compensate some.

    For example at full maintenance I would expect some more involuntary movements, an increase in resting heart rate, things like nails and hair growing faster. And your core temperature should go slightly up.

    This would be a (partial) reversal of adaptive thermogenesis which your being cold while on a diet, in my opinion, has much more to do with than the loss of fat insulation.

    Yes, I was also reading that just the sheer fact I'm restricting calories could result in feeling cold all the time. I always thought it had to do with body fat %. I'll be very interested to see the results the diet break will bring along with what you mentioned. Thanks so much!

    Observe how you will move and feel when you increase your calories.

    Even in the context of a deficit I find myself taping my legs sometimes after a larger (but not so large I become comatose) meal.

    Yet I don't feel like doing that most of the rest of the time.

    Also will your workouts become more effective? Willing to put an extra rep or move in?

    These adaptations form part of the slack beyond which persistent over or under feeding gets us to change our long term weight level.
  • laurenbastug
    laurenbastug Posts: 307 Member
    I started feeling cold all the time when menopause happened, and that was before I lost weight.

    Things haven't improved with the loss of 90 pounds and it looks like this is my life for now. I can't speak to any ideas of diet breaks helping or not (they make no difference for me since me being cold is due to being older and has nothing to do with less body fat), but I can tell you some of the things I do to cope.

    Herbal tea. Lots of it. Zero calories and I drink it all day. I also move around a lot. Try swinging your leg under your desk or buying a desk bicycle to get your circulation going. I find that really helps the most.

    90 pounds lost - that's amazing!!

    Thanks for the suggestions, yes, definitely chugging tea! Yea, I was thinking that sitting at a desk all day doesn't really get my blood moving and that could help get some circulation going. My fingernails turn blue sometimes they're that cold so I think even just using the standing desk I have could help. But work's been slow and if I stand, I'll put the MFP forum on blast and everyone will have a view to my slacking haha
  • andreaen
    andreaen Posts: 365 Member
    andreaen wrote: »
    Being very cold can be a result of your body wanting to save energy and therefore not having enough to keep the internal heater going (aka processes that use energy and heat = energy as your science teacher probably told you at some point).

    What are your calories at? It might help to just increase carbs, just from my own experience.
    Also, do you know your fat percentage estimate? You have to be very lean for this to happen due to low body fat.

    Also a diet break will probably help a lot as your body can start to balance out your hormones and other bodily functions again.

    Ah makes sense. I'm currently at 1580 (148C, 130P, 52F) - I gravitate/prefer a higher protein/fat diet and find that my carbs are enough to fuel my workouts. I'm probably close to 24% body fat which I know isn't very low.

    Yes, I'm hoping to really see a lot of the physiological benefits of the diet break in addition to the psychological.

    Thanks! :)

    It sounds to me like its the first case I mentioned then, with your body just slowing down its system. How is your NEAT? Do you move throughout the day, or are you sedetary for hours on end? In addition to the diet break (which I think is a very good idea for you right now) just getting up and getting the blood flowing once per hour could help. Get up and do 15 air squats to give it a try.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,393 Member
    edited April 2018
    Ah yes. Moving (in my case going for walks) is integral to me not feeling cold. More than two hours of inactivity (sitting at desk) and I start feeling it. Even the 250 steps an hour thing helps with that...
  • laurenbastug
    laurenbastug Posts: 307 Member
    @andreaen @PAV8888 - I am at a desk most of the day (walking in the morning and afternoon to/from car/bus terminal) + lifting/cardio in the evenings, but I think I'll try upping my walking during the day too to see if that will help.

    Thanks both!
  • generallyme2
    generallyme2 Posts: 401 Member
    I'm a really cold person no matter my weight. I always have hot tea in hand (even in summer haha), I keep sweaters in the car just in case I forget to throw one on before I leave. I have a microwavable rice bag that I will use to help heat back up (you can use this in the car, at the office, etc). I used to keep a space heater under my office desk. If you need to, those hot hand warmers can be helpful and I few times I used those stick on heating pads in a pinch haha.

    You may want to consider getting blood work done just in case. I have several vitamin deficiencies and one symptom was feeling cold easily/often (tbf I'm cold no matter what, vitamins up or not)
  • laurenbastug
    laurenbastug Posts: 307 Member
    I'm a really cold person no matter my weight. I always have hot tea in hand (even in summer haha), I keep sweaters in the car just in case I forget to throw one on before I leave. I have a microwavable rice bag that I will use to help heat back up (you can use this in the car, at the office, etc). I used to keep a space heater under my office desk. If you need to, those hot hand warmers can be helpful and I few times I used those stick on heating pads in a pinch haha.

    You may want to consider getting blood work done just in case. I have several vitamin deficiencies and one symptom was feeling cold easily/often (tbf I'm cold no matter what, vitamins up or not)

    Ah yes, the microwaveable bags are a good one. Unfortunately, we're not allowed to have space heaters in our office -_-, but thanks for all the suggestions! Yeah, I was thinking if, after upping my cals and trying to move more during the day, doesn't help I'll do some further medical investigation.

    Thank you :)
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,843 Member
    I started feeling cold all the time when menopause happened, and that was before I lost weight.

    Things haven't improved with the loss of 90 pounds and it looks like this is my life for now. I can't speak to any ideas of diet breaks helping or not (they make no difference for me since me being cold is due to being older and has nothing to do with less body fat), but I can tell you some of the things I do to cope.

    Herbal tea. Lots of it. Zero calories and I drink it all day. I also move around a lot. Try swinging your leg under your desk or buying a desk bicycle to get your circulation going. I find that really helps the most.

    90 pounds lost - that's amazing!!

    Thanks for the suggestions, yes, definitely chugging tea! Yea, I was thinking that sitting at a desk all day doesn't really get my blood moving and that could help get some circulation going. My fingernails turn blue sometimes they're that cold so I think even just using the standing desk I have could help. But work's been slow and if I stand, I'll put the MFP forum on blast and everyone will have a view to my slacking haha

    Mr. Coffee Mug Warmer is great for keeping beverages warm. I have flat bottomed cups - not sure how well it would work otherwise. I gave one to each of my parents and they didn't want them, so now I have one in my kitchen, office, and exercise room.

    i3uvejbex3tt.jpg

    Footwear makes a big difference in keeping warm. I work from home so get away with Sorel Manawan Slippers, which I wear with one pair each of cotton and wool socks:

    91lWHCO4wfL._UX500_.jpg

    Knocked $50 per month off my heating bill after I got them.

    If I were cold in an office and people cared about my footwear, I'd wear leather boots.
  • laurenbastug
    laurenbastug Posts: 307 Member
    Thank you both - yes, will have thyroid checked if it doesn’t improve :)