You don't "melt" fat by sweating or getting hotter

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ninerbuff
ninerbuff Posts: 48,529 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So the visual of watching lard or butter melt in a pan due to heat, has confused the crap out of people when some "gurus" tell you you need to workout harder and sweat to "melt" the fat in your body. It's PHYSICALLY impossible. Why? Well the melting point would be at about 180 degrees. If you're body got up that high, you'd be DEAD.
All the scams out there saying things like drinking a drink to "melt" fat or eating certain foods, or "fat burning" supplements are all just sales jargon. People WANT to believe that it's just that easy to get it done. I just had someone email me asking about a waist trimmer and lotion used to increase sweating to burn off fat.
How does fat burn off? Well I can't write out the whole process cause it's long so I'll post a link:

https://bnrc.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s42269-019-0238-z

But the basic takeaway is the you need to be in a calorie deficit that is not to extreme (it will work at first, but plays havok with your hormones and will slow metabolic rate to a crawl) and be consistent. Fat gets "burned" off when you burn more than you consume in calories.

So don't fall for things like, laying a heating pad on your abs will help you burn more fat, or rubbing a lotion that makes you sweat more will increase fat loss. There aren't any OTC things that really affect the natural reduction of fat by being in calorie deficit.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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Replies

  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,127 Member
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    Well, if you try to render the fat on for example a duck breast, you'll need the heat of a stove or oven to do it. Not something I'd want to put my body through 😁
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
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    But I lost two pounds after an hour in the sauna!

    Never mind how much I gained back after rehydrating.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,529 Member
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    Lol, now you have people putting Vick's vapor rub then wrapping with Saran wrap fad on Pintrest. Crazy.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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  • penguinmama87
    penguinmama87 Posts: 1,158 Member
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    Just the visual is making me chuckle. I render animal fat a few times a year in my slow cooker, and the idea of a person literally trying to cook themselves to lose weight....wow. That's something.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,529 Member
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    alisdairsmommy wrote: »
    Just the visual is making me chuckle. I render animal fat a few times a year in my slow cooker, and the idea of a person literally trying to cook themselves to lose weight....wow. That's something.
    I'm so disappointed in these people who actually endorse it and have NO IDEA on how human physiology actually works. Yes there WAS reason to take a biology class and actually use it in real life, is in my mind when I think of them.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • Sportertje354
    Sportertje354 Posts: 50 Member
    edited March 2021
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    Hmmm, been reading about this, and various viewpoints, from which I gather that:

    First off the wraps can be dangerous because the heat trapped by your body, and the stomach is a large heat distribution area

    That there are some ingredients that may have some effect on reducing fat, albeit not directly, but indirectly having to with water loss and fat cells, etc

    There are also articles that look into this and stuff, and don't find any benefit to some ingredients

    Some of these systems use a combination of both a wrap and an ointment, at a pretty hefty price might I add.

    So, I am not ready to discount every part of it, some natural remedies can have certain effects, but certain aspects would definitely stay away from, especially when they charge a lot of money, which may be questionable
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,529 Member
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    Sportertje354 wrote: »
    Hmmm, been reading about this, and various viewpoints, from which I gather that:

    First off the wraps can be dangerous because the heat trapped by your body, and the stomach is a large heat distribution area

    That there are some ingredients that may have some effect on reducing fat, albeit not directly, but indirectly having to with water loss and fat cells, etc

    There are also articles that look into this and stuff, and don't find any benefit to some ingredients

    Some of these systems use a combination of both a wrap and an ointment, at a pretty hefty price might I add.

    So, I am not ready to discount every part of it, some natural remedies can have certain effects, but certain aspects would definitely stay away from, especially when they charge a lot of money, which may be questionable
    What ingredients are you referring to?

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
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    Are you telling me I can't put my belly on the stove and get thin? 😢
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 7,473 Member
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    NorthCascades wrote: »
    Are you telling me I can't put my belly on the stove and get thin? 😢

    I used to be able to lift it up and put it on the counter. Ewwwwwww. TMI, I know.

    But think of the possibilities if this really were a thing.
  • whoami67
    whoami67 Posts: 297 Member
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    You take everything so literally. When people talk of melting fat, that's not what they mean (unless they are talking about duck breast or similar).
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,191 Member
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    whoami67 wrote: »
    You take everything so literally. When people talk of melting fat, that's not what they mean (unless they are talking about duck breast or similar).

    People actually do show up here and argue that sweating means you're burning fat, literally, and that if you don't sweat, you don't burn fat.

