There are many weight loss or fat burning myths out there but is this one of them? Some claim that the amount of fat you burn is directly related to the amount you sweat, implying that sweating is actually the cause of the fat burning.
The human body contains proteins, fats, carbohydrates, salts and water (the list goes on). When you are involved in any form of physical activity, the cells utilize these products. The by-products include energy, water, salt and heat. You can see therefore, that sweat is a by-product of physical activity.
I should say at this point though that you will see a lot of evidence of positive correlations between the amount someone sweats and the amount of fat they burn (or weight they lose). But, and this is a sizeable but coming up, they sweat as a result of exercise and this exercise (whatever form it takes) is what leads to the fat burn, not the sweating. Sweating is a result of the exercise as much as the fat burning also is.
Don’t let me talk down the important of sweat though. Sweating is a major player in the weight loss world. It is the mechanism through which the body gets rid of excess water, salt and heat and therefore helps to regulate body temperature – without which we would be in serious trouble every time we wanted to exercise.
Does sweating burn fat? Nope. Afraid not. Does sweating lead to weight loss? Yes, absolutely. As you sweat you lose water, this will show on the scales. But just as soon as you replace this water the weight will go back on. You will probably get bored of me saying this but if you take one piece of advice from all my articles it should be this: concern yourself with your body fat % not your weight. Weight can be misleading, it will be lower in the morning or after a big poo and higher in the evening after food or drinks (soft drinks or otherwise). Make sure to weigh yourself at the same time each day – preferable first thing in the morning.
Final thought – sweating does not burn fat, sweating can lead to weight (water weight) loss but this is not the kind of weight loss we are after for you. If you are sweating from exercise then you are definitely on the right track regardless.
The human body contains proteins, fats, carbohydrates, salts and water (the list goes on). When you are involved in any form of physical activity, the cells utilize these products. The by-products include energy, water, salt and heat. You can see therefore, that sweat is a by-product of physical activity.
I should say at this point though that you will see a lot of evidence of positive correlations between the amount someone sweats and the amount of fat they burn (or weight they lose). But, and this is a sizeable but coming up, they sweat as a result of exercise and this exercise (whatever form it takes) is what leads to the fat burn, not the sweating. Sweating is a result of the exercise as much as the fat burning also is.
Don’t let me talk down the important of sweat though. Sweating is a major player in the weight loss world. It is the mechanism through which the body gets rid of excess water, salt and heat and therefore helps to regulate body temperature – without which we would be in serious trouble every time we wanted to exercise.
Does sweating burn fat? Nope. Afraid not. Does sweating lead to weight loss? Yes, absolutely. As you sweat you lose water, this will show on the scales. But just as soon as you replace this water the weight will go back on. You will probably get bored of me saying this but if you take one piece of advice from all my articles it should be this: concern yourself with your body fat % not your weight. Weight can be misleading, it will be lower in the morning or after a big poo and higher in the evening after food or drinks (soft drinks or otherwise). Make sure to weigh yourself at the same time each day – preferable first thing in the morning.
Final thought – sweating does not burn fat, sweating can lead to weight (water weight) loss but this is not the kind of weight loss we are after for you. If you are sweating from exercise then you are definitely on the right track regardless.
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