Forget feeling the burn, feel the chill!

So I sit at a desk all day at work but have the opportunity to be in a cold lab or a warm cube. This got me thinking, can I make my body work harder (aka burn more calories) while I'm sitting in front of that computer all day?

Turns out yes. It may not be significant in one sitting, but consider us "knowledge workers" in front of a computer for 8 hrs a day, 5 days a week, roughly 48 weeks a year. That's, (WARNING: MATH!!) 8*5*48=1920 hrs! Given the information from this forum:

http://caloriecount.about.com/forums/weight-loss/burn-more-calories-cold

you burn*roughly* 100 more calories per degree Fahrenheit. So if the lab is just 5 degrees colder, I can burn an additional (WARNING: MORE MATH!!!) 5*100*1920=960,000 calories a year! Considering you need to burn roughly 3500 calories to lose 1 pound...(WARNING: EVEN MORE MATH, but last of it):

THAT'S 960000 / 3500 = (.....wait for it....) 274 LBS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can lose 274 lbs a year just by sitting in a 5 deg colder lab! (No additional clothing though).

Ok, seriously, I doubt I could lose just under 300 lbs in a year, but think about it for a minute. If you consistently make your body work harder, even if its to keep your temperature up, you *will* burn more calories.

However, ther are obviously other factors. For example, the amount and type of clothing; proper diet and exercise (obviously); and don't forget how adaptable our bodies are. If I continuously sit in a colder climate, my body is going to adjust to work more efficiently. Thus the amount of calorie burn is probably going to reduce as my body gets more efficient.

Anyhow, I thought this was interesting, amusing, and yet a useful way to get even a little bit more calorie burn while doing the job that helped me gain the weigt in the first place.

--PixarDad