    It's a minority, yes . . . but it happens. SMH.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,529 Member
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    whoami67 wrote: »
    You take everything so literally. When people talk of melting fat, that's not what they mean (unless they are talking about duck breast or similar).
    And you know that how? You've actually conversed with them? If "heat" is applied to animal fat in a pan, it melts. Controversially people do things like wear sauna suits, wrap neoprene waist wraps around their waists, put "heat raising" lotions on their bellies................why do they do that? Because they actually understand that fat DOESN'T actually melt?


    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 7,473 Member
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    Sorry, hate to interject here, but two and a half years of data on my Apple Watch do show that hot classes burn 20% or more more calories than unheated.

    I did about 50/50 up til covid and the difference was noticeable. When the studio reopened after covid, they had to use the big studio due to social distancing and couldn’t heat it as well. Limited hot classes have just restarted in the past month, and the calorie burn has shot back up during those classes.

    Indirectly, the heat helps because it requires a lot more exertion, and it’s far more fatiguing. But it’s not because we are roasting in there and fat’s dripping off us like a rotisserie spit.
  • Sportertje354
    Sportertje354 Posts: 50 Member
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    ninerbuff wrote: »
    What ingredients are you referring to?


    I just posted an answer, but it dissapeared when I pressed post?

    Let me just add these two links, instead of typing all over again:
    https://www.instantknockout.com/ik/how-does-fat-loss-cream-work/
    https://www.livestrong.com/article/13720252-sweet-sweat-gel-safe/
  • Sportertje354
    Sportertje354 Posts: 50 Member
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    springlering62 wrote: »
    Sorry, hate to interject here, but two and a half years of data on my Apple Watch do show that hot classes burn 20% or more more calories than unheated.

    I did about 50/50 up til covid and the difference was noticeable. When the studio reopened after covid, they had to use the big studio due to social distancing and couldn’t heat it as well. Limited hot classes have just restarted in the past month, and the calorie burn has shot back up during those classes.

    Indirectly, the heat helps because it requires a lot more exertion, and it’s far more fatiguing. But it’s not because we are roasting in there and fat’s dripping off us like a rotisserie spit.

    What would worry me is applying a 'heat cream/wrap' when already in a hot room where your body is being stressed more.

    Are you using a chest strap or just the watch? Wonder if the increased sweat can affect the measurement. Wrist based heart rate monitors can fluctuate their reading based on different circumstances.

    How many more calories would one burn in a cold room? Since it takes energy for the body to heat itself. My guess is there are studies for that.

    If there is one thing I've learned about sports, food, and weight is that there are a lot of different theories, and sometimes it's hard to pin down something definitively. I've caught myself on this too with this stuff, thinking something was right a certain way, only to learn later it was more nuanced, or just plain wrong. We live we learn


  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 7,473 Member
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    You’d be out of your mind to apply a cream or lotion prior to a yoga class, particularly a hot class.

    Grip is very important, otherwise you’ll slide out of position, knees slide off elbows, hands unable to grip for downward dog, or lose footing during a wide legged pose and risk a groin pull. Nothing is more irritating than being in a bound side angle and feeling your back foot slide back.

    I’ve never tried a heart monitor, just my Apple Watch, however, I know it’s reliable and accurate enough for my purposes, and if sweat affected it, it would go haywire during a run in a humid Southern summer, but it doesn’t.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,529 Member
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    Sportertje354 wrote: »
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    What ingredients are you referring to?


    I just posted an answer, but it dissapeared when I pressed post?

    Let me just add these two links, instead of typing all over again:
    https://www.instantknockout.com/ik/how-does-fat-loss-cream-work/
    https://www.livestrong.com/article/13720252-sweet-sweat-gel-safe/
    Those are the claims, but peer reviewed evidence hasn't shown them to be any more effective than placebo. And no cream or lotion gets rid of fat cells. Since they are applied to the epidermis, to get to fat they would have to penetrate down to the dermis level and the epidermis is what protects that from happening to an extent. Honestly, you CAN directly exercise an area to lose fat in that area but the amount of exercise you would have to do would well outweigh the actual fat loss used.


    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23222084/

    I couldn't imagine doing 960-1200 reps for one leg to get minimal fat reduction. At 20 reps in a minute, it would take you 48 minutes to complete 960 reps and of course much longer for 1200.



    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,529 Member
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    springlering62 wrote: »
    Sorry, hate to interject here, but two and a half years of data on my Apple Watch do show that hot classes burn 20% or more more calories than unheated.

    I did about 50/50 up til covid and the difference was noticeable. When the studio reopened after covid, they had to use the big studio due to social distancing and couldn’t heat it as well. Limited hot classes have just restarted in the past month, and the calorie burn has shot back up during those classes.

    Indirectly, the heat helps because it requires a lot more exertion, and it’s far more fatiguing. But it’s not because we are roasting in there and fat’s dripping off us like a rotisserie spit.
    A regular named Azdak did a thread on this with heart rate monitors. I'll see if I can find it.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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