“Sweat More to Lose More”
A common slogan which you would have seen in gyms and health clubs either on a poster or heard from some fitness trainers, but is it a truth or myth?
Let’s find out!
I see this confusion in most of the people today and especially in India from where I belong.
If you see people in the gym some might turn off the fan and AC’s while running on a treadmill or lifting weights as they think that this might help them lose weight or burn calories.
Okay let’s do this one thing before even getting into the science behind it, let me start with a simple example;
There are a lot of people out there who spend their whole day in hot summers like a salesman, driver, tourist guides, LIC agents, even vegetable & fruit vendors which I will consider as Group A and there are other groups of people who are construction workers, army officers, sports person which I will consider as Group B.
Whom do you find much leaner?
Most of you will say Group B, now think about it for a second, WHY?
Because Group B does more of physical activity throughout the day in which they burn more energy hence more calories.
Group A on the other hand sweat throughout the day but still carry a lot of weight in compared to Group B.
Another thing you would have noticed is there are health centers which advertise themselves that they will help in spot reduction.
And in most cases, they will make you sweat like hell and immediately after that they will weigh you which will show that you’ve lost some weight.
But if you check your weight the very next morning it will come back to normal.
I am going to reveal why this happens in a few moments, so continue reading.
Now let us understand…..
Why we sweat while exercising or in a hot climate?
Your body is like a thermostat and it is its tendency to maintain a constant temperature.
If either physical exertion or external heat causes a rise in your body temperature, your brain sends a signal to increase the rate of sweating.
Where HEAT IS CARRIED AWAY IN SWEAT, WHICH EVAPORATES.
If body temperature begins to drop due to the cold external environment, shivering begins to generate heat and keep the body temperature at that critical 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
This is a scientific term is known as homeostasis, it is the method by which the body maintains a constant temperature of 98.6-degree Fahrenheit.
Sweating has nothing to do with calorie burn, if this was the case then nobody needs to exercise and diet as we sweat all the time in summers due to high temperatures especially in India.
Yes, I agree! Sweating might help you to get rid of that water weight which lies underneath your skin but this is something temporary.
It is effective if you are a professional bodybuilder, boxer or wrestler as for it helps them to enter into a weight category where they can win but this is ineffective and unhealthy in the long term.
This is what generally happens in spot reduction centers where they will make you do excessive cardio to lose water weight and tell you to urinate before weighing 😉
How to Burn More Calories to Lose Weight?
I say this every time in my videos and articles that focus on burning fat than dropping your weight.
Your weighing scale will always keep you confused…
What will actually help is to keep a track of body measurements using inch tape and checking yourself in front of a mirror?
Focus on calories burned during exercise, eat in a caloric deficit and your daily activity apart from training in the gym.
You will burn more calories automatically!
If you are interested in knowing how to lose 1 Kg of fat per week! “Read This Article”
Now, what you can actually do today to start losing some real weight.
Sorry, my bad FAT 😛
What is Metabolism, BMR and How to Find Your Daily Calorie Need to Lose Weight?
Just to make things simpler for you to understand this concept….
We eat food to obtain the energy required to maintain or support various mechanisms in our body.
Your body uses carbohydrates, fats, and proteins which comes from food as a fuel to support the daily physical activity you do and maintain cellular activities.
Collectively there are thousands of chemical reactions happening in our body every second in order to maintain a balance which is known as metabolism.
Each and every individual has a metabolic set point which is the base rate of metabolism that the body seeks to maintain resulting in basal metabolic rate or BMR.
BMR is the minimum amount of energy (calories) your body needs to maintain body’s life function at REST.
And most people go wrong at this point as they think they have to eat lower calories than their BMR calories to lose weight.
If you eat way too fewer calories you will feel low in energy where the whole point of staying healthy, fit and energetic makes no sense…
There are multiple studies which show that when you go on a low-calorie diet, your body’s metabolic set point becomes lower in order to conserve energy.
In simple terms, your body starts burning fewer calories, thereby conserving energy or storing body fat.
Exercise helps to increase metabolic rate, causing your body to burn more fat for energy and just in case you think fat burners help in burning fat Read This Article!
So, it is necessary to know your total daily energy expenditure or the number of calories burned via BMR X ACTIVITY LEVEL.
Your activity level not only includes the calories you burn at the gym or playing any sport, but it also includes the time you spent walking, doing a physical task, playing with your kids which is called as NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis).
At the end of this page, you will find a simple calorie calculator where you can find the number of calories you need to lose fat.
I have seen a lot of trainers saying this in gyms that sir/madam you didn’t sweat too much today, where few of them don’t know much about the science…
But there might be few of them telling you this for a reason.
If they say sweat more people push harder, try to do more repetition while exercising and sweat more!!!
Because everybody can’t give you a 15 minutes science lecture.
And sometimes people don’t admit and tell them “Please tell us what to do, we are not here to listen your lecture” you know ATTITUDE ISSUE…. IF YOU AGREE WITH THIS POINT COMMENT BELOW!